My grandmother- my Nana Dot, was a happy and strong woman that lived to be almost 95 years old. She was known for her signature drink; the whiskey sour, her family business; The White Swan and her childhood nickname; Giggles. To me, she was responsible for providing me with my favorite childhood tradition...Nana Dot's Christmas Eve party. To be honest, there was nothing innately special about this party other than it was about family, long time traditions and I loved every minute of it!
When she passed away in May, my mom gave me a box of her old aprons, linens, and gloves. I immediately knew that I wanted to commemorate her in some way through stitch using the stories, traditions, and memories that she left behind. I also knew that I wanted it to be a gift to my mom.
The aprons were beautiful and the vintage handkerchiefs were finely stitched but I was drawn to the gloves. There is something so intimate about a pair of gloves. The gloves were so carefully cared for that they did not even look worn but I know that at one time or another, her hands were tightly wrapped in this fabric. Knowing this gave me a mutual sense of sadness and comfort. Stitching these gloves made me feel very close to her.
The stitching isn't perfect, some of the words are hard to read but none of that really matters. Christmas was definitely different this year but there will never be a Christmas that I don't think back to all of the wonderful Christmas Eve parties and remember Nana Dot in her party jewelry, drinking a whiskey sour and hopping around to her big band music.
