Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Knit 1, Purl 2

....Arrrrgggghhhhhh!!!!


I am an expert crocheter, thanks to my grandma’s teaching, yet an equally-inept knitter and seamstress, despite my grandma’s teaching.  

From a very young age, my grandma was a gifted seamstress, knitter, and crocheter.  (Her dad had been a tailor.  She figured she must have “inherited” her talent from him.)  When my grandma was 13 years old (in the early 1920s), in order to help support her family, she took a job with a clothing manufacturer.  Her job was to go to couture fashion shows, then go back to the factory and create exactly by memory (and at a lower cost) the designers’ fashions...yep, there were knockoffs back then, too!  She somehow could create anything (sans pattern), and she would carry that talent with her well into her 80s.  

1930s crocheted knitted purse
Grandma's crocheted handbag
She attempted to pass down to each of her eight grandchildren that same talent.  No such luck.  Except for me and the crochet part.  In 2005 my grandma gave me what will always be some of my most prized possessions:  all of her knitting needles, crochet hooks, straight pins and pin cushions, and…wait for it…Singer Sewing Machine (purchased new in 1930).  I still have many of her handmade items including a spectacular crocheted, lined handbag with lucite handle.  (I use it often…smiling all the while.)  

At the top of this post you'll see a picture of my sister and me wearing sweaters my grandma made.  Thanks Grandma.  Love you so much!  Miss you.

Love your parents.  We are so busy growing up, 
we often forget they are growing old.
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2 comments:

  1. Hi Deb, my Mam is also a gifted knitter, crocheter and dress-maker. She made all our clothes, when we were kids, which we did not always appreciate. (I still remember a shop-bought skirt and blouse I got, aged 7!). Just this year Mam started teaching me to crochet, not that I'll ever reach her standard. Dara

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  2. Hi Dara. Thanks so much for sharing those fond memories of your childhood. I'm smiling reminiscing about my struggle to learn to crochet. It's more than crocheting to me -- I think of my grandma with each stitch I weave. You mentioned your Mam made all your clothes. Did she make the then-popular matching mom and daughter outfits? My grandma made my mom, sis and me these hideous white dresses with giant lime green polka dots. We were quite vogue back then, so I'm told! I'll call my mom and see if she can find the picture. Sooooo funny. Keep us posted on your crochet progress!...Warmest regards.

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