[Nfb-krafters-korner] FW: Honoring a Very Special Woman

Tue Sep 5 10:57:15 UTC 2017

From: Denise Interchangeables [mailto:info=knitdenise.com at mail138.suw14.mcdlv.net] On Behalf Of Denise Interchangeables
Sent: Friday, September 01, 2017 2:38 PM
To: Powers, Terry (NIH/NCI) [E] <terry.powers at nih.gov>
Subject: Honoring a Very Special Woman

For my Grammy.

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You may notice a theme to the photos above and below.  Today we are honoring my grandmother, Greta Krag, who loved family, flowers and the color purple.  She also loved knitting and was part of the Red Hat Society, predicated on the belief that growing old could be done with style, grace, fun - and brilliant color.  The sets and accessories below are not new, but they have a special meaning for us.  Read on for more of our story.

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We call this one "Italian Glass, Red<http://knitdenise.us9.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=d323bad9ec85794f14846600e&id=bbcb7948da&e=9dc5bcbe89>," as opposed to "Italian Glass, Purple<http://knitdenise.us9.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=d323bad9ec85794f14846600e&id=16dc76f288&e=9dc5bcbe89>" (seen below in the complete version), but both have purple and both have red.  It's all about which strikes your fancy the most on any given day.  With US 5/3.75-10/6mm needles and a G6/4mm crochet hook, it's perfect for travel and projects on sport-weight to heavy worsted or light bulky yarns.  It's vibrant, compact, and versatile.

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This Denise2Go for Knitting, Complete set is a Limited Edition in "Italian Glass, Purple<http://knitdenise.us9.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=d323bad9ec85794f14846600e&id=a9cee41dd6&e=9dc5bcbe89>."  Containing the same 10 needle pairs (US5/3.75-15/10mm) and cords as our original hard-shelled kit, this set has enough sizes to cover sport-weight through super bulky yarns.

Grammy Greta was a breast cancer survivor and an enthusiastic proponent of the S.D. Ireland Cancer Research Fund, the fund our Pink Project<http://knitdenise.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d323bad9ec85794f14846600e&id=e8653755b2&e=9dc5bcbe89> supports.  She was always excited when we came out with a new product to add to the Pink Collection<http://knitdenise.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d323bad9ec85794f14846600e&id=c2a441abef&e=9dc5bcbe89>.  Especially if it had purple.  And flowers.

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My grandmother, Greta Krag, would have been 93 at the end of this month. Last night, surrounded by family, she died peacefully and at ease.

What I have been thinking about so much today is my Grammy Greta's hands.  Grammy had piano-player fingers - long and strong.  I grew up watching her clever hands execute a wide range of tasks: canning jams and jellies, cracking nuts from her almond and walnut trees, plucking oranges and lemons from the trees outside her kitchen door, and feeding beautiful fabric through her sewing machine.

Grammy's hands were no-nonsense as they taught me how to break down a whole chicken and chop a huge bundle of chard from my grandfather's garden.  She liked things pretty, too, and taught my sister and me how to fold napkins into fans, how to set the table properly, and how to make the sheets lie perfectly flat when making the bed.

Grammy did not teach me to knit, but she gave me my very first Denise kit, about 15 years before we bought the company.  It had been hers, but she had stopped knitting and didn't take it up again until we brought Denise from Illinois here to Virginia.  From that point until a couple months ago when her hands were hurting too badly, she always had a prayer shawl going, knitting continental style as her Danish mother had taught her.

Grammy could never understand why I prefer to "throw" my yarn, having learned to knit from my British Canadian Nana - my mother's mother.  Even a month ago when I visited Grammy with my 6-year old daughter, Claire, she couldn't believe I wasn't teaching Claire to knit continental!  We had a good laugh about it.  She let Claire dig in her yarn closet regardless, and it was easy to feel the love there - the prayer shawls to come, the soft colors she favored, and the joy of giving to her great-granddaughter.

Last week when I spoke with her on the phone, Grammy told me how much she loved reading our weekly newsletters, especially the ones that had little details about us and our family.  She often replied to them, just a quick hello and a word of appreciation for some little element - a pretty fabric or a sentence about Claire.  I will miss those emails.

Thank you, Grammy, for all you taught me about love and family and daily life.  Thank you for being part of Claire's life and the central figure in about one third of all the stories I tell her that begin with "when I was a little girl."  Thank you for being a living demonstration of how every day can be filled with beauty and grace as well as strength and humor.

With love,
Emily

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Our mailing address is:
Denise Interchangeable Knitting & Crochet
1618 Miller School Rd.
Charlottesville, Va 22901

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