The Joy of Making Things

Once upon a time people used to make things. People cooked their food and made cakes and they made their clothing and they pretty much made everything.

Then technology took over and people didn't makes things any more. They stopped knitting and sewing and baking and the like. Things were bought, items obtained.

Over the years, things appear to have lost their value as mass production has taken over our daily lives.

Well, I'm of a different era. Being a child of the seventies and a teenager of the eighties, I have my feet in two camps.

I'm a modern woman. I know how to obtain the things that I need. I like nice things too. That's not something to shun.

But I was also raised to be a home maker. Quite strangely, for a modern woman, I love to make things. I love to cook and knit and crochet and my clothes don't get thrown out - they are mended when they get into strife.

Blarney's boys have been told that they're being made a chocolate smartie cake for their birthday until they turn eighteen. I don't give them many things, other than my time, but I will make those chocolate cakes each May. It's my way of showing them that I love them.

When friends have children, I'll move often than not have crocheted them a simple baby blanket. The blankets are always gratefully received. It's just my way of sending love.

So now, I'm sitting on the couch knitting a yellow beanie. I've got the wool for a black one too - it won't take long to knock them up. You see, my niece, Lolly, has just been diagnosed with leukaemia. She's 15. The chemotherapy treatments started on Thursday and in the next few weeks her hair will be falling out. Sensibly, she took the advice to cut her hair short, and she took the liberty to dye it pink at the same time. Her school mandates that hair must be naturally coloured. She won't be back in school for many months, so why not. On the good side of things, they have a very, very good strike rate at curing this type of leukaemia. She will be one of the survivors.

For me. I've never felt so useless in my life. I'm interstate. I'm watching my sister and her family suffering something that could never be predicted, although they are staying strong and positive.

All I can do, other than contact them regularly with messages of support, is to sit on my couch and knit hats in the hope that my niece realises how much I love her and how I want her to get better soon.

Hopefully the beanies will be warn with a warrior's pride. Warn with the knowledge that there is somebody out there who loves her enough to make her a hat to keep her head warm in these hard times.