Restoring a Family Heirloom

My great-great Aunt Susie Frazier was a fixture in Howard County, Maryland. She first lived in a house in Ellicott City and then later, she built a ranch house on family land a few miles away, in the middle of some tobacco fields which she rented to local farmers. This was apparently the main source of her income; she had never married. My memories of her were limited to the few times we visited her when she was very, very old (at least as I recall) and the ugly dresses she made for me that my mother made me wear at least once. Her house smelled like you would imagine an old lady's house would smell, she had an old pump organ that we were not allowed to touch and there was nothing to do. We endured these few visits with my mother, because apparently, my mom was one of her favorite grand-nieces (maybe her only?). Mom spent many happy memories as a child at her home when she lived 'in town'. Aunt Sue spoiled her, preferring my mother over her rambunctious little brother, Bucky. Mom has repeated the story many times over how Aunt Sue kept a chamber pot in the house for her, so she wouldn't have to go outside to use the toilet. Apparently that was a big deal, because she didn't do that for the brothers or their male cousins.

                                           
              

What made Aunt Sue particularly well-known was her skill as a seamstress. She supplemented her land-lease income by fashioning and altering clothing for local residents. She even sewed for the governor's family! I remember a quilt on my bed as a child that Aunt Sue made...I remember admiring the little tiny scraps of fabric and choosing my favorites. One scrap in particular reminded me of little cherries; it was my favorite and I made a game of trying to find it among so many others. Why I had so much time to lay under the covers and look at fabric, I'll never know, but it intrigued me. It must have caught on, because now, I LOVE fabric and have way too much of it stashed in my attic!

My mother recently gave me one of Aunt Sue's creations, a yo-yo spread, named because of the shape of the pieces, I suppose. In researching the famous toy yo-yo, it was so named in the 1920s and gained popularity thereafter, although other cultures played with a similar toy. I think this spread was made in the 1930s or 40s, so this makes sense. 

The offending repair

It needed some work. Over the years, of course little care was taken - it was tossed atop many a bed, and summarily bounced on, sent through the wash, hung out in the sun to dry, etc. The all-cotton fibers have taken a beating, and the connecting stitches have come undone in several places. There was also a hasty repair about 20 years ago, that incorporated some very bright fabric; um, it doesn't work. 

 

So, I've got it spread out on my dining room table, where I can enjoy the kaleidoscope of color and pattern while I work on it. I've had to discard a few yo-yo's that were beyond hope, absolutely threadbare. But 90 percent of it is salvageable and beautiful. I've calculated there are almost 3,000 yo-yos. It has taken me at least 15 minutes to trace, cut, needle a running stitch around the perimeter, pull the gathers in to form a smaller circle, iron it flat, and sew ONE circle/yo-yo in place! Giving Aunt Sue credit for  being an expert, and getting much faster at it than I, I figured it took her 300-450 hours to complete this project. And let me tell you, 30 minutes of sewing something very small by hand is exhausting. Although I've hit the 50 mark and wearing multi-focal contact lenses, my eyes were screaming at me for a break after a while. (I seem to remember some very thick spectacles in my memory of Aunt Sue, now that I think about it!) But I cannot imagine her working on this for more than an hour at a time. If she worked at it 9 hours a day, it would have taken her ten weeks of full time work. Certainly it filled a year of after-dinner stitching to the sounds of Fibber McGee and Molly, and The Lone Ranger on the Philco radio. Sounds kinda nice, doesn't it?

I've also been inspired to try making one of my own. It's taken some trial and error, lots of error, and I've temporarily given up while I repair the real thing, but it's been a fun project learning how to do this. I have found very thin cotton to work best. 

The general steps are as follows:

1. Create a 3" circle pattern from lightweight cardboard (like a cereal box).
2. Trace onto several layers of fabric; cut many at a time (but, I'm not trying to cut all 3,000 circles at once!).
3. Stack alike fabrics together.
4. Using a quilting needle, sew a running stitch around the perimeter of the circle, about 1/4" from the edge, with a knot in the end of the thread.
5. Without knotting or cutting the end of the thread, pull it so that it gathers the circle around a finger. Knot it off after it is gathered and pulled tightly, creating the "yo-yo."
6. Press with a hot iron, to flatten.
7. After arranging the colors and designs, sew the yo-yos together at four points, creating a 'square' of 16 (8 of each pattern). 
8. After sewing 169 squares of 16 each, stitch them together in an appealing pattern to make a bedspread that will fit a queen size bed. 

Among the hundreds of faded vintage fabrics, I have found the ugly gray dress...still searching for the elusive cherries. So many pretty fabrics. I'm really thankful I have this treasure.

The backside (see that ugly gray gingham?)

ANOTHER engagement!

I know! It is absolutely crazy! I guess this is what our parents were thinking when all of our kids were born - bam-bam-bam. Three of them in just 3 years or so, the first of which was a "honeymoon baby." :)

So I guess I shouldn't be surprised that my three oldest, stair-step children are all getting married within 18 months of each other. It's just head-spinning, mind-boggling, wallet splitting fun! I'm so excited for each of them...let me brag on them and their significant others for a few minutes...


I'll introduce you to Nathan and Mary first, since their big engagement news is the headline of this post and the most recent development. Nate (as apparently he is only called at home) is Metty #3, born in Rome, Italy in 1989 while we were on assignment with Texas Instruments. (My husband had the privilege of working on a team of talented engineers who designed and built a $400 million "wafer fab" (computer chips) in the mountains of central Italy. That assignment plays into the story later on...) Nate is a senior Industrial Design major at Appalachian State University, where he met dear Mary years ago. She is also graduating soon with a degree in Early Childhood Development. She's a tall, blonde beauty with a kind and thoughtful heart. She's from here in North Carolina, and we just love her to bits. Nate is simultaneously two years into his 8 year commitment with the Army National Guard, and is presently missing the first 6 weeks of his senior year for training! He's blowing stuff up and loving it, though he misses his sweet Mary. They are planning an outdoor wedding in May.

Twenty-three years ago, when Nate was born, the Italian chemists that were assisting TI with their project in Avezzano gave us a gift for "il piccolo bambino." It was a beautiful gold ladies' bracelet with a place for engraving. My husband told them, "but the baby is a boy." They promptly replied that it was for his wife someday. So I've had this gorgeous piece in my jewelry box for all these years. Each time I saw it over the years, I thought about who would wear it one day, wondered when that would be and said a little prayer for her. So a few weeks ago when Nate ordered a stunning diamond ring, I began making plans to give this bracelet to Mary as well. I had the word Paziente (patience in Italian) engraved on the front, and their wedding date on the back. Patience marks their relationship in many ways, but I thought it was a significant word for me, too, as I've waited for my son to blossom into maturity and take on a family of his own. He as well has practiced a great deal of patience waiting for Mary to love him as he has loved her for so, so long. He's loved her since he met her, but they both dated others throughout college. He told me that he had always subconsciously measured the others with Mary as his standard. Love IS patient. 

I took a little road trip last Wednesday, and took Mary out to lunch. After we ordered our drinks, Mary thanked me for taking her to lunch, "Well, this is really nice. Thank you for taking me out today!" I promptly told her that I had a reason why I traveled three hours to take her to lunch, and I began to tell her the story of the bracelet. I told her that I had been praying for her for 23 years, and it's been so amazing to see what God has brought to us! It was such a rewarding time to be able to finally give that bracelet to the woman God had been preparing for our son. He had been preparing both of them for this moment with each other, both mature young adults, ready to take on the responsibilities of committing their lives to each other.

I wish that I had a story like that for each of my kids, but Nate was the only one given a gift like that at birth. But it sure makes me want to do it for my grandkids.

However, the idea of legacy has resonated with me for a long time, perhaps because of the gold bracelet. I've been collecting little things for my daughters and saving things for them passed on to me from my mother. And I've paid attention to the crazy family stories of generations past, and repeated them to my kids. And I've put aside things for my sons wives, and saved the sentimental things for them, because I know men don't appreciate things like that.

Jon, our oldest son and second-born, married lovely Stacey last December. I wrote all about that here. He was the first to get married, and there was a wide range and flood of emotions tied to that happy event. Stacey is a wonderful young woman, tender hearted yet strong, absolutely perfectly suited to Jon. They're both adventurous, energetic, and wildly interested in the world around them. Both are still in school full time (dental school for her, engineering school for him). She is strong where he is weak and vice versa. They serve God together and have great vision for their future together. I love the woman God brought to Jon.

I had been keeping something for Stacey as well for many years, though not as dramatic a story as Nate's bracelet. I wanted to give something to Jon's wife someday, too, so I kept my eyes and ears open when he was a small boy to try and find the thing that was special to him. Little boys adore their mothers for a few years, and I treasured the times my sons told me I was pretty. (Oh man, I'm tearing up thinking about those snuggly moments with those cherub-faced little three year olds...) I remember Jon telling me he liked a particular necklace I would wear often, a silver chain with a sapphire cross that my uncle had given me as a girl. After Jon put a diamond on Stacey's finger, I took her to lunch as well, and gave her the beginnings of a charm bracelet, with the cross attached, and welcomed her into our ever-growing family. We had spent a week together on a missions trip a few months before, and were beginning to bond. I'm so happy to have more sons and daughters!

Our oldest, Abby, became Mrs. Dave Stalsbroten in a backyard ceremony under a canopy of trees on a beautiful spring day. I didn't have a special bracelet for Dave, but I'm sure he doesn't mind. I did give him a really cool Piggly Wiggly t-shirt that he says has been a ticket to fame in Seattle! But again, what an awesome guy, just a huge expression of love from our wonderful God. Abby was enjoying a great job, a great new city with all the new adventures related to both, and God just absolutely surprised her with a fast-paced romance. I think it was only a date or two before they both realized this is what they had been waiting so patiently for. Such a beautiful thing to see your kids come together like that. One of the most special times I remember with Dave was when he called (from Nicaragua - he spent 15 months there serving a non-profit) to talk to us about marrying Abby. We talked small talk for an hour before he got down to business. He said that he loved Abby very much and she was what he had been waiting for and could he have our blessing on popping the big question? Dave works in the health insurance industry, for a company with some innovative concepts. They are both creative people and dream of having a business together someday. They take full advantage of their beautiful surroundings in Seattle and spend lots of time outdoors.

We have our youngest, Jessie (who has made an pact with a friend that if they are both single at 35 they'll marry each other, but I don't anticipate that really happening. And anyway, 35 is a really long way off and he wants a bracelet, but we're fresh out), who is contentedly enjoying her life as a college sophomore. All this family change has been tough sometimes emotionally. The biggest thing she and I have discussed is the huge shift in loyalties. The big brothers that you hang out with and get so close to, and feel like YOU are their special girl, suddenly find another special girl, and it's tough! But she is getting to enjoy only child status for a while, which she's never gotten to experience, and we're making the most of this unique time in our lives. It won't be long before I'll be writing about the man who stole our baby's heart...

So...Wedding Number Three - here we come!