Past perfect

I talked about my grandmother’s tablecloth last spring.  It was handed down to me by her last living child, my uncle Ralph.  A kinder more gentle man you will never know.  This tablecloth is an excellent example of my grandmother’s incredible talent and tenacity.  She was a women’s rights advocate before it became cool.  She was also an angry and frustrated woman who could no more communicate her love for you than she could fly to the moon.  Very sad for her, very bittersweet for me.  The pictures here don’t really do the cloth justice, but I know you will get the general idea when you see them.  She took linen pieces my father brought back from Europe after World War II and crocheted them together to make a magnificent tablecloth that we use each year on Thanksgiving.

It’s crocheted together using what looks like Crosheen cotton.  The color is natural linen with the crocheted thread a darker ecru.   She must have used a very small hook because the triple crochets are barely visible  There were pieces missing from parts of the cloth, so she made those the corners and crocheted these:

As I said, magnificent.  I treasure this because it is part of our family history and because my grandmother put such love and craft into it.  I will hand this down.   We only use it once a year because I’m too lazy to take it to the cleaners to be pressed.  I have ironed this sucker and I do not intend to do it again. I will spend yarn money to have it pressed, so you know I’m not joking.  The lovely Korean lady at our cleaners (who are a “green” cleaner which means my stuff doesn’t stink anymore) told me it was among the most beautiful she had ever seen.  Probably not, but it certainly is a cherished heirloom for me.

My soundtrack today?  A very young Graham Nash and David Crosby singing “Guinevere”.

Have a good one!!!!!