I inherited a box full of doilies that had been made by my grandmother, and some possibly by her mother and sisters. Several were always placed on the coffee table, buffet, and dressing table at Grandmother's home. Sometimes she put doilies on the horsehair sofa arms. Ooh, that sofa was rough, especially if you were wearing shorts.
My mother didn't really display doilies. They seemed old fashioned I guess, and were dust collectors. I'm appreciative of the hours of work taken to make such intricate lacy items, but I, too, have not displayed them. Some of grandmother's are showing their age and coming apart. Several were made with enormous amounts of outer edges which my mother said were heavily starched and shaped into large standing ruffles. I don't know if my grandmother followed patterns or created her own designs. Her stitches were really tiny with very fine thread. I have some of her steel hooks as well and the hook is so small I haven't been able to use it.
Most of her works were done in white. Some of the pieces I have are accented with lavender or yellow or dark sea green. She also crocheted tablecloths and bedspreads. One of her favorite patterns was the popcorn stitch. It makes for a very bumpy tablecover.
When I was making an Irish Chain quilt I thought it might be interesting to display doilies in the centers of the blocks. Rather than use Grandmother's vintage collection which varied in size, I started examining the doilies closely and decided to make reproductions - no patterns available! Needless to say I had a lot of starts, rips, and restarts until I got the patterns to work and lay flat. I used a variety of thread colors to go with the blue, pink, yellow, and white quilt. There were 20 doilies in all. The varigated thread was a favorite of my grandmothers and I was happy to be able to still find it available at an online store.
I appreciate that my grandmother and mother helped me become interested in crochet, a craft I continue to go back to. I have a visual reminder of Grandmother's beautiful handiwork when I see my Irish Chain Doily quilt hanging in my sewing room. I haven't found a good way to display all of Grandmother's original doilies, - but they are such a treasure.
"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might."
Ecclesiastes 9:10
"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might."
Ecclesiastes 9:10