Thursday, July 10, 2014

Stitches in Time by Shanna Hatfield

Grandma's vintage doily 3
On a recent trip to visit my parents, my octogenarian father handed me this doily and said he wanted me to have it. My great-grandmother made it way back  in the day and despite its obvious wear, I loved it immediately.
Grandma's vintage doily2 
To me, it's more than just a doily. It's a way to reach back in time and get a tiny glimpse into my great-grandmother.  The careful, detailed, beautiful stitching really impressed me, especially since I can barely do more than knot the thread into a snarled mess when I attempt to embroidery anything.
Grandma's vintage doily 1
Another reason I loved receiving this is because it makes me think of Ilsa in the Pendleton Petticoats series. Since the design is wheat, it also fits in perfectly with the book's setting among the wheatfields of Pendleton, Oregon.
Grandma's vintage doily back 
Can you believe this is the back of the piece? I was awed by how neat and tidy it looks.  That is most definitely not how the backs of anything I've done appears.
I'm so happy my dad shared this with me. It means a lot that he'd entrust it into my care. As I sit studying the fine stitches, it helps me better imagine the woman who painstakingly created the doily all those many years ago.

A hopeless romantic with a bit of sarcasm thrown in for good measure, Shanna Hatfield is a best-selling author of clean romantic fiction written with a healthy dose of humor. In addition to blogging and eating too much chocolate, she is completely smitten with her husband, lovingly known as Captain Cavedweller.
Shanna creates character-driven romances with realistic heroes and heroines. Her historical westerns have been described as “reminiscent of the era captured by Bonanza and The Virginian” while her contemporary works have been called “laugh-out-loud funny, and a little heart-pumping sexy without being explicit in any way.”
She is a member of Western Writers of America, Women Writing the West, and Romance Writers of America.

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5 comments:

  1. That's beautiful. What a precious treasure to have. I have several pieces made by the women in my family and I keep them out and use them because it makes me feel close to them.

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  2. The back was amazing (not that the front wasn't beautiful, too). Having a few doilies in my possession from the way-backs, I was amazed yours are so very white!

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  3. What a treasure! You are so lucky to have been given this.

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  4. I remember my grandmother had crocheted blankets with small peggy squares of so many colours, which I just loved looking at and playing with as a child. I always thought I'd love to have a go at it - maybe I should teach myself to crochet!

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  5. What a beautiful treasure! I had a great aunt who tried to teach me to crochet. I never mastered the art.

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