Traditions handed down... 3 generations

Today is the 110th anniversary of my grandmother's birth. I have been thinking a lot about my grandmother and my mother lately. I have been doing some crocheting as I have mentioned in past posts. Crochet is a tradition that has been passed down in my family. My grandmother taught me the basics when I was in about the 5th grade or so. I made a yellow potholder. :0) My grandmother could crochet faster than anyone I have ever seen. You literally could hardly see the hook moving, her hands would just fly. She even continued to crochet by feel after her eyesight was nearly completely gone. I remember her making countless afghans, thread table cloths and bedspreads, doilies and even crochet bead necklaces like the ones in this Etsy shop. I was always fascinated by these necklaces. When I was in about the second grade, she made a small dolly blanket for my doll. My niece, Allison (great grand-daughter), now has this blanket with her collectable dolls, which makes me happy. My grandmother passed away in November of 1987 during my freshman year of college. Less than a year later my niece, Kayla was born. I know she would have loved to have seen her.

My mother has also enjoyed crochet. She has made many, many baby gifts for friends and family among many other things as well. On my recent visit to Illinois, my mother passed many of her patterns and a good deal of her yarn and cotton thread, and even some unfinished projects on to me. My mother's health is failing and she doesn't foresee doing much more crocheting ever again. Although it makes me sad that she no longer can enjoy this hobby, I am glad to have some of her things. There is a connection there, you know?

Lately I have been working on a dress that I started for my niece Allison when she was a baby 17 years ago. I didn't get it done before she outgrew the size it was intended to be and at the time I felt like it was pointless to finish it. Now for whatever reason, I feel the need to get it done. The pattern comes from the same book that contains the pattern that my grandmother used to make a sweater set for me when I was born. The pages are worn and yellowed and the pictures are all black and white. I can almost imagine my grandmother's hands holding that book nearly 40 years ago and it strikes a chord that resonates deep within me someplace.

I am a little saddened by the fact that I do not have a daughter to pass these traditions and memories along to. Maybe someday.

The pictures at the top of this post are representative of the three generations. The book is the one that belonged to my grandmother, opened to the page with the pattern she used for my sweater set. The blue and pink set is one of my mother's unfinished projects, and the white is the dress I started 17 years ago.

Now, on a completely different note.... There is cause for celebration at our house! Most of you are unaware that my husband quit his job at the end of August. It was a difficult situation, and his resignation was really the best thing for everyone involved. It required a real test of our faith in God as he was walking away from that job with no new job to go to. Today, God was more than faithful to us. My husband accepted a job offer! He will be working in the field for which he earned his Associates degree two years ago. On top of that he will actually be making just slightly more money than he was making previously. This is a huge blessing because we were afraid that taking an entry level position in this field would require a SERIOUS pay cut. We were prepared for one or both of us to have to look for a second job. Now we do not have to do that and we will be able to make ends meet with out that added struggle. God is truly amazing! The timing is perfect, the job is exactly what he was looking for and something he is sort of uniquely qualified for, the pay is right, the benefits are good, and all of this in tough economic times. This is just a real blessing for us. We went out to dinner to celebrate tonight. :0)