handmade

Spinning Out of Control

| Verónica

I think I’m hooked. Can you get addicted to spinning?

Evidence of my weakness — always in need of a lint brush, walking in clockwise circles.

I only managed this small ball of yarn from 2 ounces of mohair. I’m still spinning yarn of uneven thickness, but it seems to be getting easier.

Two ounces of Shetland Wool yielded 43 yards of yarn.

My first attempt at plying.

My name is Verónica and I am a spinaholic.

Weekends With My Grandmother

| Verónica

I would spend hours beside my grandmother (“Welita” – my abbreviated kid version of “Abuelita”) while she crocheted. We lived next door to her when I was growing up and every weekend I would pack my bag, wave goodbye to Mom and Dad, and skip over to her house. We would watch telenovelas while eating sweet bread with coffee. (I’ve been drinking coffee since I was about 7 thanks to Welita, which explains a lot).

She taught me to crochet a long chain of single stitches. I didn’t get further than that but I felt like a grown-up sitting with her while we each worked our crochet hooks and talked about the evening news and whether our favorite characters on the telenovela would end up together. Years later, I learned to knit but missed the rhythm of my hands weaving the yarn with that single hook. So, I picked up a pattern book and taught myself to crochet.

I made this afghan for my son. I wanted something blue, but not baby blue. This rich cobalt blue and the deep brown offset by the white seemed to work.

They say that smells can stir up long-buried memories. For me, crocheting evokes hot afternoons, the smell of coffee brewing, and the buzz of the television at Welita’s house, and it makes me smile.

Our Family Heirloom Quilts

| Verónica

When I married my husband, he brought three beautiful quilts into our home. The quilts were handmade by his mother, whom I had the honor to meet shortly before she passed away. Besides raising six children, my mother-in-law was a seamstress. She measured, designed, cut and assembled custom-made clothing, mostly dresses for women. She used a combination of hand and machine sewing for her garments.

Along the way, she crafted quilts for each child and grandchild. My husband became the beneficiary of this beautiful Friendship Ring quilt. This quilt has been gently used throughout the years to cover sleepy boys (and husbands). My husband has fleeting memories of dresses made from the same patterns and colors of the fabrics in his mother’s quilts.

This second quilt is a simple whole cloth quilt (red background). She must have used a thicker batting because this quilt is heavier than the others. The weight is comforting somehow when you snuggle up underneath it.

The third quilt was a gift for our son. The little Dutchmen pattern with the blue borders was just right for his crib.

These are our family heirlooms. We chose not to display them on a wall but rather use them as they were intended – to cover cold toes and keep hearts warm.