Treasure Chest Thursday: Great Grandma Madsen's Knitting Basket

By now, I'm sure you've figured out that I'm more than a little obsessed with my family's history. My other mad obsession is knitting. I try to do it a little bit each day because it relaxes me (or, as I tell my co-workers, it keeps me from killing people...) and I've always enjoyed crafty endeavors. I didn't learn to knit from a family member. I ended up teaching myself because, as far as I knew, my mom and none of my older female relatives were knitters. Grandma Edith was a crocheter, but I'm just now teaching myself how to do that.

So, imagine my surprise a couple of years ago, when my Great Aunt Rae presented this wonderful gift to me:

Johanna Bruhns Madsen, 1886-1965

It was her mom's, my Great Grandma Johanna Bruhns Madsen, very own knitting basket! I DO have an ancestor who knitted. I never got to know Grandma Hannah because she passed away the year I was born, but I feel so much closer to her knowing that we share this skill. Aunt Rae said she was a pretty good knitter and seamstress but, sadly, we don't have any of the items that she had made in her lifetime. I like to think that some of her knitting prowess may have rubbed off on me. I hope she enjoyed knitting as much as I do!