Hand-me-down Heritage

My mom tried to teach me to crochet as a little girl. I learned the chain stitch and then quickly got frustrated and unteachable. About 2 1/2 years ago I decided that it was time to sit down and learn. I went out and bought a book, some hooks, and yarn and went home and finally learned. That Christmas my mom gave me a gift certificate to a local LYS for knitting lessons. The rest is history.

Although I ultimately did not learn these skills from my mother, I have an undeniable love for activities where I can create something using my hands, that I believe partially comes from/through her. Some of my earliest memories of my mother are of watching her use her hands. I always have envied her hands. She has beautiful long slender fingers with perfect oval shaped nail beds.

I have many memories of my mother using those hands to sew me clothing. She made several of my formals for dances in high school. I always liked those dresses better than the ones we bought, as I could get exactly what I wanted and they looked professionally made. She also crochets, though she had not done much until recently when she started crocheting baby hats to be sent to Afghanistan.

A few months ago I sent out an email to my mom and her brother and sisters asking for their memories of their mom and grandmothers in connection to their knitting/crocheting. My mom had told me that they were pretty prolific in their chosen crafts, and I was curious to know more. I loved the responses I got, and loved "getting to know" these great women a bit better. I can now better appreciate my own creative spark, as I feel that it was passed down from them to my mother and then to me.

With Mother's Day just having come and gone, I've been thinking about my own mother a bit (I love you Mom!), and thought again about the memories shared with me by my aunts and uncle. As a belated mother's day tribute I would like to share with you a little bit of what they shared with me about my creative heritage.

This is one of my great-grandmothers, my mother’s paternal grandmother.

My Aunt Angie remembers her teaching her how to knit. She explains that she knit by throwing the yarn with her right hand. Her mother (my grandmother) was mad about the "American style" she had picked up. My great-grandmother knit "bed socks" for all of them. These were nice thick socks that were meant to be worn in bed at night. Here are a pair my uncle received, which he wore for a while, but then decided to put away and keep as a memento.

My great-grandmother was also a master crocheter. She made doilies, her specialty being pineapple patterns. She also made toys out of plastic bottles. One such toy was a grey crocheted cover on a dish soap bottle. With some pompoms, it became a poodle.

This is my other great-grandmother, my mother's maternal grandmother . I knew her as Oma (German for Grandma). She immigrated to the US from Germany in 1952, when she was 57 years old.

Oma was always working on some kind of handwork. One of my aunts said that her mental pictures of her include lots of yarn. She made many afghans, both knit and crocheted, as well as some children's clothing for one of my cousins and some dolls.

My Aunt Christine said, "I can still see Oma sitting by the window in the kitchen, crocheting afghans. Her eyes were pretty bad, and she often sat in a chair by the kitchen window for the extra light. I can remember her crocheting, turning the piece she was working on to catch the light just right and examining her work.

I use to make embroidered pillow cases that had a crocheted edging. Oma did the crocheted edges on a few for me, but then thought I should learn to finish them myself. She patiently and wordlessly taught me, showing me what to do without speaking, then watching me do it. The first one I crocheted was a hideous variegated green thread (not sure were I got that thread), and I could tell how proud and delighted Oma was that I picked it up so quickly. I still have that pillowcase and think of her whenever I see in my linen closet."

My Aunt Doris explained that Oma made hundreds of hangers covered with yarn, many of which she still uses (I myself grew up with many of those hangers in my family's closets!). My grandmother felt that this simple project kept her mother's hands happy even though her vision was dim.

This is my grandmother. She was the first in her family to immigrate to America (her family followed later).

She was also a knitter. My aunts and uncle don't remember her doing much crocheting until later in life when she started making afghans for the grandchildren. She knit mittens, socks, and sweaters. When her children were really young, she bought big secondhand sweaters and unraveled them, using the yarn to make sweaters for them. My Aunt Angie said, "I have memories of going to Heindzelman's in Provo and coming out with a bag of yarn. Doris and I had the job of holding the opened skeins between our hands while Mom wound the balls of yarn. She could knit in the dark. I remember that she used four needles at a time, and a big safety pin to hold her stitches when she turned a heel. She told us that when she was 16, she unraveled a sweater and made herself a bikini. I think there is a picture somewhere of her in that bikini." I hope someone is able to find that photo!

I love and respect these women. They have all had many struggles. My great-grandmother led a hard and simple life on a farm. My Oma and my grandmother went through a lot during World War II. In fact, my Oma survived the bombing of Pforzheim on February 23, 1945, by running down to the river near her home and standing in the freezing cold water were there was still oxygen available. This was one of the most devastating area bombardments of the war which killed about one fifth of the town's population and destroyed about 83% of the town's buildings. They also had to deal with the many struggles and heartache that come from being an immigrant.

It is nice now to learn about these smaller details and memories of these great women. It's amazing how much such simple things can touch a family. I feel like I know them a little better, and love knowing that I share the love of using my hands with them. Because of that, "H" is for Heritage.

A portrait of my mother's family. My mother is the baby of the family (bottom left).

{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }

Cindy/Snid May 14, 2008 at 3:35 am: Beautiful post!

Tania - Jet Designs May 14, 2008 at 4:39 am: Such lovely memories

Bobbi May 14, 2008 at 6:13 am: Very cool!

Fuji Mama's Mama May 14, 2008 at 7:48 am: Thanks for collecting these beautiful memories. These are three wonderful women, and you can be proud that you are following in their footsteps. You have many of their other talents as well.

Phoe May 14, 2008 at 9:24 am: Lovely post!

Jackie May 14, 2008 at 10:38 am: Good for you for continuing on the family traditions! Your work is equally priceless and maybe someday your little squirrel will be posting her praise of her mommy’s skills too!

karipuce May 15, 2008 at 7:12 am: coucou fuji mama do you have receive the “bannière”
what do you think about
friendly
karipuce

soCherry May 17, 2008 at 3:05 am: A lovely post – thank you for sharing such lovely photos and memories :)

Greg May 19, 2008 at 2:12 pm: I am a New York Times bestselling author working on a new book about mother-daughter relationships and thought you might want to contribute. Please visit my page for details about submitting stories for Mom’s Little Angel.

Gregory E. Lang
Author of “Daddy’s Little Girl,” “Why a Daughter Needs a Dad,” “Why a Daughter Needs a Mom” and more.

Anonymous May 21, 2008 at 7:27 am: What a great post!
And guess how surprised I was to read that the great-grandmother of a food-blogger in Japan actually is from Pforzheim, my hometown!
btw, I really like your blog!

Fuji Mama May 21, 2008 at 7:50 am: Hi Anonymous, not only is my great-grandmother from Pforzheim, but my grandmother is as well!

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