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Wednesday, May 07, 2014

Grandmother's Lace

Grandma's Present 

Every Christmas
Grandma gave us handkerchiefs
Girls, hand laced edges
Embroidered initials
for the boys.  Your grandmother?

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Poem Copyright, © 2014 Jimmiehov, All Rights Reserved

Today I am linked with Susie Clevenger of  Real Toads, Bits of Information

At the link above, Susie has an excellent summary of the history of lace.  Did you know that in the olden days the lace trade was a hot ticket to riches?  Much was smuggled across borders. Cheap child labor was prevalent in the industry. Prices were very high, etc, etc.

Our challenge by Susie was to write an original piece involving lace.  My Tanka poem was written with my iPad as we are still traveling.  It is true. My grandmother was wonderful!  She was also excellent at any type of needlework and sewing. 

11 comments:

  1. Aw... Much as I loved my grandmother she never gave me lace. Very nice hand knitted socks (that I still use), but never lace. This is very nice!

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  2. aw...my grandma was an excellent cook and made those mouth watering pickles....ah those were the days... :) what a wonderful gift a handkerchief with initials makes...beautiful lines :)

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  3. I carried my great grandmother's lace hankie down the aisle many, many years ago.

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  4. What treasured gifts. I can picture your Christmas morning. Thanks for writing!!

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  5. She had doilies on the back of her chairs and under her vases… I don't recall handkerchiefs. Sweet poem.

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  6. My grandmother insisted I learned to embroider handkerchiefs myself, and she gave me so many of the lace-edged variety - I still have a few at the back of my drawer.

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  7. Yes! I remember cloth handkerchiefs......before Kleenex. Back then, the thought of all the "disposable" things we use today would have horrified my grandma. Not to mention how expensive everything is. She was of the generation that saved brown paper, bits of string, used everything. It was a good way to live.

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  8. I relate to the surgery your wife had recently ... back in 1989 I had bunion surgery on both feet (at the same time) ... if I hadn't gone that route, I would NEVER have returned for the second surgery! One of the most painful times in my almost 73 years ....

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  9. Grandmother gave me books and mosaics and etchings. All our grandmothers made things with their hands.

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  10. Please have a safe and blessed trip, Dr & Mrs Jim :)

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