lingering thoughts from Christmas ...

When I was growing up, television was not the major pastime that it is now.  My grandmother was a quilter.  She made dozens of quilts.  I have one made just for me.  Her quilts were done mostly by hand.  I was told she did tatting but I have a couple of her doilies and they are definitely crocheted.  My mother did cross-stitch embroidery.  I remember the quilt that was on my twin bed as a child.  The top was a picture of children playing around a tree all done in cross-stitch by my mother and the quilting was done by my grandmother.  That quilt has been lost to years of daily use and only lives on in my memory.  

For my grandmother, one did not just sit and do nothing.  There was always some sort of handwork that could be done.  I guess it was the "Idle Hands" school of thought.  It was not as much of an issue when I was young and I had no inclination to find something to "keep my hands busy."  Then as I entered my teen years and became somewhat fashion conscious, I had a hard time finding clothing that fit correctly since I was not very tall.  Out of frustration, I was able to convince my parents I needed a sewing machine and I actually made some of my own clothing.  One of the things I had learned from my mother's cross-stitch work was that the back side should be just as neat as the front and that served me well in my sewing endeavors.  

A few years later I took up knitting.  I bought a how-to book and embarked on a rather complicated afghan for a beginner.  It took me seven years to finish and has several different brands of yarn bought at different times as well as a mixture of wool and acrylic.  I know ... but ... you don't know what you don't know when you start these things.  I took up crochet somewhere during that time and made a couple ripple afghans.  They worked up quickly and I liked that.  I mostly do crochet now except for a few plastic canvas things and I always try to make the back as neat as the front.  This is important with things like afghans, shawls, scarves and doilies.  Hiding the ends of the yarn can be a real challenge.  I did a "picture" afghan and it had a zillion yarn ends.  

I did some cute Christmas decorations called "Peppermint People" and, even though the back would not be seen, I still attempted to make it as neat as the front.  I actually liked how the back looked ... just don't know what I would do with it.

Kinda cool, huh?  Well, maybe not.  Hope my mother and grandmother are looking down and smiling at my neat piece of work.

Oh, you can see the Peppermint People here:

 Fanciful Threads:  Crochet for Christmas