These are my balls of yarn. Ever since last August when my mom showed me how to make morning slippers I have been obsessed. Growing up my two sisters and I were use to our mother creating a beautiful pair of footwear for us that not only kept us warm but were so much better than the store-bought ones you could get.

I have knitted over the years this and that but nothing major. When I went back home in August after my stepdad’s funeral I was determined for mom to show me how to make these. I would be there two weeks and I needed to keep her mind off what had just happen in her life.  Those weeks went fast as she showed me a craft that she learned from her own mother years ago. Since then I have made four pairs and now working on my fifth. When she told me it was a good way to not be bored and stay busy she was not kidding.

Now when I am at the store I go by the yarn and fawn over the many different colors available to me. Sometimes I go overboard and get 11 skeins at one time like at my last visit. It is not only a great way to stay occupied but it is a conversational piece I am discovering as I bring my cloth bag with me when I have to wait somewhere like the doctor office. People will ask me what I am making and soon we are talking like old friends.

I wish I had learned sooner but am glad I finally made the conscious decision to learn. My next project with my mom will be to learn how to make woolen boots. Something that I hope my family will enjoy wearing as they have the slippers. Now when I call her up we have something new to talk about something to get her mind off her worries as we get into where we stand on our latest project.

Every time I pick up my needles I think of my mom and the time we spent in August as we fussed back and forth while I struggled to learn how to get the pattern right. But also it reminds me of two weeks when I had my mom all to myself as we knit in silence and yet we spoke volumes to each other.