'Kaffeslabberas': Handmade is Best

Photograph Mads Emil Hilmer, Courtesy Guardian.co.uk

I've never re-blogged an entire article, but this one about "Knitting Nanas" by Lars Eriksen of the Guardian, deserves it. A sweet story about how a contemporary fashion designer collaborates with local senior women in Denmark, it reminded me of how my own beloved grandmother (a superb knitter and crafty person herself) was commissioned by the Hudson's Bay Company to knit amazingly dense, and sturdy, comfortable, woolen jackets for them in the late-seventies. If on the market now, my guess is that these beauties would likely go for $700-900, but of course, I'm doubtful they fetched that much then.  My grandmother, who spoke all of two words in English, was a perfectionist when it came to anything she made by hand. From food, to clothing, to crafts, she had the midas touch. One of the coats which she made by hand remained (somewhat miraculously!) in circulation among my five siblings. What a far more important heirloom than something manufactured, or preciously ornate and sans character.