The Best Blend

My wife and I both had previous lives that we have now combined. I think it’s important to understand this as I attempt to explain the significance of what she’s done. In addition to many other dynamics, we have a very blended family. I’ve brought adult children, grandchildren, and even a great grandchild recently, into our family. As part of this, we have many stepchildren and even step grandchildren in our incredible family that my, slightly younger wife, has welcomed with open arms. She has clearly embraced the role of “Gamma” and is the patriarch of our family.

A bit over a year ago she was loaned a very nice embroidery and sewing machine from her mother. It wasn’t her first foray into sewing. She had accumulated a massive collection of Fiskars scissors, thread, and scraps of material, but this started a new phase that has touched many lives in our circle of friends and family… and etched her solidly into the role of “Craft Queen” around the globe. Ok… globe may be an embellishment, but she certainly is in our home, and in a few others.

It started with a headband or two and no patterns to speak of. She measured out a couple of random pieces of cloth, pinned her borders, and cut away. After a bit of stitching and some creative bedazzling with fabric flowers, made by hand, some ribbon, maybe a tassel or two… she had created a handful of headbands for a granddaughter, a niece, and a family friend.

The reaction from these little girls of four, five, and eight years of age was, of course, smiles and giggles and a lot of pride. More importantly to me was the smile, pride, and sense of connection my wife seemed to get from creating and the appreciation from those little girls. This creation and moment of sharing sparked a fire that will not go out anytime soon. Seriously, by the look of what used to be a rec room and has now become the Craft Queen’s lair, you would think we were a global entity.

Now phase two launched with the creation of a little girl’s dress, made from scratch with no pattern, out of eclectic multi-colored scraps of fabric, ribbons and tassels, and hours of commitment. After a couple days of trial and error, a four-year-old granddaughter had a plastered smile that went beyond ear to ear. The joy in both my granddaughter and wife was so awesome… a second dress… and then a third… and fourth, were quickly produced.

Gamma was thrilled with the joy it brought. Our granddaughter was living a dress up fantasy and felt a connection to Gamma that will likely last eternity. Prancing through the house, spinning, twirling, and bragging about her growing collection of dresses. Constant smiles, Constant joy, and of course, constantly following Gamma around to see what was going to be next.

Next came shortly after. A couple months into dress making, Gamma felt the need to step up the joy level and began making matching dresses. Not duplicate dresses, but rather matching dresses on a smaller scale for child and their stuffed animal of choice. Now, we know this is not a new concept in the sewing world… but for this Gamma and this granddaughter, it was. And it went over with a bang. A new level of joy, a new level of ear to ear grins, and a new level creativity for gamma.

I’ll fast forward a few months and bring this to a close…

Several little girls now have beautiful dresses, headbands, and masks (thanks to Covid), as well as, matching dresses, headbands, and masks for their stuffed bears, unicorns, and puppies.

And this husband/father/grandfather has a newfound appreciation, immense joy, and deep love for the woman we now refer to (I do anyways) as the Craft Queen.