Rembering

I remember my first Tunisian project.  We had been going to the nursing home to see my father-in-law.  Each time we went, he'd look at me and state he was cold.  Unable to get him warm enough with the blankets from the nursing home, I decided I would crochet him his own blanket.

I used three colors, his favorites: light blue, medium blue, and dark blue.  I crocheted what seemed at the time, a gazillion 3" squares with the Tunisian technique and then started to assembled them.  I also crocheted a large square that took the place of a few of the smaller blocks, as this square I had special plans for.  Then I decided that the afghan needed to be longer so I made a huge rectangle for the top.  (That decision came with a price I hadn't planned on -- due to the weight of the extreme number of stitches on my hook, I ended up spraining my thumb.)  But he was cold, so I pressed on, right through the pain.  I finished joining all the pieces except for the large square.  For that, I had to have some extra work done first before I could join it.

I took it to a place that could sew on his name.  Yep, with this much work (and pain) invested in his special afghan, I was not about to have it "walk."  So I had his name, in 2" letters, stitched professionally on the square.  I also cross-stitched on a red heart to represent all of the family's love for him.  After I joined this last square I took out my sewing machine.  Here I added on the entire backside, an adorable duck theme flannel backing.  Oh, this afghan was heavy!

On our next visit to the nursing home, I presented the afghan to him.  After a few moments of having the afghan on, he turned to me and said, "I'm finally warm."  He enjoyed that afghan to his very last day.

Yesterday was the anniversary of his passing, so it will be a little rough today as we think of this loving man.  Fortunately, we have many fond memories of him to cherish.  AND, we have the blanket still in the family as an heirloom, as part of his legacy.  Now my sister-in-law is currently enjoying it.  Once, she said to me that she loved wrapping it around her as it was like receiving a hug from him.  I love that the afghan is continuing to give warmth -- this time it's giving warmth to the heart.

So that's my message for today and for Easter:  (it doesn't matter if you practice the same religion or not )
              May we remember,
               may we cherish, 
             and may we rejoice
              in all that we do.