My grandmas are hookers

...but not the bawdy kind. Needlecrafts of any kind--knitting, crochet, cross-stitch, embroidery, sewing...I think that's everything--are abundant in my feminine ancestry. My grandmothers spent many an hour creating many a stitch, each just as perfect as the next. Whether for decorative items like you're about to see, or useful things that have long been used up and worn out (sweaters, hats, scarves, dishcloths) they lovingly stitched through the years, creating beautiful things for those they loved. I can't imagine where they found the time to create so many things, with several children and a lack of modern conveniences that gave them an extra pile of chores and housework to accomplish first. Thinking and looking back, I'm going to venture a guess that crochet was the art of choice, and for good reason--highly portable, easy to correct mistakes, an abundance of stitch patterns to create endless things, and a variety of yarns and threads to go from delicate and lacy to chunky and comfy.

Here are a few things my great grandmother (passed now for almost twenty years) crafted in her hooker years:

My grandma's fall centerpiece sits on a tablecloth crocheted by her mother many years ago.

Zooming in on the details--look at the perfection of those stitches!

 Zooming out for just a fraction of the repeats.

I don't even want to think about how long this took to accomplish. For my 'get it done quick' brain, I don't know if I'd be able to tackle something like this. I'm sure my optometrist would love the extra money from treating the eye strain that I'd be sure to have.

And then there's this...

This is the center of a doily. My grandmother has these on the backs of her armchairs in the living room. I'm sure by the fourth one she flew through lickety-split. 

And I thought I wouldn't have anything crafty to share this weekend. Thing is--I've got more. I've got a peek at the bowtie quilt my grandma made that I showed you the block for a few weeks ago. And I've got some pictures of what addiction looks like. Later, taters!