BUSY HANDS

Dear Abby,

I got a text from you yesterday asking what I was doing. I was in a store looking at yarn. I asked you to allow me to pass on the craft of crochet to you. It is one of the most enjoyable, productive things you can do with your hands.

You have been both fortunate and unfortunate to be born in a generation of super technology! Fortunate because machines can do it all, making products plentiful and inexpensive. Unfortunate because something is lost between grandmothers, mothers and daughters in passing down crafts such as sewing, knitting, crochet and cooking. All of these things, by the way, have made some women very wealthy in the last thirty years or so. (Martha Stewart for one.)

Fortunately, you come from a family where you can learn to do many of these things. Your mother enjoys creating her own things and likes to share it with others. Aunt Amy also is very creative and has a blog about sewing. I like to cook and also crochet and knit occasionally. Grandmother has made many quilts and given them away. You have one yourself. She also embroiders very well.

I have been crocheting for 42 years, taught by an older cousin when I was 18. I wish I knew all the things I have made and given away. It's wonderful to be able to do something with my hands besides hold an iPad or phone all the time.

Abby, learn all that you can from the women in your life while you have the opportunity. One day you will pass down the same handcrafts to others. You will remember fondly those special women who touched your life and took the time to share something special with you. May The Lord watch between you and me when we are absent one from the other. I love you very much.

Grammy