My most treasured portuguese handmade article - My grandmother's crochet and knitting samples

by Adriana Oliveira aka Mundo Flo

I could name a few handmade items that are important to me, some made by the ladies who taught me most of what I know today about textiles, some by my crafty friends, some by artists I admire, others by me. But my grandmother's crochet and knitting samples are, probably, the most symbolic handmade treasures I own.

crochet and knitting samples by Adriana Oliveira's grandmother Maria

My grandma Maria is responsible for my love for yarn, and she always had bags full with yarns and needles waiting for me to play, even after her arthritic fingers could no longer knit...

These small, colorful, incomplete samples, are the proof that she was a true artist! She used to meet with her neighbors to learn new stitches or exchange patterns, and she always felt excited for new challenges! These small studies were her notes, her reminders, her to-do lists - ideas waiting to take life from her hands. I don't know how many projects she left unrealized, and I wish I could somehow carry on this creative flow through our family, even if I use different approaches and styles, even if I'll never be as perfectionist, as patient or skillful as she was...

crochet and knitting samples by Adriana Oliveira's grandmother Maria

Text and photos by Adriana Oliveira aka Mundo Flo.