December 11, 2004

Handmade

By Clarice Feldman
This Thanksgiving my son and daughter in law gave us a surprise present——a sonogram of our grandchild to be. Suddenly, the urge to knit was triggered. I love to do it but haven't for some years, after I'd made dozens of coats and sweaters for every man, woman and child of my acquaintance. A frenzied search through the house for saved patterns, yarns, and knitting tools ensued, as well as a search for yet more. (Perhaps you have to be a knitter to understand, but no matter the size of the stash, there's always need for more.) After ordering the new stuff I needed and beginning the first project, there was a need for buttons——teeny tiny buttons——and that occasioned a holiday time visit to Bruce's Variety Store, the most amazing warren of treasures in the Washington metropolitan area. No one knows how Bruce's manages to stay afloat, or even how it can possibly ever control its inventory. But every holiday season its devotees give thanks that is...(Read Full Article)