Living far away from family is hard, but in my late teens Nana was diagnosed with cancer and the distance became even harder.  Being 12 hours away, a little bit of anger started to set in, along with the sadness.  More than anything I wanted to be able to get up again each morning and run into her bedroom to “read” the newspaper!  But, even with the distance between us I knew there had to be SOMETHING I could do to connect us during that time.  A few years prior I had learned how to crochet.  I knew I couldn’t be there with her every day, go to all her doctors appointments and cuddle with her after her treatments, but I could send comfort in another way.  So I started making her a blanket.  As I was finishing the strips and began sewing them together we received the news that Nana wasn’t doing well and we needed to go home...

I remember returning back from the funeral and being so angry that she never knew about the blanket.  I had kept it a secret because I wanted it to be a surprise.  I was so upset with myself for not being able to finish it, I was angry that I hadn’t even mentioned it to her and I was confused why God would take away that opportunity to connect us through that blanket.  So, I took the unfinished blanket, remaining yarn and crochet hooks and put them in a bin.  I was done.

7 years later....as I chatted with a sweet friend she asked, “Do you knit or crochet?”  It was a conversation I had avoided since 2003.   But, she was determined.  As I explained the story of the blanket and why I was never going to crochet again, she proposed that... “Maybe the blanket was never meant for your aunt.  Maybe the blanket was always meant for you...”  This sounded silly to me, because how selfish would it be for me to spend time making a blanket for myself?  At the same time my friend offered this point of view, my husband had been encouraging me to finish working on the blanket and use it for myself too.  So one night as my mom, step-dad, husband and I were at our apartment, watching Lincoln Lawyer, I pulled out the bin and brought the unfinished blanket into the living room to being working on it. (7 years later!)  Tears were shed.  Anger was unleashed.  And I began to notice something I hadn’t seen before..

As I worked on that blanket and began to sew the pieces together I realized, this blanket was meant to be MY healing.  It provides me wholeness in knowing I am not alone.  It’s ok to be sad.  It’s ok to hurt and face pain.  But, I have found comfort in this blanket and a COMFORTER in Heaven who has NEVER left my side.  My intention for the blanket was to remind my aunt that she was never alone.  But, God’s intention for the blanket was to remind me of the same thing.  

If it weren’t for Nana’s Blanket, Mandi’s Makings wouldn’t exist (Seriously!).  It started as a way to provide comfort to those who were hurting just like I wanted to do for Nana and Nana’s Blanket had done for me.

As a little girl, I remember waking up early, running into Nana’s (my aunt’s) room, climbing into her bed, curling under the blanket and watching Little House on the Prairie while we read the newspaper (I “read” the comics).  She and my dad lived together when I was growing up, so on the weekends I spent with my dad the three of us always spent time together!  She was my “second mom”.  As I grew up, so did the miles between Nana and I.  She moved a few hours away to help my grandparents run our family store and I moved with my mom and step-dad 12 hours from the only “home” I’d ever known.....