Granddaddy

(Editor's note: My Granddaddy, Brant Atlee Johnson, passed away yesterday, September 10, 2013. He was 93 years old and an Army Veteran of WWII where he was awarded the Silver Star. This November would have marked 64 years of marriage to my beloved Grandma. We will miss him very, very much but I am eternally thankful for his influential life.) 

It is almost impossible to put into words what this shirt means to me. It is one of sixteen (16!) short-sleeve button down shirts that my Granddaddy gave me last Thursday when my daughter and I went to visit my grandparents. He will be 92 years old this November and one drawback to his age is that he is always cold. Because of this, he no longer wears any of his short-sleeve shirts. When my Grandma took me into their closet I was flooded with images of him in these shirts. I chose this particular plaid shirt as the first of the sixteen to transform because it is quite simply him. I can see him walking in the field in this shirt. I can see him sitting in his chair in this shirt and I can see him, in this shirt, bowling with me and my sister when we were little girls.


When I began unpicking the pocket, there were little pieces of wheat and hay and lint lodged into the crevices.

For the dress, which is made for my daughter (size 2T), I wanted to experiment with a slightly different silhouette and placement of the button placket all the while keeping as much reference to the former garment as possible. 

The collar became the straps which connect to a simple bodice and gathered skirt at the front and the button placket runs down the middle of the back.

Seeing my daughter in this dress exemplifies the essence of Little Grey Line.
Each time she wears it, I think of him.