Spring Tea for the Knitting Clubs

I belong to a knitting club with ladies from my church. Our main purpose, aside from fellowship, is to knit prayer shawls to be given to those who may have a serious illness or have faced a hardship and are in need of encouragement. I've been part of this fantastic group for at least 7 or 8 years. We meet once a month, sometimes doing a craft other than knitting, since the knitting can easily be done at home or on vacation. Before we start a shawl, we say a prayer that God will help the person for whom the shawl will be given.

For the first time, on Saturday we were invited to the home of one of our leaders for a tea—a thank you gift for the shawls we knit and donate. Everything in Barb's home was just beautiful!

In the center is a bowl of living grass. Knitting needles are in the grass. In front of it are balls of yarn; beside are little Easter decorations.

The tables were really pretty! Notice the balls of yarn with needles.

These were some of the treats. My, were they delicious!

Delicate sandwiches and scones

This is my friend, Glady, standing by one of the three tables.

Our placemats were vintage handkerchiefs. There was a potted pansy at each place setting. These were our host gifts. On the menu were tiny sandwiches, homemade scones with Devonshire cream and lemon curd, and for dessert: coconut birds nests and little chocolates. Yum! Each place setting had a china tea cup and saucer; vintage tea pots were used. 

The conversation at the table where I was seated with Betty, Lorraine, and Louise was really nice.

L to R: Louise, yours truly, Betty

L to R: Lois, Laurey, and Sue

Friends Laurey and Pat. Laurey and Pat helped prepare this tea on Friday.Pat has an incredible gift of decorating and crafts. Many of the items on the tables she brought from her collection. At our Christmas Swedish smorgasbord, many of the decorations are supplied by her as well. 

L to R: Barb, Ellen, and Gayle. Barb graciously opens her home many times during the year for our knitting club. She has a gift of hospitality and social graciousness. 

After eating, Barb led us in a little program. She shared a thank you card that had come from Evelyn, one of the recipients of one of our shawls. Sadly, Evelyn passed away a few months after we gave the shawl to her. Each of us had brought a pair of our knitting needles. We put them in a basket and Barb prayed over them. We haven't done this before, but I think it helped each of us to realize how important our ministry is.

Remembering

Fifty four years ago today, I was anticipating the return of my mother who had gone to Illinois for a little trip. She had left on Sunday afternoon and told my sister and me she would be returning on Thursday. It was Wednesday evening, right after supper, when one of the neighbor girls knocked on our back door, and asked if I could come out to play. I told her I couldn't because I was busy ironing the freshly laundered clothes.

Before my mother left, she said we didn't have to do the laundry because she would do it after she got home. I had decided to surprise her.

Around 6:30 or so the next morning, there was a knock on our front door. My sister got out of bed to answer it. It was our minister, Herman Kooy. He told her he needed to talk to both of us. She brought him to our bedroom door and he told us that our mother wouldn't be coming home. She had died earlier that morning. He waited in our living room while we got dressed and drove us to his home where his wife, Louise, fixed us breakfast and cared for us for the next two days.

Not all of the details are so vivid in my mind, but those events are things I think about at this time every year.