Create memories
Making connects us to our past and creates memories for the future.
A couple or years ago my mother, who is now in her late 90s handed me an item wrapped in an old pillow slip, telling me that she had come across it when she was tidying her wardrobe and thought I might like to have it. When I unwrapped the bundled it revealed a beautiful white crocheted shawl. My mother told me that my grandmother had made her the shawl more than 50 years ago. Even though I don’t recall seeing my mother wearing this particular shawl, I had an immediate recollection and memory of my grandmother crocheting. She was an avid crocheter and knitter (like my mother) and taught me how to crochet at the age of 7 or 8.
Over the following weeks, my mother also gave me many old pattern books. As I flipped through the pattern leaflets not only did I see the generations and fashions unfold, I also saw my own childhood, teenage years and adulthood pass before me as I remembered each garment, recalled the yarn, colour and feel of each one. Recalling my favourites felt like seeing old friends after a long absence as I remembered the events they were made for and why I liked them so much – was it associated with the perfect fit, the perfect softness or weight of the yarn or was it an event that I attended and it just made me feel good. I also realised how prolific my mother was and that very few garments of my childhood and youth were not made by her, even my dolls had handmade clothing. I loved the clothes my mother made me, and I have very fond memories of poring over magazines and patterns, going shopping looking at the latest designs and fashions and my mum saying ‘I can make that’. Then watching her draft up patterns, altering the style and design to suit my wishes, choosing fabric or yarn and then watching the garment come to life.
These events reminded me not only of the joy of making, but also the love and skills that are passed down through generations of families and the important role they play. They really are the threads that bind us together, connect us to our past and weave our memories into an intricate blanket, that we can wrap around us and feel the warmth time and time again.