My mother and maternal grandmother enjoyed crocheting. Most items that I remember were doilies, placed on top of buffets and tables and on the arms and backs of upholstered furniture. Mother and I enjoyed perusing all the home and craft magazines we could purchase such as Needlework & Crafts, Workbasket, Family Circle, Woman's Day, and Better Homes and Gardens. Every year we made something together for Christmas decorating or gifting. Neither of us was fond of the crochet Granny Square because we dreaded the process of changing yarn colors and joining the squares. It was just too fiddly. I do recall making this type of slippers. Walking on the textured yarn squares was really not that comfortable and they weren't particularly warm.
In the years after I left home, Mother continued to crochet small Christmas ornaments. I didn't hang all of her pieces this year but I know they are securely stored in my bin of vintage items. The stockings were a folded square. The wreaths were made around the cap ring from milk and juice bottles I think. She wove contrasting yarn through the wreaths, just like this. These patterns must have been popular at the time.
A really cute ornament like this one was a plastic canvas reindeer that opened up when you squeezed the cheeks to reveal a hidden treat, such as a candy kiss. My kids loved opening this one to retrieve a candy which I replaced on a daily basis.
I display these two wall decorations of Mother's every Christmas. The NOEL was needleworked over plastic mesh canvas. There were other items such as crocheted Santa heads, and plastic canvas gift boxes, picture frames, and candy canes. There were years that I did not trim the Christmas tree with the vintage yarn ornaments. Reasons were that they didn't coordinate with the color scheme of the year or that they looked a little shabby next to the glimmering hand blown glass ornaments. My sentiment has changed. I cherish these hand crafted items and appreciate the hours of patient work required to create them. My mother was quite creative and giving, and seeing these old treasures brings a smile to my face and joy to my heart. |