She seeks wool and flax,and works willingly with her hands. Proverbs 31:13
Busy
hands is the theme of this week's tribute to Proverbs 31 women.
Alice, my grandmother certainly had busy hands, even though she
suffered crippling arthritis in her hands. I remember her knitting
all grandchildren, a jersey for Birthdays, and I know at one stage
she spun. She also sewed and embroidered and made lace. As she got
older and the arthritis set in, it was just knitting and machine
sewing with a bit of crochet thrown in. And even older still – I
talking about her 80s and nineties she did a lot of scrapbooking. Her
hands were always busy.
She
was heavily involved with WI (Women's Institute), and at one time the
president for the whole of New Zealand. She really believed that all
women and girls should know homemaking skills. She taught my mother
how to sew and knit, as her own mother had not taught her (she was a
career woman and everything was brought ready made.) When I was eight
and my sister was six she had us for the holidays and taught us to
knit and embroider. I find it sad that the generation of today are
losing these skills, the computer and TV have a lot to answer for.
Mind you, the price of wool and materials, make it an expensive
option for clothing.
I
used coloured pencils this week, and found it a struggle to do the
hands. I tend to hide hands if at all possible when painting and
drawing! I used pencil, as by the time I worked out the hands, I
didn't have time to do a painting.
Linked
to Paint Party Friday and Spiritual Sundays
