Mimi's Blanket all done.

Hi Everyone,

I just had the best day at work.  We had a wonderful group of stitchers (The Vintage Stitchers) in the shop today.  They are such nice ladies and great stitchers too.   And, they brought super yummy BAKED goods!   All in all it was a busy day, and fun filled!

On Monday 2/16/09 I finished repairing Mimi's blanket.  It was one of the best days I have had doing restoration work.  Mimi said "I feel like you made my Mom safe."  I can't even tell you how much that meant to me.  Right then I knew that I was doing the work I need and want to do.  

Here is a picture of the blanket in progress:

All finished in the best room in the house:

While working on this blanket I felt like I was getting to know Mimi's mom.  The knitting was so perfect.  Each triangle has the same tension and size.  Having consistent tension in any kind of needle work is essential for a quality piece.  Her work is amazing.  The only part of the blanket I had to work on was where the triangles were joined.  It seems like the cotton had stretched and given way in places due to age the weight of the lace.

When presenting the finished blanket to Mimi she told me a bit more about her mom.  She was a criminal court lawyer and passed the bar in the 1930s.  That she actually defended people in court that were on trial for murder!  Natalie was quite a firecracker and only her husband ever called her Bitsy.   

Also her mom was not very domestically inclined.   She was not one to do crafts all of the time.  However, she did knit and some crochet.  The blanket was a big project and took many years to complete.  It is truly a masterpiece.

Here is a photo of Mimi with the beautiful blanket:

Mimi is very happy with the blanket.  Her plans are to "keep it in a guest room where she can see it -- and people won't touch it." 

More soon,

Mary Elizabeth

Mimi's Lace Knit Cotton Blanket

Good Morning,

Today I am working on a knit lace afghan made by my clients Mom.  It is expertly knit triangles hand sewn into squares. The entire blanket has a fab scalloped edging. The color is this amazing creamy ecru color that cotton acquires as it ages. It has been around for a while now. Mimi (the daughter and my client) has taken great care of the textile, however over the years the triangles have begun to separate.

Like I said the knit lace is fab but sewing all of the bits together to make a large bed sized coverlet must have been daunting indeed. Especially when Natalie was not a crafter at heart. This is her one grand opus into the textile arts. Her daughter wants to save it — and that is where I come into the story. That is what I do (at least what I am happiest doing) sewing, crafting, creating, repairing, conserving, inspecting, just working with textiles.

It is time I starting working on it and not typing. I would like to call her today with the good news of its completion. I hope to post before and after photos. As this is my maiden blogging voyage I am not counting on anything yet.

I'm downloading some stitching music today's selection is a Röyscopp album called Melody A. M. I found it from that Insurance commercial with the guy on the people mover in the airport. The song in the back ground is Remind Me. Just a haunting tune in a great record. It got stuck in my head after seeing in on t.v. Silly way to find some fab music. Still I am glad to have it.

Yours,

Mary Elizabeth

Post Script: Well the photos are here but not where I want them. The large one is a square that is made up of the knit triangles. The other two show how it is coming apart at the seams. Please stick with me -- I promise to get better at this blogging business. :) m.e.