Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Doilies are Something


Someday, you may come across a little crumpled lacy thing.  Maybe you will be digging through the family cedar chest, looking for those special tea towels, and you'll find this weird little curled up lace thing.



You may not know who made it.  But you know it's something.

Long ago, someone finished washing the dishes, put some quiet music on the stereo, and put on her glasses.  She turned on the lamp nearest her chair, and lifted the piece up close to her face to look at the spot where she left off.  Then she pulled a few yards of string from her knitting bag, and knit a few stitches.  She paused and checked the new stitches to make sure they looked right.  Then she knit a few more stitches until she got to the end of a repeat.  The doily looked as it should, so she kept going.  It was going to set on that end table near the sofa.  It would look nice there, under the figurine that she had brought back from Italy.

She kept going until she finished it.  It was lovely, one of the nicest doilies she had made.  She put it in her ironing basket and thought she might block it on Saturday.

But that was long ago, and the doily ended up at the bottom of the family cedar chest. And it stayed there in a crumpled ball, for years.  How many times was the chest opened and closed over the decades?  Hundreds of times?  Yet no one paid any mind to the curly, lacy things at the bottom.  After all, they were nothing -- just some old crumpled up doilies.

The fancy lace tablecloths and matching napkins that were the pride of the German great aunts were passed down with great reverence to the next generation, who remembered the aunts taking them out every year for holiday dinners.  Those stately table linens were sent out to the cleaners after each use and put away lovingly to await the next ceremonial opening of the cedar chest.  Those were something.




But the doilies remained, untouched and unloved for decades -- until someone looked at them and said, those are something.  And then they were blocked and starched and loved.  Yes, they are loved.  Doilies are something.

3 comments:

onwardb said...

Yes. Yes they are. Just found four made by my beloved Grandmother - it's been 40 years since she's been gone, but her loveliness still shines through in her delicate and beautifully intricate lace work. I am so happy to have recently found both her doilies, and your blog. Thank you for sharing!

Elín said...

Lovely lovely doilies.
Where did you get that awesome blocking table thing :)

OceanKnitter said...

Thank you! The board is called Sew E-Z, and I got it years ago. I think you can still buy them, but you have to hunt around. I have the big one, 33" x 51" -- great for lace shawls and tablecloths. They did make a smaller size. I'd be interested to know if you find them online. Good luck!