One Less Knitter

Mayme J. Olson was buried last Friday.  She didn't write patterns, or create new and innovative ways to increase or decrease. . .she just knit.  She made hundreds of pairs of mittens. . .maybe thousands.  None were fancy, and most were made out of Red Heart acrylic yarn.  She actually scorned wool (I know--who could think it?).  Each of her grandchildren were blessed with at least a granny square afghan made from scraps of yarn left from the mittens, and many received a "good" afghan made in a ripple stitch pattern in the colors of their choice.

She taught me to knit and crochet, and though I didn't enjoy the knitting, I do remember her chastising me to "stop knitting on the tips" so that my stitches would be loose enough to be knit into on the next row--they never were.  When I last saw her, she was proud to tell her friends that she had taught me to knit, although she didn't actually remember who I was. . .her memory and mind were failing her, but still, she was knitting a scarf for the needy.  Her hands remembered what to do, and her kindness continued to reach out to others.


As funeral arrangements were planned, no one knew where to direct memorial donations. . .but no one asked me.  I know what Mae would have appreciated.  Teach someone to knit. . .and if you feel moved, knit a pair of mittens, or a hat or scarf. . .and donate them in the memory of my grandma to someone needy.  And use Red Heart, that's what Grandma would have liked.