Some sad news in my family this week. My Grandma Esther died on Sunday. She was 96 and had been ill for a while. Her death wasn't a shock, but it hurts all the same.
My grandmother and I didn't have a lot in common -- she loved to gamble, play bingo and watch talk and game shows. She didn't really understand why my parents and I were so into traveling and had no interest in classical music or books as we did. But one thing that she and I did share was that she was an artist. She was a very talented knitter and made me dozens of gorgeous sweaters, hats, scarves and bedspreads over the years. She rarely sold her pieces and called her kntting a "hobby," but her work was above and beyond. Even skilled knitters marveled at the beauty and intricacy of her pieces.
While she always encouraged me in anything I did, she was particularly interested in my jewelry making. In addition to being a talented knitter, she was pretty crafty and often made art projects at the senior center. So me making jewelry was something that she could relate to and understand. Most people just like to look at my stuff, but she like to hear the details of how I made each piece.
The last two times I visited her at the hospital she was pretty out of it, but she still wanted to hear about my jewelry. She even told the nurses about it and encouraged them to buy my pieces for the holidays! My Grandma Esther was definitely a feisty woman and spoke her mind all the way until the end.
I've never had an interest in knitting, but I still have most of the pieces that she made for me and will of course, treasure them. This isn't the greatest shot (it's a photo of a photo), but here are the yarmulkes that she made for our wedding in 2000. She made about 150 of them completely by hand, without any assistance! My dad then made that sign with her photo so she could get proper credit.
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