Legacies

My friend Christina's mother passed away in October and her family had to go through all of her things. Jeanne was a knitter and it turns out she had lovely taste in yarn--all natural fibers in glowing shades and exquisite textures. Christina came back from Chicago with a large box of yarn and needles, but also several unfinished projects just needing assembly.

She's spent a few days finishing up a baby sweater.

My knitting guild also gets such projects on a regular basis. Someone volunteers to knit them up and we donate them to charity.

I've inherited many needles and yarns and patterns over the years, but I also know if I got hit by a New York bus this evening, I'd leave a lot of semi-finished sweaters for my family to deal with.

Flylady sends around an essay where she asks "What's your legacy?" First, how much stuff will you leave behind? But more basically, what messages are you sending to your family by holding on to all this stuff? By not finishing?

I've been pondering taking the knit-from-your-stash pledge. Whether it's a New York bus, or lightening, or something I see coming, it would be nice to leave the ones I love clothed in love.