Handwork...

In the house where I grew up, a needlepoint picture always hung on the wall in my parent's bedroom. It was created by my great-grandmother, Katherine Lilley, and the story in the family was that she designed it as well as stitched it.

I loved it dearly, and when I was old enough, I learned all sorts of hand work: embroidery, cross-stitch, crewel, and finally, the difficult needlepoint. But I also grew up knowing that this picture would one day belong to my eldest sister. My mother was named for her grandmother, and in turn she named her first-born daughter for the grandmother she loved so much.F


All that knowledge didn't make today any easier, though. It was hard to watch my brother-in-law pack the picture carefully in bubble wrap and cardboard, ready to carry onto their flight home to Australia. I got to enjoy the picture for many years after my parents passed away, and now it's going home with my sister, Kathie.

And one day, I hope many years in the future, my sister will pass it on to her oldest daughter... another girl named Katherine.