These days, I’m working on this 10-stitch hand-knit blanket, from a design by Frankie from Ravelry

Almost finished. Darren loves the colors! He relishes intense colors and naturally, he loves textiles because he grew up in a culture and region where the creation of textiles fed the spirit and continues to be celebrated. I grew up surrounded by textile-making too. Since my grandmother was an entrepreneur, one of the items she sold was cloth. Several of my aunts and cousins sewed most of their own clothes, for their children, for others in the community. And the older women in the family quilted, so I learned early how to sew and discovered my love affair with fibers, fabrics, threads.

I’ve already bought my 2-year old granddaughter a little electric magenta and teal colored sewing machine. I gave her the first sewing lesson on it when she was 25 months old. She stitched felt squares together and made a table mat. Of course, we were all proud of her, but what was most important was that she was so proud of herself! That laid the foundation in her mind for a thought system: that if she could do that, she could do anything.