A Peek Inside - Hope Chest List

I mentioned that I have been visiting relatives and that I spoke with my mother-in-law, Ione, about her hope chest. She worked on it for quite some time, beginning when she was about ten years old. Sometimes, nearer the time of her marriage, she felt like she didn't do anything but embroider. Next time I visit, I want to set aside time to talk more and take pictures of things Mom still has saved. She mentioned that after things wore out from use, she ripped off the decorated edge and saved her hard work. Ione recorded a list of items she had completed in her wedding book.

5 quilts, 10 pair of pillow cases, 40 dish towels, 10 hot pads, 6 doilies, 5 dresser scarves, 3 table cloths, and several dish cloths. She also collected a lamp, a chair, a footstool, a sewing machine, china service for 12, silverware for 8, a book about nursing (she attended a Red Cross home nursing course,) and a cook book. She also counted on several gifts received from her aunts and friends to complete her household necessities.

A Peek Inside - An Old-Fashioned Gift

While I was visiting family, I had a chance to talk to my mother-in-law about the hope chest she made when she was a young girl, preparing for marriage. She disappeared for a few minutes and came back with these lovely pillowcases. She said they were a gift from her best friend's mother on the occasion of her marriage. It was a beautiful gift, wouldn't you say? I can see that I need to spend some more time in her basement with a camera. She has used the pillowcases often, and kept them so well for more than 50 years. They still look almost pristine. I just thought you might like a peek at the kind of work that went into a hope chest many years ago. If you zoom in on the last picture, some of you may be able to duplicate the pretty crocheted edging. One of these days, I'll try to write proper directions...

Grandson

 My favorite part of the recent trip to Idaho was reading and playing with my grandson Blaine. He is such a cutie! What a blessing to me to spend some time with my family...

A Peek Inside -- Scrapbooks and Family History

Genealogy and family histories are a traditional item to include in the hope chest, at least in Mormon families. Happily, I have managed to include some of these in Miss Abigail's hope chest. This is the first scrapbook I made for Abigail. It has her birth story, which was pretty harrowing, and pictures from the first year of her life. I've also been slowly working on a personal history of my own life to share with all of my children. I'm on my way home from Idaho with scanned pictures, genealogy and other memorabilia of my father's life. Plus, I have 10+ hours of recorded interviews with my mother about her life, which I hope to use in a family history.

Because I am a faithful Mormon woman, genealogy and family history is a responsibility in my life. But I also see it as an opportunity to become better acquainted with my ancestors and to pass their stories on to my children. I'm a link in a long chain and I certainly want Miss Abigail to feel the security of her strong family ties.

Do any of you have family records and stories to pass along? I hope so.

Happy Easter

My father used to say "life is real." As I get older, I'm coming to understand more fully what he was talking about. I've been in Idaho helping my mom. Miss Abigail is at home, taking on the responsibilities I left to her. Life is such a cycle. As I watch my mother age and become more dependent and less capable of taking care of everyday things, I feel such an overwhelming feeling of love and gratitude for all that she did for so many years. Life is real.

This picture was taken on Easter morning when I was either two or three years old. I am the little blond on the left with the frilly hat. My mom always arranged new clothes for us at Easter--not always a hat, but always a pair of white gloves for the girls.

At this season, I'm so thankful for the blessings I have. Life is real and I am blessed.

I'm currently not posting much. I've just got other things...

Tutorial - Tunisian Crochet Dishcloth

Tunisian crochet is enjoying a kind of revival right now. I haven't done Tunisian crochet since I was a young girl and had almost forgotten how. But I ran into my afghan hook not long ago and decided to see if I could remember. Naturally I experimented with a dishcloth for the kitchen set I'm currently working on.

The Tunisian stitch is also know as the afghan stitch and each row consists of two parts. First you pick up all the loops and hold them on the hook. When you reach the end of the foundation chain, you work the stitches back off the hook, two at a time. Because you keep all the stitches on the hook during the first part of the row, you have to use a special hook for this method. The afghan hook looks a lot like a knitting needle. It has a stop on one end and the crochet hook is on the other end. If you would like to try it, all you'll need is the special hook and some cotton worsted weight yarn.

Row 1: Chain 30. Insert hook in the second chain from hook, yarn over and draw up the loop. Holding all the loops on the hook, draw up a loop in each chain across. DO NOT TURN.

Yarn over, draw through the first loop on the hook. *yarn over, draw through the next 2 loops on the hook. Repeat from * all the way across until 1 loop remains. The last loop will always be the first loop for the next row.

Row 2: Skip the first vertical bar (the last stitch of the previous row.) *Insert hook in the next vertical bar, yarn over, draw through and keep the loop on the hook.

Keeping all the loops on the hook, repeat from * across. DO NOT TURN. Yarn over, draw through the first loop on the hook. **Yarn over, draw through the next 2 loops on the hook. Repeat from ** back across until 1 loop remains.

You can see in the picture that the beginning row wants to curl and might not look correct early on. Not to worry. As you work additional rows, the yarn gets pushed into place and the pretty squares begin to appear. I pinned it down so that you could see how it will look. That first row always seems to want to curl.

You can see that the fabric is now looking nice and even. These regular squares are what is so distinctive about the Tunisian Simple Stitch. Repeat Row 2 until the fabric measures square.

Last Row: Skip the first vertical bar as usual. Insert hook in the next vertical bar, yarn over and draw through both loops on the hook. Insert hook in next vertical bar and complete a slip stitch. Slip stitch in each vertical bar across. Fasten off. Weave in the clipped ends.

Edging: (Note: If you wish to put the edging on, you may or may not use the last row. This next picture shows a last row. However, it is just as easy to fasten off at the end of the last regular Tunisian row and put the single crochet in under the vertical bars as you come around that last edge.) Cast on a second color two stitches down from the corner. Put a single crochet in each stitch around the edge, with a (sc, ch, sc) in each corner. When you reach the beginning stitch, slip stitch and fasten off.

You can end the edging at this point or add an additional ruffled edge. Cast on original color somewhere in the middle of a side. Chain 3.

Skip next stitch and slip stitch in the next stitch. Repeat this all the way around. Add 1 to the ch 3 as you turn the corners. Slip stitch to the beginning chain and fasten off. Weave in all the clipped ends.

New Lambs

Miss Abigail is enjoying the new babies that are being born on our homestead. There are six lambs born so far and more coming in April. Enjoy the pictures!