Plymouth Magazine-Winter24-DIGITAL - Flipbook - Page 9
Lori Brinkley
Beth Stelle Jones
What is your favorite Christmas
tradition or memory?
Christmas Sweaters. I grew up in western
Colorado where it can be “sweater
weather” from the middle of September
through the middle of May. I knew every
Christmas that one of the colorfully
wrapped packages under the family tree
would hold a sweater made with Mom’s
skilled hands because she was a knitter. My
mother worked full time as an account ever since I can remember. But
the thing I remember the most about Mom was that she was always
kitting something. Her knitting bag went with her everywhere, to
church, on car trips or just sitting on the sofa watching a television
show. She would knit an Afghan for every young couple that would
soon share their wedding vows, or a snugly blanket or outfit for the
latest newborn at church. Or she would be working on a sweater for
my annual Christmas gift.
What is your favorite Christmas tradition or memory?
For several generations our family bakes and decorates cut out
Christmas Cookies together. When I was a child, my father brought
dozens of cookies to his office at Christmas, all decorated by our family
with friends called in for reinforcements. In high school a few friends
created cookies that were censored from going to the office. Now my
husband, Dick, and I drive to either DC or Houston with cut out
cookies waiting for icing, sprinkles, candy eyes, and chocolate chip
noses. We recently added a gingerbread decorating house competition!
What is your favorite Christmas song or hymn?
“O Holy Night” sung by Josh Groban.
What’s your favorite Christmas food, dessert, or meal?
Egg Nog watching “It’s a Wonderful Life”.
Do you have any good gift suggestions?
Photo books of vacations or time spent together.
It would all begin shortly after Labor Day when I had to decide
what my preference was that particular year. Did I want crew neck,
V-neck, Henley style with buttons, mock neck, turtleneck, boat neck
or collared. Would I prefer raglan sleeves, set in sleeves (Mom would
do her best to keep this option out of consideration), drop sleeves,
saddle sleeves, circular yoke or maybe a sweater vest. And then came
the really hard decisions like horizontal or vertical designs and the
specific patterns I liked. Some years maybe it would be a fisherman
style other years it might be multiple colors. Did I want to have a
warm wool sweater for those cold weekends skiing in the mountains,
a casual sweater for everyday wear or a dressy sweater to make an
outfit pop for that special occasion. Then I got to pick the color or
colors of the yarn she would use.
She would take me to the yarn store so I could be dazzled and
overwhelmed by the myriad styles of yarn and colors. I remember
one of my favorite sweaters was a salmon-colored V-neck with raglan
sleeves and the softest yarn you could imagine. I’m sure I wore that
sweater out because it was unique to me, not seen in any store and it
was oh so comfortable and warm. I would rarely get to see how my
sweater was coming along primarily because she could complete them
so quickly. Even though I knew what was inside, I was always excited
to open that particular package every Christmas. Mom did not like
having to wait for Christmas morning, so we always got to open at
least one present on Christmas eve and it was usually the sweater that
she knitted for each one of us.
When I put on my sweater that night, she always had the biggest
smile on her face knowing that she had fashioned a beautifully
crafted unique sweater just for me. And you don’t have to ask if it fit,
of course, perfectly. My mom made it just for me.
What is your favorite Christmas song or hymn?
Almost any Christmas song.
What’s your favorite Christmas food, dessert, or meal?
Pumpkin pie with real whipped cream topping.
Do you have any good gift suggestions?
Share your love and friendship.
Plymouth Magazine 9
