And I have my grandmother’s cedar chest too. With all kinds of the bits and pieces you mentioned. Opening does indeed provide the instant childhood throwback. Sigh.
I have my mother’s cedar chest too. The surface is crackled, but it still smells like cedar when I open it. I don’t know when she got it, but she kept all of her blankets and wool sweaters in it. I use it for my plants, it’s just the right size to fit in the space where the sun shines on it.
You're repurposing! 😂 I just love the smell of cedar. My grandad would always cut down a little cedar tree for the Christmas tree. The house smelled heavenly! But it hurt to decorate then darned thing!
My mother had the same cedar chest! My sister has it now. I still remember the smell!
I inherited the crafty gene from my mother. We made holiday ornaments, sewed quilts using bedsheets and yarn, painted vintage lawn chairs and more. She sewed dresses for us when we were small and made so many cushion and bed covers - all with piping!
I sew, do needlework, make jewelry, and work with stained glass. Always have several projects going at once. I doubt I would have done any of it if my mother didn’t get me started.
I loved doing stained glass, but I have no place to do it now. I did it for years when I had a garage, but apartments don’t have a safe space for glass chips.
Yes...safety first! (No matter how hard I try to clean up a broken glass, inevitably I will find a chip later... never fails!) My Alaska friend has recently started doing stained glass. She finds it very relaxing.
Caryn, that is so cool. You really did inherit your mom's talent. That requires a finesse I dont have...my daughter has it, though. She would work on all kinds of projects then go to makers show and sometimes haul in $1000! She enjoyed making string art and sold a ton of it. My friend who is a surgeon recently started making stained glass and loves it. She finds it very relaxing. Keep creating! So good for the soul!
Well, the doll was stored in the cedar chest for goodness knows how long...and the ornaments always get wrapped and stored after every season. I guess age makes you reconsider your views on so many things. At the time, I thought these were silly...but now I see how my farm women were using their imaginations with the materials they had. So I feel like I have rediscovered them! :)
Your art is your pen and your camera. We are the lucky ones that get a window to it. My one grandmother crochet everything. There was so much of it in the bathroom. Everything was pink. I thought it was cool. My mother's artist talent was talking on the phone for 3 hours. She was too busy trying to please my father. If housekeeping and cooking was an Olympic event, she would have won a gold medal.
I love crafters of all kind. I love art. It feeds the spirit. We need more craftsmanship.
I always find it fascinating older people in the comment sections write about walking miles a day, climbing a mountain, biking for miles, gym workouts and so on. It's amazing. 👏👏 I bitch when I have to walk to the mailbox. I'm the least athletic person I know. My girls are very athletic. They didn't get that from me. The only time I want to sweat is shopping at estate sales or sex. 😅 Love you! Stay sane!
😂😂😂😂😂😂 Dear god, Lisa. You're hilarious! I have no idea why I've always loved the gym...maybe it's because I had cute trainers back in the day. 🤣 But it's probably because I like to bake. HA! THANK YOU for saying nice things. Today especially, I needed that. LOVE you! 😘
I've been out doing snow removal. It looks like you found some treasures, the priceless kind. I've been watching series on TV, trying to beat the Grand Master on my chess app, and taking naps. I'm thinking about going down to the Statehouse tomorrow. That depends how late this work goes. Try to stay as level headed as you can. Have a great day.😘
Ahhh this essay was really beautiful, thank you. I have so many of my mother, grandmother and great-gramma's pieces. I once thought of starting a museum of women's handwork. Happily, the real museums have taken this up. (I highly recommend the American Folk Art Museum and Museum of Arts and Design, within blocks of each other in NYC near Columbus Circle.) The young DIYers on Etsy are so inspiring!
I don't think you are alone with your instinct to revisit the comforts of the past. The SNL nostalgia is another example, I think. My hubs and I are now working our way through ALL of SNL, available on the Peacock streamer, because we find ourselves so comforted by reliving the 1970s. The Sly Stone doc is also a hit, with his fantastic funk from the 1970s. Yet in those years, we were seriously troubled as a nation. I wonder, in 50 years, what will be the SNL, the crochet-clad doll, the cedar chest scent that may make some nostalgic for the 2020s?
Great question...what will it be? I'm confident the urge to express yourself in some manner will never leave the human spirit. Love you! Been thinking of you.❤️
Wow, this essay really takes me back! My mom had a cedar chest, and it was off limits to us. My small hometown had a Ben Franklin, which was where we'd get our candy and browse the other aisles on lazy summer days.
She was also a knitter and though I didn't learn from her (I'm left-handed and she wasn't; her attempt to teach me how to crochet ended in disaster), her beautiful work inspired me to learn a few decades later. No TP covers, though! Every stitch is a meditation and an infusion of love into the object. Daily knitting time helps keep me sane these days.
So you had a Ben Franklin, too! There is still one in Monroe City, Missouri, not far from our farm. I remember walking in, following mom down the narrow aisles, looking at all the beads and yarn! I'm sure she wished I was able to carry on the family tradition! It just wasnt my thing. I treasure her throws, sweaters, and scarfs!
I thought Ben Franklin stores had all closed up years ago; it's comforting to know that isn't true.
Knitting isn't for everybody: there are more variables to manage than most people think. I'm sure your mom would be happy that you treasure her work, as even that isn't very common these days.
Ah, so you've experienced the joys of trying to marry pattern, yarn, needles (including needle composition), stitch gauge, and row gauge to get the desired result! 'Nuff said.
I bet your sweater is gorgeous. I learned to knit because I wanted to do Scandinavian-style colorwork, but cables grabbed me first. I've yet to attempt a fisherman's sweater, though; I don't need something that warm here in New Mexico.
What a lovely post this morning Susan, thank you. Funny, I keep finding similarities in our likes and dislikes and our abilities such as replacing missing buttons! 🤣
I’m trying to keep myself busy all the time now. Away from the TV and the news. Doing my art, not as often as I’d like, but mostly I’m working on myself. I walk at least two miles a day, every day, and go to a gym three days a week. I’m trying to get past my depression and anger over all this. Crying all of January took its toll. Being more physically active has really helped with my mental health.
And I’ve become an activist again. Made anti musk signs Friday night with a bunch of friends and protested at the Tesla dealer here in town yesterday...and I’ll be going to the national day of protest on Monday!
This is great stuff Joanne, I'm grateful. I raise money for the University of Arizona Poetry Center here in Tucson. This week, one of our donors divested of his Tesla stock and donated ALL the proceeds to the Poetry Center for an environmental poetry reading series. This one action, like yours, will ripple outward.
You are absolutely doing the right thing! Havent we all had moments of deep sadness and that overwhelming feeling of defeat! It's so important for our mental health to stay focused on other things. I'm in the gym and it sure does help. I'm baking. And I'm planning on taking a drive to Harrisburg, PA tomorrow for the rally there. YOU have a great day too. We are not alone. We have each other. 💙
Thank You for not being political today. That cedar chest is like a treasure chest. I hope this brings you closer in heart to your family. I bought a cedar chest for my daughter for her graduation because I didn't get one. Now she didn't get a daughter but maybe the daughter in law will appreciate opening a cedar chest, and finding the treasures.
Nice...it's such a keepsake. Not a lot of people know what a cedar chest even is today. And finding those things in it took me right back! Wonderful women, all of them. Thanks Fernie, for being here!!
I can crochet but haven’t since I was still in my thirties. My problem is I can’t read directions on how to make anything. You can only make so many Tatting doilies and scarves . The little christmas decorations were my sister in laws specialty. Ha ha! Thanks enjoy all your articles.
Aw....well, I appreciate you being here. I just had to get away from the disaster unfolding before our eyes. Finding mom's half finished work was kinda sad. But it did remind me of that time I tried to learn to crochet with disastrous results! 😂😂
And I have my grandmother’s cedar chest too. With all kinds of the bits and pieces you mentioned. Opening does indeed provide the instant childhood throwback. Sigh.
For sure! The smell of cedar! Totally takes me back! 💙
Love love love this! Be curious!!!
I have my mother’s cedar chest too. The surface is crackled, but it still smells like cedar when I open it. I don’t know when she got it, but she kept all of her blankets and wool sweaters in it. I use it for my plants, it’s just the right size to fit in the space where the sun shines on it.
You're repurposing! 😂 I just love the smell of cedar. My grandad would always cut down a little cedar tree for the Christmas tree. The house smelled heavenly! But it hurt to decorate then darned thing!
My mother had the same cedar chest! My sister has it now. I still remember the smell!
I inherited the crafty gene from my mother. We made holiday ornaments, sewed quilts using bedsheets and yarn, painted vintage lawn chairs and more. She sewed dresses for us when we were small and made so many cushion and bed covers - all with piping!
I sew, do needlework, make jewelry, and work with stained glass. Always have several projects going at once. I doubt I would have done any of it if my mother didn’t get me started.
I loved doing stained glass, but I have no place to do it now. I did it for years when I had a garage, but apartments don’t have a safe space for glass chips.
Yes...safety first! (No matter how hard I try to clean up a broken glass, inevitably I will find a chip later... never fails!) My Alaska friend has recently started doing stained glass. She finds it very relaxing.
Caryn, that is so cool. You really did inherit your mom's talent. That requires a finesse I dont have...my daughter has it, though. She would work on all kinds of projects then go to makers show and sometimes haul in $1000! She enjoyed making string art and sold a ton of it. My friend who is a surgeon recently started making stained glass and loves it. She finds it very relaxing. Keep creating! So good for the soul!
I’ve read your endearing story three times and that’s not nearly enough.
I was the same and am ashamed of myself.
I have so much guilt... my snobby feelings about their work then... and now, I cherish every item they left behind. Youth is not always kind.
Thanks Gloria. I honestly believe you would have loved my grandmother. She was smart and sassy in the kindest way. 😘
I must say Susan by the pictures you post here your keepsakes look like they are brand new. Such wonderful treasures to have ❤️
Yeah I feel the same but then when you go back and look at them years later they bring back so many memories
Well, the doll was stored in the cedar chest for goodness knows how long...and the ornaments always get wrapped and stored after every season. I guess age makes you reconsider your views on so many things. At the time, I thought these were silly...but now I see how my farm women were using their imaginations with the materials they had. So I feel like I have rediscovered them! :)
Your art is your pen and your camera. We are the lucky ones that get a window to it. My one grandmother crochet everything. There was so much of it in the bathroom. Everything was pink. I thought it was cool. My mother's artist talent was talking on the phone for 3 hours. She was too busy trying to please my father. If housekeeping and cooking was an Olympic event, she would have won a gold medal.
I love crafters of all kind. I love art. It feeds the spirit. We need more craftsmanship.
I always find it fascinating older people in the comment sections write about walking miles a day, climbing a mountain, biking for miles, gym workouts and so on. It's amazing. 👏👏 I bitch when I have to walk to the mailbox. I'm the least athletic person I know. My girls are very athletic. They didn't get that from me. The only time I want to sweat is shopping at estate sales or sex. 😅 Love you! Stay sane!
😂😂😂😂😂😂 Dear god, Lisa. You're hilarious! I have no idea why I've always loved the gym...maybe it's because I had cute trainers back in the day. 🤣 But it's probably because I like to bake. HA! THANK YOU for saying nice things. Today especially, I needed that. LOVE you! 😘
I am working on a book of my erotic poetry.
Yes, please !!!!
That sounds PERFECT!!!! 🥰
I've been out doing snow removal. It looks like you found some treasures, the priceless kind. I've been watching series on TV, trying to beat the Grand Master on my chess app, and taking naps. I'm thinking about going down to the Statehouse tomorrow. That depends how late this work goes. Try to stay as level headed as you can. Have a great day.😘
I may drive down to Harrisburg as I am in Philly till the end of the month… weather depending. A nap! They are glorious! I took one today! HUGS!
Absolute magic 🪄
Magical treasure trove!
Ahhh this essay was really beautiful, thank you. I have so many of my mother, grandmother and great-gramma's pieces. I once thought of starting a museum of women's handwork. Happily, the real museums have taken this up. (I highly recommend the American Folk Art Museum and Museum of Arts and Design, within blocks of each other in NYC near Columbus Circle.) The young DIYers on Etsy are so inspiring!
I don't think you are alone with your instinct to revisit the comforts of the past. The SNL nostalgia is another example, I think. My hubs and I are now working our way through ALL of SNL, available on the Peacock streamer, because we find ourselves so comforted by reliving the 1970s. The Sly Stone doc is also a hit, with his fantastic funk from the 1970s. Yet in those years, we were seriously troubled as a nation. I wonder, in 50 years, what will be the SNL, the crochet-clad doll, the cedar chest scent that may make some nostalgic for the 2020s?
Great question...what will it be? I'm confident the urge to express yourself in some manner will never leave the human spirit. Love you! Been thinking of you.❤️
Wow, this essay really takes me back! My mom had a cedar chest, and it was off limits to us. My small hometown had a Ben Franklin, which was where we'd get our candy and browse the other aisles on lazy summer days.
She was also a knitter and though I didn't learn from her (I'm left-handed and she wasn't; her attempt to teach me how to crochet ended in disaster), her beautiful work inspired me to learn a few decades later. No TP covers, though! Every stitch is a meditation and an infusion of love into the object. Daily knitting time helps keep me sane these days.
So you had a Ben Franklin, too! There is still one in Monroe City, Missouri, not far from our farm. I remember walking in, following mom down the narrow aisles, looking at all the beads and yarn! I'm sure she wished I was able to carry on the family tradition! It just wasnt my thing. I treasure her throws, sweaters, and scarfs!
I thought Ben Franklin stores had all closed up years ago; it's comforting to know that isn't true.
Knitting isn't for everybody: there are more variables to manage than most people think. I'm sure your mom would be happy that you treasure her work, as even that isn't very common these days.
Knitting IS complicated! I gave it my best shot, tho’! She made me a Fishermans Knit sweater than was perfect in every way…I still have it!
Ah, so you've experienced the joys of trying to marry pattern, yarn, needles (including needle composition), stitch gauge, and row gauge to get the desired result! 'Nuff said.
I bet your sweater is gorgeous. I learned to knit because I wanted to do Scandinavian-style colorwork, but cables grabbed me first. I've yet to attempt a fisherman's sweater, though; I don't need something that warm here in New Mexico.
What a lovely post this morning Susan, thank you. Funny, I keep finding similarities in our likes and dislikes and our abilities such as replacing missing buttons! 🤣
I’m trying to keep myself busy all the time now. Away from the TV and the news. Doing my art, not as often as I’d like, but mostly I’m working on myself. I walk at least two miles a day, every day, and go to a gym three days a week. I’m trying to get past my depression and anger over all this. Crying all of January took its toll. Being more physically active has really helped with my mental health.
And I’ve become an activist again. Made anti musk signs Friday night with a bunch of friends and protested at the Tesla dealer here in town yesterday...and I’ll be going to the national day of protest on Monday!
Enjoy your Sunday!
This is great stuff Joanne, I'm grateful. I raise money for the University of Arizona Poetry Center here in Tucson. This week, one of our donors divested of his Tesla stock and donated ALL the proceeds to the Poetry Center for an environmental poetry reading series. This one action, like yours, will ripple outward.
You are absolutely doing the right thing! Havent we all had moments of deep sadness and that overwhelming feeling of defeat! It's so important for our mental health to stay focused on other things. I'm in the gym and it sure does help. I'm baking. And I'm planning on taking a drive to Harrisburg, PA tomorrow for the rally there. YOU have a great day too. We are not alone. We have each other. 💙
Thank You for not being political today. That cedar chest is like a treasure chest. I hope this brings you closer in heart to your family. I bought a cedar chest for my daughter for her graduation because I didn't get one. Now she didn't get a daughter but maybe the daughter in law will appreciate opening a cedar chest, and finding the treasures.
Nice...it's such a keepsake. Not a lot of people know what a cedar chest even is today. And finding those things in it took me right back! Wonderful women, all of them. Thanks Fernie, for being here!!
Beautiful Susan, have no memories that bring joy but yours are nice.
I can crochet but haven’t since I was still in my thirties. My problem is I can’t read directions on how to make anything. You can only make so many Tatting doilies and scarves . The little christmas decorations were my sister in laws specialty. Ha ha! Thanks enjoy all your articles.
Aw....well, I appreciate you being here. I just had to get away from the disaster unfolding before our eyes. Finding mom's half finished work was kinda sad. But it did remind me of that time I tried to learn to crochet with disastrous results! 😂😂