Thursday, September 24, 2009

The Wheels of Time Go 'Round and 'Round...


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All through the town!   Is it just in MY part of town where they seem to be spinning like a roulette wheel?

At any rate, I was FINALLY able to keep my date with the crochet hook and put an edging on my tatted edging.  At first I was a little edgy MYSELF (apparently I'm NOT a natural with a crochet hook) and kept pulling my stitches so TIGHT on the first row that I couldn't WEDGE the hook between threads to add the second row!  After a few practice runs I decided to forge ahead and while it is BY NO MEANS perfect, I am happy with the result.

This is an edging I found through the Antique Pattern Library.  It is Plate II, Edging #8 of Dillmont DMC Library Tatting.  I looked for its year of publication but was unable to find it.  Many of the patterns in the Antique Pattern Library are from the second or third decade of the twentieth century so I imagine shuttles flying to create this pretty little edging in the teens when the WHEELS OF TIME was published and my grandmother, who raised peonies but did not tat, sat for her portrait, or the twenties when this copy of NEEDLECRAFT was posted to a Miss Cora Boyer, who perhaps is SOMEONE'S grandmother and seems to have taken VERY good care of it.


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Although there were no tatting patterns in this edition of NEEDLECRAFT, I did enjoy looking at some of the crochet projects and a little embroidery.  I was especially drawn to the ads because they made my imagination run amuck  thinking about what life may have been like in THOSE days...  Did Grandma and Cora enjoy the "All-day Energy" they got from quick Quaker Oats even back then?  Would Fels-Naptha and a good scrubbing have gotten my clothes cleaner than my Tide?  Was Cora a girl who pored over "The Letters of a Young Bride" or an older, BUT NOT OLD, woman like myself who may have considered touching up her hair with some sage tea?  Either way I'm sure her life was very different from mine and I couldn't help but be thankful to be living in this day and age with computers and access across the miles to others who enjoy the same hobbies.

I wonder... if I had been a beginning tatter in THOSE days... would the tidbits of advice found in the section entitled "What Other Needleworkers Have Found Out" have helped?  I guess just like how many licks it takes to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop, "the world will never know."


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8 comments:

Fox said...

Ann,

What a beautiful post!

The arrangements are so lovely to look at and I really like that edging. To think it is here in my bookcase and I am STILL struggling along with that border - NO, I DID NOT put it away! (More on that in a later post!)

The white is perfect and your crochet work seems professionally done! Way to go!

I've gotta go and have my sage rinse now, for I'm meeting the Tatting Guild ladies on the morrow......

Fox : ))

sewmuchfun4 said...

Thank you Fox!
It makes me VERY happy that you think the crochet looks all right - when I have stops and starts with a project I become a little critical...

Ahhh, so the border is still hanging about! It really is so pretty. My edging was done with #20 Cebelia - much easier. Perhaps all you need is a little break now and then to do other things, that's my MO.

Good for you getting your sage rinse in! I am overdue and I fear my hair is beginning to lose its luster, not to mention the reappearance of a certain undesirable element. Do enjoy your time with the ladies of the guild! They are SUCH dears...

:) Ann

Martha said...

I hardly know where to begin.

First, the edging looks fabulous and I think you did a wonderful job on the crochet -- you really are a quick study when it comes to learning new needlework techniques.

Second, the photo of your grandmother is wonderful -- she's so pretty and I love the outfit (the hat, gloves, locket and the beautiful lace), but my favorite thing about it is her lovely pose.

And third...I love your beautiful photo compositions and the clever way you express yourself. Even your comments on my blog and your responses to others on yours are so interesting and thoughtful.

I think I could use some of that sage tea for my gray hair, but I'm very happy not to have to boil my thread!

sewmuchfun4 said...

Oh! Thank you SO much Martha - you are very kind. Blogging has been a blessing to me - sharing ideas and getting to know people like yourself - I'm really enjoying it.

You don't know how happy I am that you like the edging... but you will... and that's all I'm saying...

That is the only picture I have ever seen of Grandma when she was a young woman and I cannot remember how I came to be so lucky to have it with me. I think Mom knew how much I loved it. Grandma looks quite serious there, but I remember her as a 94 year old lady who always had a twinkle in her eye.

I'm with you on the thread boiling - I can't IMAGINE! I wonder if sage tea REALLY works and if you would SMELL like sage. That would be a problem for me because I LOVE dressing at Thanksgiving in large part because my recipe has sage in it. So I'd probably end up craving dressing and having the dreaded thick ankles...

:) Ann

Gina said...

I love those old Needlecraft magazines and hoard them shamelessly!

Lovely post with wonderful photos!

sewmuchfun4 said...

Thank you Gina! A friend gave me my copies of Needlecraft years ago and I have always loved to look at them, but now I see them with different eyes and want very much to try some of these vintage patterns.

And would I love to have more editions? Oh yeah! We've got some good antique stores and such which I should check out.

:) Ann

Unknown said...

What a lovely post! The edging is absolutely fabulous. I just love that Antique Pattern Library! What a beautiful photo of your grandmother! Thank you for sharing! ☺

sewmuchfun4 said...

Thank you Tatting Chic! It was an easy edging to make after I got the spacing between rings right. I would like to try my hand at more old patterns - the Antique Patterns Library is an awesome resource. And thank you, I think Grandma looks very pretty also, she was a sweet lady!
:) Ann