Nanna

When I was a small girl, I lived on my grandparents' farm. Time passed more slowly then, and my Nanna and I made a lot of things together: Sewing, knitting, paper craft, drawing, painting, sculpting cute little animals with Fimo, restringing old beaded necklaces into new creations...

Once, we turned clothes pegs into dolls, and made a house for them from a beer box, with furniture constructed from empty cigarette packets.

Small me with my Nanna. I'm wearing one of the many fabulous outfits she made. My doll is also wearing clothes made by Nanna

Growing up with my Nanna around was like having a personal fashion designer - she sewed and knitted many, many clothes for me and my siblings. I was given a doll for Christmas one year, along with an enormous box. When I opened the box it was filled with handmade doll outfits, exact miniature copies of the ones she had made for me.

Even after my immediate family had moved, and we only visited the farm for the holidays, my Nanna and I always made our signature rumballs .

It's been a year today since my Nanna passed away.

Thanks Nanna, for teaching me the joy of making. I would be a different Anna if it wasn't for that.

Zelda (Dicinoski) Gerber
9/1/1927 - 29/9/2014