Giftedness I'll never possess.

My sister-in-law Lara (Chase's mommy) is incredibly gifted. Above is a small sampling of what she's capable of. From left-right: the little bunny chase is holding is hand-knitted. She saw a picture of a similar one in an ad one day and decided to make her own...without a pattern. Chase's little outfit was a result of her stumbling across a swatch of felt one afternoon and deciding to make him a little outfit....without a pattern. The quilt block above is another piece of work she saw in a magazine and decided to duplicate (you guessed it) without a pattern. This is a woman who, without a pattern, hand-sewed her own wedding dress. She is also, of course, a gifted drawer ("maker of drawings"? "sketch individual"?), painter, and sculpter. She whips out incredible creations without realizing how amazing she really is.

It's quite sickening, really.

Even more sickening is that she's perfectly absolutely lovable. I can't even begrude her these gifts.