A Homemade Life: The Granny Throw

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She was a homemaker. At parties, Angie sometimes said, “I’m a domestic engineer.” Same difference. With three kids, two dogs, and Mike, who spent long hours at his hardware franchise, Angie often wondered how they’d manage if she didn’t have great organizing skills and abundant energy.

Angie, like her husband, thrived on life’s routines and complexities. But no matter what, she always took time to crochet. It wasn’t just a pastime. It was the feeling that crochet preserved her. Those minutes each day, hook and yarn in hand, cleared out stress and focused her on something productive that became something beautiful.

Her newest project was a classic Granny Throw, to replace the one Mike’s mom had made years before. That was now beyond repair. Yet it was the family “lovey,” a comfort of their daily lives, and Angie didn’t want them to do without.

The Granny Throw comprised twelve generous squares that worked up quickly on a K hook. She’d done each one in spare moments, often while waiting in the car to pick up the kids from school. Angie adored the subtly variegated yarn, called Tweed Stripes^®. Earth-toned, with occasional bright accents, it had a woodsy quality that complemented their maple furniture, corduroy upholstery, and braided rugs.

Angie placed the finished throw on the couch, and waited to see who noticed first. Six-year-old Daisy, of course. It was Friday, after supper, when the kids were allowed a movie before bedtime. Daisy put on her pajamas, brushed her teeth, and raced downstairs ahead of her brothers. Leaping onto the couch, she automatically pulled down the throw. Angie heard her call, “Mommy, there’s a new lovey! It’s so-o-o beautiful!”

Jake and Tyler joined their sister. “Hey, let us have it!”

“What’s up, you guys?” Angie asked, coming into the family room. The kids tussled some, then finally cuddled into the Granny Throw. Faces shining, slippered feet sticking out beyond their new blanket, they were eager to watch the film.

At times like this Angie knew why she loved the life she and Mike had made.

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All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

A story by Selma Moss-Ward.

Selma Moss-Ward writes and knits in Rhode Island. You can find her work on our blog, as well as Lion Brand’s monthly newsletter, Pattern Journal, which you can subscribe to here.