I recently shared some crochet from my Great Grandmother that my Mother received. Today I’m sharing some more treasured pieces. These were made by my Grandmother.
This round doily is another large one. It is done in fine Perle Cotton in a soft cream. I suppose those light colours were guaranteed to look lovely on timber tables, which is where my Mum always displayed them. The edge of this one is a slightly darker colour. Mum said it was probably one of the last doilies she received from Nana and that perhaps she hadn’t realised that the cotton was a different colour. She continued to make these into her eighties, I believe, so her eyesight was not so good.
This runner is white rather than cream. When I was in my teens, Mum and Dad bought a beautiful shiny black upright piano. Mum asked Nana to make a runner to sit on top and and it still sits there. Unlike the doilies that are worked from the centre, going around and around, this rectangular runner is worked from one end to the other. It is still worked in Perle Cotton but this is not as fine as the previous doily.
It measures about 130cm long and about 30cm wide. At one stage Mum used to have a simple white statue sitting on top of it, but later my brothers and I had our trophies on top of the piano. I added a pencil holder and a metronome when I was teaching piano students during my University years. These days there are photos of Mum and Dad’s children and grandchildren gracing the piano top.
Do you have memories of handmade things from your childhood?
very beautiful, I don’t think I appreciated the work(wo)manship that went into these when I was younger. Now i think you just have to admire the skill and light touch, thank you for sharing
I don’t think I did either, Di. Now I look at these and see hours of work!
Beautiful! Both of my grandmothers crocheted. I have doilies that each of them made. I started crocheting when I was a pre-teen, but haven’t done much with thread. I mostly make afghans.
When I was born (way back when TV was only 1 year old in Australia), my grandmother in England knitted a bear which arrived in Australia squashed into a small box. By the time DD was born 25 years ago, he was as flat as a pancake! Nanna, now living in Australia, beheaded him and restuffed him (if only I knew what I know now I would never have made that request). DD married and left home in 2009, leaving “Ted” behind. He now sits on my bed and Older Grandson is not allowed to touch him because he kees trying to bite the button eyes! No memory needed – I see Ted every day!
PS This is the same grandmother who crocheted the bedspreads and tablecloths.
Ohh man, those things take forever to make. I’ve people in my family that have made them. They are even valuated in the thousands of dollars! 🙂
Hmmm… I wonder… but these wouldn’t be for sale of course!
Hello Tonya (is this the right name?), I just came over here to check out the “Grandmother’s Crochet” from Creating my Way to Sucess, and had to write about your Great Grandmother’s doilies; they are beautiful! My Mom-in-Law taught me the chain st and single crochet stitch almost 35 years ago and I have taught myself (and am still learning..lol) many more stitches. My favorite kind of crocheting is the doily; the more intricate they are, the more I love to make them! Thank you in advance for your newsletter, which I’m signing up for now. Nice to meet you and everyone here; I don’t blog very much, but I love seeing and learning different kinds of soft arts from all kinds of people around the world.
Thank you again.
~ Dawn ~
Thank you, Dawn! Your crochet sounds like it would be amazing – I avoid the intricate stuff!