I was approached at a fair a couple months ago, but a very nice lady named Donna. She saw the crochet work I was selling (along with my other crafty projects), and had a special request. Many years ago, her grandmother had started a crocheted blanket. It was a bunch of daisies that she made, then intended to crochet together to make the blanket. Alas, she passed before she was able to complete the blanket.
Donna's mother had it lovingly stored for a number of years, then Donna herself had it. No one was able to complete the blanket. When Donna met me, she said she was impressed by the quality of my work and wished to hire me to complete the blanket. Suffice it to say, I was honored that she would entrust me with something so precious.
I took home the pieces, 147 little daisies and the part of the blanket that her grandmother had completed. I stared, counted, researched online, tested and finally figured out how her grandmother was attaching the daisies. It didn't seem quite like any of the instructions I could find, so I had to figure it out and write it down for myself. It was an interesting challenge.
After about 10 hours of work, I got all the daisies connected, and trimmed the whole thing out with a simple shell border. I was elated to be able to call Donna and let her know that her blanket was ready. When she arrived at my house to pick it up, she was so excited to see it. I could see it in her face, and read it in her body language. I was suddenly very worried about what she would think of the job I did. There on the table by the front door was the plastic zippered blanket bag that held this irreplaceable piece of her family. And when she opened it, she was so happy with it. She seemed to get a little choked up, and thanked me profusely for doing such a wonderful job.
By the time she left, with a teary hug, I was fighting back tears.
There have been many projects I have done over the years, for many people, and various reasons. But I will never forget Donna and her grandmother's blanket. It was an honor to have my little part in something with such a history.
