Tenuous Shoe-Horn for Your Loved Ones!

Hey folks,

It's the summer linky  party hosted by Jo. This years theme is Loved Ones...

If you ask me about loved ones, my first thought is always my Nan and Grandad. I do love my kids - my son is funny, sensitive, loyal, clever and a whole other bunch of awesome other stuff. My daughter is crackers, determined, kind and helpful and also very creative. We went to the local country park Friday and made more jewellery. it's always lots of fun and she gave my daughter a bag of beads! - this is Lot's bead collection once we added the new lot of beads. She's very good at designing and makes lovely things. She clearly will be a stash addict and have her own SABLE and she is only 7 now! 

So on to Nan and Grandad, growing up they lived 120 miles away in Surrey, so all time spent with them was so precious. I spent every summer at their house for at least 2 weeks travelling the 120 miles without going on a motorway, all through the Cotswolds, I used to entertain myself by writing down all the pub names along the way - 117 if I remember rightly. We had a dog back in the 80's/90's called Jade who knew when we were about 10 minutes away and would get really excited! They came up 3 or 4 times a year too as Nan's sisters lived locally. Even in my 20's I'd get the 3 trains to their house for the weekend. They were wonderful, wonderful people and I miss them loads.

I think like most people of their generation they had so many hands on skills. Grandad was a carpenter and his shed was an incredible place. He would give me off cuts of wood and help me make stuff. I remember making a sofa for my Barbie and Nan cut up an old shirt to help me make covers for it.  When I started making jewellery at 13, Grandad made me a bead storage box. I still have it and I may get it out of the garage and put my stitching tools in. Nan knitted, crocheted and embroidered and was a fantastic gardener. She taught me to embroider and I remember our market had a haberdashery stall and you could buy printed embroidery pieces and threads. She showed me how to do it one summer.

I also have a blanket she knitted for me when I was in my late teens as she was making them for the great-grandchildren at the time. mine is made up of all the wool oddments she had in the footstool. I can remember what she used some of the wools for too. (the darker green at the top was a cardi)

 After they had both passed my Mum found a needlepoint that Nan had started and brought it home for me to finish. I had to match all the wool as most was missing. I had only been stitching for 6 months maybe and didn't know much about it, but I finished it.

My Grandad was born in Wimbledon but grew up on Box Hill, this picture is one of my favourites and was taken the year before Nan died on Box Hill. I was the youngest of the grandchildren of 4 so I think the time I spent with them was special to them too. I wish they could have met my children because they would have loved them (they got to see all of the other Great-Grandchildren, but I was the only one to get married and Nan died 6 months after I got married, just 7 days after their 58th wedding anniversary. Grandad died 15 months later just 7 weeks before I had Tom, I'm not sure If he knew I was pregnant as he had quite advanced dementia by then, but my son is named after 3 generations of Grandad's family.

I've enjoyed reading the other stories that have linked up, so pop over and read them if you haven't done so already.

Thanks for stopping by and happy stitching.