Making my first Christmas Gift”
Learning to Make Something
On Mondays, from 1:00 to 2:00 pm, instead of going back to classes at school, we assembled at the tables in the playroom, this was for the “Girls” only! Each girl had an assigned seat, and on each Monday, you were sitting ready to receive your bundle of “Handiwork” to work on. Each of us girls were taught by the “Nun in charge, Sister M. Colombo.” You would learn to do embroidery work, and also learn to crochet, and she would soon find out what was best for each girl to do – without wasting time and materials!
Since, I had not done any of this fancy stitching, had to start with a plain white cloth with a lot of “xxx’s” on it, and was told and shown, how to pull the threaded needle up and down across the area . Then told to turn the hoop and start where I had left off, and make an “X” a completed “Cross-stitch.” – “WOW was this ever exciting – as I was only “eight” years old!”
Now that I think about it – I did make quite a few squares of material with Cross-stitch. Whatever the design, I did not really take notice, ( I was only eight years old) but. I’m sure, with enough squares completed, if they are joined together, you could easily have a small quilt?
My eyes were surveying what the older Girls were making, and how fast their fingers and hands were going – those fingers were moving, like they had a mind of their own!
Now that I think about it – this is a very good age to start teaching your young girls how to use a needle and start to stitch a few squares to make something – if only for the little girl’s doll house – or even for a girl friend’s little doll house. The reason for saying this is – that at this time of the year – we all do not have enough money to buy all kinds of gifts – for friends and family – some things that, they do not even want – and may never ever use – but, my idea is for a gift that will last forever – and that would be something amazing, because your hand-made gift, it was made especially – just for them.
Which reminds me, since I was learning to do these “Cross-stitches” – I thought that I would make something just for my “MOM” – a small “Hand-Towel” that had been stamped on the one end, with a design of something – that was just filled with these little “XXX’s” – and since that is what I knew how to do – that is what I did, with just the right colors of thread to make it look beautiful.
All of the free “PLAY” time that I had – I would be sitting there and making my little stitches just as I was taught. It was in September that we were taught this part of needle-work, and now, when I started my project, it was November and December – as I knew that, my brothers, Denny and Tommy and I would be going to our own HOME for a couple of weeks to celebrate “CHRISTMAS” with our parents – and I just had to have something for a nice gift, something that I had made – and something that they would like – just knowing all of that, I had taken my free time to think of them all the while, that I was making this “Hand-Towel” gift.
It is highly possible that, if I were to take the time to search, through some old stuff that did belong to my “MOTHER” – it is possible that, that little hand towel would be found – as I do remember seeing it around for years when my MOTHER was alive – she liked it – and I liked the memory of my MOTHER keeping the little “treasure” for all those many years – just as if – it were worth a MILLION!
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