keeping it in the family

so my family on my dad's side all have these baller hand-knit stockings. my grandma originally made them in the 70's, then whipped up new ones as new family members cropped out. if someone had a baby or got married, they got a new stocking to welcome them to their first weigel christmas. my aunt karen is fostering a girl and this is her first christmas with us, so naturally, she needed a stocking. since my grandma passed away in may, the task fell to me. my aunt gave me the yarn (including some from my grandma's original stash) and the pattern my grandma used. it's very old and creased and has her handwritten notes all over it. inside the pattern was a piece of graph paper where she charted out all our names. i could see where she shaded in the blocks to spell out 'caitlin' in 1990 or 'andrew' in 1993. it was such a wonderful, sentimental knitting experience. my grandma was the one who taught me to knit, and she was just generally a huge influence on me. my love of dressing up, crafting, imagination games, brooches, perfume all came from her. i love family history and connections. this was probably my favorite knitting project i've ever completed. i'm so proud to have worked the same pattern as my grandma. she was a cool lady.