From Me to You

Burrrrrr......rub arms up and down each other.....run for coffee.....stand by heater. Yep, that is what my first minutes of my day were like. If you haven't guessed by now---let me tell you then,  Babe-it is cold outside!!!! I know, it is December and I do live in upper Western New York---but, for me, it never gets any easier. The sad thing is that we just started our cold weather. Winter is not officially here for 7 days. Not going to complain though-----this past summer was so painfully hot to me. We are now getting the cold weather that I remember begging for. Be careful for what you ask for people.
I am posting a picture of this gentleman. I have never met him, I can't even tell you his name. I do know that he is a nice man---how can he not be, he is the father to one of my friends from the Center. I love this picture for a few reasons. One---he asked her to show it to me. Two----he is loving on this afghan that was made just for him. Three----It touches my heart.

The gift of warmth and love

In the middle of this past summer, my whole house was torn upside down. We had the Amish come and do some major work on roofs, ceilings, walls and doors. It was greatly needed, but much chaos and mess. During this time, my poor little Gia (yorkiepoo), hurt her back and couldn't walk or stand. It was so stressful and terrible. Well, life is life and we never know what will happen from one day to the next. I received a text from a friend of mine-Rochelle. Her mom just passed away suddenly. I remember standing in my kitchen just starring at my phone. So sad. So hard to think about. It took me back to when my mother was suddenly and tragically taken from me. There are those moments in life that you will always know where you were and what you were doing when it strikes. Needless to say---I felt so bad for her and her family.  Immediately placed them into my prayers.  I can't remember the sequence of events or the exact time space of everything because of what was happening on my home front, but I did receive a call from Rochelle some time later. She told me about finding an afghan that her mom was in the middle of making for her dad. She asked me if I could finish it. I was so shocked and moved that she would think of asking me this. What an honor. This afghan clearly meant something to all of them. This clearly needed to be finished and gifted to her dad. Rochelle only had the partially completed afghan and a couple more skeins of the yarn her mom was using. I would have to figure out what hook she used and figure out the stitch pattern.

Rochelle and her husband dropped off the package to me on a very hot sunny day. They were gracious enough to look past all of the crazy chaos happening at my home. When you have people come to your home the first time---there is always an urge and a need for it to be clean and orderly. Well, not in this case. God bless them. I remember peering into the bag and thinking to myself- sure, no problem-easy peasy--but what the heck kind of stitch is this???? I knew it was some sort of a shell stitch. That was it. I tried pulling back the yarn to unravel a few stitches---but it did not make sense. Some of the stitches were done differently then the others. I took it to another friend of mine who crochets a great deal. She too, had a similar problem figuring it out. She even brought out all of her hooks to help figure out what size I needed.  After a few hours, we came up with a stitch that we thought worked well, and I was on my way to the store to buy the hook that I needed.

I worked on the afghan at night when things were calmer and cooler in the house. I would think of Rochelle and her family. I prayed to her mom and asked her to help me finish this in a good way. I prayed to Creator to help bless my stitching, help me re-create what this woman had done. I kept thinking about how important this afghan was and what it meant to the family. I felt so honored and humbled every time I sat and worked on it.

The day finally came when I was finished. I was so happy that it was done and looked good. I honestly could not tell where her mom ended and where I picked up. Mission accomplished. I made the call to Rochelle and happy to tell her the news. She picked it up and away she went. I have thought many times about that afghan and the meaning of it. I have thought many a time of her mom in heaven watching me work on her gift to her husband. I have crocheted many items in the past---but I am a Quilter to the bone. Working on this afghan made me use muscles I have not used in a long time. It made me reflect on the meaning of creating something, of gifting, of our family and loved ones, on extending ourselves to help others, the joys and pains of life.

So----needless to say, I was very happy when her father had this picture taken of him and asked her to forward it to me. He loves it and he said it is so warm. Way awesome!!! Way good!!! Today was so cold to me when I got out of bed----I couldn't help thinking of cuddling under quilts and afghans. This picture is picture perfect for today.