Dear Mom,

Thanks so very much for all the crafty things that you tried to teach me over the years.  Though I didn't progress beyond the basics or get hooked on many of them back then, you taught me enough of so many different things that I feel confident enough to learn more and try out new things today.  I thought back today to that one sunny summer afternoon that I spent in the backyard with my sister hand-sewing puppets from scraps.  Perhaps you just wanted to get us out of your hair for a bit, but you knew to give us something other than busy-work to achieve that; you gave us knowledge that we could use later for any number of projects.

So you might not have taught me to crochet or knit, and your attempts to interest me in embroidery were in vain, but I have tried all three since, thinking "I can do that."  It's the "I can do that" that you taught me, that I learned from watching you figure out how to do anything you wanted to do.

This laptop case has flaws in it, but I have learned from each mistake, and I'm happy to keep trying to improve my work and make more projects; it's what you would do.

Love,

Jessie

P.S.  The laptop case is from the book "One-Yard Wonders".  Also, speaking of flaws, the blind for the living room has met with the seam ripper a little too often for my taste.  I haven't given up yet, but it really must sit in the corner for the rest of the day while I knit instead of sew.