My 93 year old mother is now residing in a nursing home. She informed me when I called to inquire about what she would like for her birthday that she wanted to try to knit again. She said it had to be something very easy. I sent her a book with lots of photographs and very easy beginner patterns and a variety of yarn. I jokingly stuck sticky notes at a couple of places suggesting what she could make for me. On later calls, she told me her knitting memory was starting to come back to her, but it made her hands hurt at first. She persisted, and I got a call from her one morning asking me to confirm my address. I was shocked actually, because while she can make all the calls she wants, this was the first time she tried. So when the package came, I immediately opened it to see what she had knitted. There were three projects: a mat like you would put under a vase or lamp with the bulky turquoise blue yarn knitted in a garter stitch and much nicer than I had thought it would be; the muffler I have on in the picture that was very soft; and a smaller version for me to send to my granddaughter Pam. My sister, who lives near her, said Mom had grown tired of the muffler project. She is now crocheting little cozies for pop cans that the residents will sell to raise money for their activities room. The only thing that could make the photo better is if she could have been in it also. I will always treasure this muffler, as I do of my memories of all the mittens she knitted for us when we were little.
