Probably best not to tell them of the double meaning huh?

When I was growing up, my mom was always knitting. She hated casting on though, so she recruited my brother and sister and I to do it for her. She made slippers for our extended family every Christmas and by the time I was nine, us kids could count on every October having to pitch in and knit slippers because she'd get behind. We also all knew how to sew, but I was the only one that took it upon themselves to make clothes for my sister's Barbie.

When I was eleven I spent the summer with my maternal grandparents in rural Oklahoma. On a hot day I was squirming on the couch bored and she was trying to work. She went into a back room and emerged with a small "how to" book and a tatting shuttle. She challenged, "Bet you can't do THIS!" No one knew I was TG, but that kind of challenge is hard for any eleven year old to ignore, and impossible for me. So I spent the rest of the summer mastering it. Tatting is similar to crochet, but very frilly and dainty.

I've never hid my love for tatting, and most of my family is a bit embarrassed by it. I always accepted that I would probably never be able to give my daughters any of my work. After I came out to them and it did not go well, that notion solidified rock hard.

This year though, I made some cute snowflakes for our Christmas tree. On a whim I gave one to each daughter. I was surprised and gratified beyond measure to see them later on their trees.

My Christmas present this year was a new sewing/embroidery combo machine. The first thing I did was add Disney embellishments to some sweatshirts for the grandkids. The grandkids were excited, and the moms didn't seem to have a problem either.

There is hope yet.