The Close Knit Family

By Andrea Boeshaar

This is what the Guernsey Wrap is SUPPOSED to look like...
I won't show you what mine looks like!

I'm a novice when it comes to knitting and crocheting. I did, however, manage to knit and crochet scarves for my grandchildren, my daughter-in-law, and a son's girlfriend for gifts last Christmas. But when it came to creating a Guernsey Wrap from a pattern last February, I struggled -- and it's just knitting and purling! But it's enough to get me turned inside out. So I put that project aside for now and decided to make my newly-born granddaughter, Ashelee, a blanket. It's a single crochet stitch -- and crochet goes much faster than knitting, at least for me.

And just as some handmade projects pose challenges, family dynamics can be taxing too. I adore my grandchildren. But....well, you know the old adage: A son is a son till he takes a wife but a daughter's a daughter the rest of her life. I gave birth to three sons and raised them to be independent, hard-working men not mama's boys. A pity in a sense bcause I don't see my "guys" as often as I'd like to -- which means I don't get to see my grandbabies enough either! The fact caused me a lot of pain. But as I knitted the scarves for the grandkids last year, and now as I crochet baby Ashlee's blanket, I realize that my family is just a stitch away. 

The beginning of Ashlee's blanket.

With each single crochet stitch, I think about Ashlee being snug and warm under the multicolored blanket I'm making her. I think about which songs I'll sing to her as I rock her to sleep. Maybe "I Can Sing A Rainbow" -- my mom used to sing that song to my sons when they were little.

 I think about last year's scarves keeping little pink cheeks from frostbite. With each stitch I pray my precious grandchildren will all come to know the Lord Jesus and will live to glorify Him.

Through knitting and crocheting, I've discovered a way to stitch my family and loved ones close to my heart. Then they're never too far away.