GG Wisdom

"When in doubt, rip it out."

I know lots of knitters say this.  In the beginning of my knitting journey, she used to tell me "Never be afraid to rip it out. If you see a mistake that you can't live with, you will see it every time you look at your knitting." 

I ignored her a couple of times. - yes I was a brave young girl ignoring her advise.-  I was sorry that I did.  No one else saw the "mistake" that I had made, but I did.  Sometimes I was silly enough to even point it out to people, so they saw it.  

Another time I thought I was following a pattern wrong.  I just kept knitting, ignoring the advise.  I ended up with a sweater with sleeves so long a monkey could have worn it.

Each time I loose count, find I have the wrong number of stitches, drop a stitch, or loose a stitch marker and really mess it up...I hear GG's voice.  Don't get me wrong, she was great at teaching me how to "fix" some of these problems, and some times I do...but when in doubt, I rip it out.

I have a story from GG about when she was in the hospital several years ago.

She had her knitting with her (that goes without saying I guess), and all of the nurses would ask her about what she was knitting.  Some of them had knitting of their own that they brought in to show her.  One nurse was having a terrible time with a project that had over 100 stitches.  She was new to knitting and didn't know what she was doing.  She kept getting the wrong number of stitches.  GG said she looked at it and quickly determined that it was hopeless to "fix" back more than 3 or 4 rows.  She said the entire project was not wrong, but the last part needed to come out.  So, without telling this nurse what she was going to do, she stated "when in doubt, rip it out" and took it off the needles.  She said the nurse gasped and put her hands to her face.  GG told her not to worry and explained as she was ripping out the rows.  The nurse kept repeating, "How will you get it back on the needles? I'm going to have to start all over."  GG calmly told her to watch.  (I have been in this poor woman's shoes and know how she felt, but you are there only once as GG works her magic).  She then picked up the stitches with the ease and careful detail we all know.  She then showed this nurse what to do.  The next day everyone had heard about it, and the nurse was happily showing off her project that was back on track.  GG was now the hero.  She would laugh as she described the nurses face as she "popped those stitches right off the needle."  But in the end, everyone understood that GG knew what she was doing.

GG's Purse

When I was young, it was kind of a joke to ask one of us kids to "get grandma's purse".  We wouldn't mind because there was usually some kind of "surprise" for us in there.  I can remember pencils with my name printed on them, gum, candy, etc.  The funny part was watching one of us try to drag, push, and pull the very, very heavy bag to Grandma.  As kids, we never thought about what else was in there, but it was EXTREMELY heavy.

When I was out on my own, as an adult, Grandma would come to stay with me and not only bring her purse, but usually an extra bag with her needlework.  Her purse was still packed heavy with all sorts of things that usually aren't found in a purse.

You see, one of those times, my apartment had a lot of minor things that were going wrong or falling apart.  I didn't have any tools. My front doorknob was loose, the patio door wouldn't close properly, the cabinets were crooked, etc.  I told her I was waiting for the landlord.  She got her purse and got out a huge SCREWDRIVER! Then gave me a talking to about how I should not wait for a man, or a landlord to fix these repairs.  I was strong, I was capable, I was smart enough to do it on my own.  We spent the weekend "fixing" up the apartment.. but not like you would think with a grandma.  No frilly pillows, curtains, or baking.  We fixed all the repairs and I got a toolbox (small enough to fit in a purse but big enough to take care of things! ha! ha!) It was amazing what she had in that purse.

I thought about GG's purse a couple of weeks ago when I unclogged a drain in my bathroom.  Yep, all by myself.  I first thought I should call the landlord, or maintenance, or the neighbor.  Then I had a GG moment and thought I should at least try myself.  I did it, and out loud made sure GG knew it.

Her extra needlework bag was the same.  If you were knitting and suddenly realized you needed a stitch holder, or a marker, or a tapestry needle, or...just about anything, she wouldn't even say a word and whip it out.  She wanted to be sure you could work on your project and had the right tools.

I now have 2 clear pencil bags full of notions so I can do the same.  I want GG's love of needlework to continue.  I want everyone to feel empowered.

I don't carry a screwdriver in my purse, but I know GG is proud of me...I unclogged my drain AND gave someone a stitch marker all in the last 2 weeks.

1st Post

This is my first post.  I am Beth Ann, GG's granddaughter.  When my son was born, she started calling herself GG so that he wouldn't get her confused with any other "grandma".  It stuck right away...she was pretty powerful when she wanted to be...and even my aunt, cousins, and parents started calling her GG.  It was the perfect name for her...cheery, funny, sassy, and different.
I want to write about my GG, her life, her love of all things fiber (the needlebug), and her wisdom. My memories, stories about her life, stories from others who were lucky to have their lives touched by her, her humor, and of course some patterns!!!!!
She wrote to me every week.  It started when I gave her a page a day calendar.  She said she didn't want me to miss any of the days quotes or artwork, so she turned it over and wrote what she did that day...every day.  At the end of the week she put it in the mail.  I kept all of them.  It has been around 15 years!
I am lucky enough to have some of her "chicken scratch" notes about patterns, her own pattern designs, and samples to go through.
All this, and of course the gossip about "ol Rube".
I miss my GG.