"My grandmother has been a great influence on me. I see that as I grow older. She was a strong personality, independent and very accomplished. We fought and argued and I shouted a lot, but she taught me a sense of history and family, and to sew, to play Jim Rummy, to garden. I watched her cook, entertain and organise. Failure was not something she believed in. I use her things, some every day, others kept carefully. The buttons on the sleeve of a mediaeval gown I made are hers. She wore the buttons on her boots when she was seventeen and used a button hook to fasten them up.
I see her in the way my grandchildren and I play cards, cook and chat. We have fun. I'd like them to be independent and accomplished. I hope they will keep some of my things to preserve the continuity of our family life."
