A Labor of Love

Have you ever worked on a crochet project that you considered a “labor of love”?

I’ve been working on one ever since the day after my mom’s memorial service on Feb. 20^th, 2016. My mom passed away at 82 years young on Feb. 11 unexpectedly (not from a long illness). Just 23 days before she passed away, she bought some baby yarn at her local Michaels craft store to crochet a baby blanket for my first grandchild that we’re expecting at the beginning of June (in China). My mom had a favorite baby blanket pattern that she enjoyed crocheting and she wanted to make it for her great grandchild, even though her fingers weren’t working as well as they used to due to having arthritis for many years and the crippling effect it can have on a person’s hands/fingers. Here’s a photo of the baby afghan that my mom enjoyed making:

Mom’s Favorite Baby Afghan pattern

This afghan pattern came in a kit with the yarn and pattern way back when (probably in the 70’s or 80’s). My mom kept the pattern and purchased new yarn whenever she wanted to crochet another baby blanket. I think the colors are fabulous, especially since I love pastels!

Well, she told me that she was crocheting this blanket for my coming grandchild shortly after she started it. I was surprised and delighted that she was crocheting again! A few days after she died, I remembered the baby blanket. So when I was at her house after her memorial service, I asked my step-dad about the blanket. He helped me locate it and I brought it home with me to finish for my mom. She had finished a full strip of 19 curved sections and a partial strip with the first 7 curves done. This blanket has 7 strips with 19 curved sections in each strip.

My mom tried to teach me to knit when I was a child, but I wasn’t very good at it. So I stuck with embroidery and counted cross stitch instead until my best friend taught me to crochet in high school. My mom said she did a lot of knitting for our family when we were little. Unfortunately, I don’t have any of her knitting. I suppose it got lost over the years, especially after my parents divorced back in the early 70’s. I do have a green afghan that my mom crocheted for me about 10 years ago, though. I don’t know when my mom learned to crochet. Maybe she learned before me or maybe after me. It’s a mystery to me. But I think I got my creativeness from her. Here’s a picture of my mom from my middle son’s wedding in 2009 (the same son who’s having his first child in June):

My Mom in 2009

For 3 weeks, I worked on this baby blanket for my son, my daughter-in-law and their baby-to-be. I finished it about a week ago. It has been a true “labor of love” to be able to finish this blanket that my mom started before she died. I felt close to her whenever I worked on it and I know my mom would be pleased that I picked up where she left off. I’m so glad that I know how to crochet so I could finish it! Here’s the finished afghan for you to see: