Early Signs of Crafty Tendencies

I didn't think of myself as a crafty/arty type for most of my life. I identified myself more by my A-student-and-president-of-Science-Club side.

Now as I look back I realize when I add up the pebble-mosaic-by-number kit, pastels requested one Christmas and good watercolors as a surprise another, extra art projects and more art classes than usual for a college-prep track, years spent as an avid gardener, repeated bouts of embroidery flirtation and sewing frustration, a flair for 'merchandise presentation' in a past career and home decoration currently, a fascination with color theory and a penchant for HB pencils and ring-bound sketch pads, my obsession with knitting over the last nine years shouldn't really be a surprise to anyone, much less to me.

Recently I've spent a lot of time sorting through the many things my 80-year-old mother has kept from my and my four siblings' childhoods as we move her out of her current house. Yesterday she unearthed this. I made this doll and her two wee companions as a gift for no particular reason to one of my sisters.

I remember just having a desire to make something and rummaging for bits and pieces of cloth in the household rag bag. I cut up the remains of an ancient baby blanket and old t-shirts. I also used up some too-small bits of old lace and ribbon from the Trimmings Box - corollary of the Button Jar in our house. I loved old cotton lace.

I think I was in about fourth grade, maybe fifth and felt very pleased both then and now with how it turned out. Since the dolls didn't actually work to play with much, my very young sister tired of them quickly and gave them back. I'm not sure the larger doll's been out of her shoe box bed since I put her there over forty years ago.

The memory made a nice connection between my child and adult selves, but I gave her up once more - after I took a few photos. This process with my mother has been more about letting go and simplifying with the reconnection as a by-product.

No, that does not mean I'm down-sizing my yarn stash.