Craftiness is Genetic

When you ask crafters where they find inspiration you get the standard answers of nature, other crafters, family, etc, etc. Makes sense. We are products of our environment and what we surround ourselves with. Which is why I decided to focus on my grandmother as a source of inspiration this week. My grandmother just celebrated another birthday this past Sunday and I am continually amazed at how spry she is. Since I am trying to be a good grand-daughter, I won't mention her real age, but let's just say she was school age during the depression. I won't say which school *grin*.

This is as messy as her work area gets.

Anyway, she is such an active person. Still heads up a local group for women trying to lose weight or keep it off (I'm convinced she joined because they get to put on little plays at the larger gatherings and she is in charge of the putting together the script and the costumes), works with the volunteer fire department and takes care of my grandfather, who is somewhere in the range of 10 years younger. Every Christmas she makes ornaments for the entire family and custom makes boxes for each of them. For holidays she has been known to make Santa or Easter Bunny place card holders for the dinner table and has sewn curtains to match the custom made sheets for the beds. Yes, she can make fitted sheets. My favorite is the ginormous Last Suppers she crochets during the winters for family member who are getting married. They are large enough to cover a good sized wall. She also keeps scissors all over the house. There is always a pair just a step away. She made holders for them all using those cheap pot holders you can get anywhere. She folded them into a cone, sewed them up and used the existing loop to hang them by.


To me, she is summed up by looking in her spice cabinet. She makes labels for all the jar lids, has them on a tiered shelf and each row is alphabetized. This is my grandmother. Organized, neat, precise and just a little spicy.