I’ve always enjoyed embroidery, my own and that of
others. My mother is a fine
embroiderer. My mother-in-law never
learned to do needlework even though her mother was an excellent
embroiderer.
I have one piece of my mother’s embroidery - a teacloth -
and the rest of her work is still in her own house.
I was fortunate enough to be able to choose several pieces
of embroidered work from my mother-in-law’s estate - no one else was interested
in them. Even so, my sister-in-law and I
packed up a cedar chest and a large chest of drawers with hooked rugs, quilts,
bedding, and table linens, waiting for the next generation to become
householders in need of heirloom textiles.
But I’m finding that the young people today don’t care much about having
crocheted or tatted or embroidered things in their homes.
I still like having them around.
This is one piece I did many years ago. The pattern and photograph of the original
were found in an oversize book at the library, “The Woman’s Day Book of American Needlework” by Rose Wilder Lane. Yes, the very daughter of my favorite Laura
Ingalls Wilder.
When I worked the embroidery, I borrowed the book from the
library, traced the pattern (that could have even been before there were
photocopiers in libraries) and worked the threads in different colors on an
even-weave linen. I made the embroidery
into a small pillow and displayed it on my couch for Years. It received a lot of hard wear and a few
washings. It finally began to come
apart. Not the embroidery, but the
fabric itself. In the photo you can see
the wear.
So, like the woven coverlet that is too good to just throw
away, I’m especially fond of this particular embroidery of mine, and wonder
what I can do with it other than just leave it in a drawer. Maybe one of these days I’ll frame it, just
so I can look at it and remember how much I liked making it.
A few years ago I noticed a copy of the book for sale on the
internet. I immediately bought it and
now enjoy looking through it again and again, on my own time.
Here are a few of the pieces that I'm sheltering:
