My grandmother taught me a lot of needlework crafts. It is because of her that I know how to tat. She encouraged my sisters and me in all things that we did and made. My grandmother was also a master of simple fun. She could entertain my sisters and me all day with a piece of string, a button, and a handkerchief! She knew a lot of tricks. We learned to make a doll from a handkerchief and also the love knot!
She taught us the magic trick of how to cut off our fingers or head with a piece of string. She even taught my son that trick which he performed for his second grade magic show years ago.
My grandmother always appreciated the things that we made for her. Even when we were very young and our attempts were not of top quality she always complimented us and said whatever it was that we had made was "the most beautiful she had ever seen." I always loved hearing that. My sisters and I sometimes joked about wanting to be the last to give her a gift because then our gift would be "the most beautiful." I know now that the beauty she saw in all the gifts was not just in the item and how it was made but in the love, thought, and time that went into its creation.
When I was young she made these pin cushions for me. I don't think I appreciated them when she gave them to me but now I think they are truly the most beautiful I have ever seen and they are the ones that I use all the time when I am sewing.
