Rambling with Ann

Rambling with Ann

By ANN WORTHINGTON

I stood there overwhelmed at the sight of so much furniture, bedroom suits, tables, dinette sets, stoves, and many more items too numerous to mention.

Looking at a dresser, I thought what this particular piece of furniture would have looked like if it had been in my parents’ home.

It certainly wouldn’t have been sitting there, just a plain piece of furniture; rather, it would have had the top covered with a fine piece of linen or cloth like it.

Back in the day, most people used scarves on their dressers, chest of drawers, nightstands and most other pieces of furniture, except maybe the table that was most regularly used for the weekly family meals.

My parents didn’t use just any kind of scarf. Mother always crocheted a pretty border around the scarf. She also embroidered a scene of some kind on them, such as bouquets of flowers, complete with brightly colored yarn, and an appropriate butterfly or something to complement the scene.

She also made little doilies to place on the backs and arms of our sofas and chairs. She made them from the same material, matching the colored thread and embroidery pattern she used on the other pieces of furniture. I thought the little pieces of material on the pieces of furniture were absolutely beautiful and planned to do the same thing to my furniture when I grew up and had a home of my own. However, I didn’t inherit my mom’s artistic ability, so I decided to leave my furniture plain and simple.

I remember my mom had very special times when she would wash, starch and iron those furniture covers.

She didn’t squirt a little dab of instant starch on her items of clothing or table runners, as she often referred to the furniture scarves.

She used starch that had to be cooked on the wood stove, mixed with more water and cooled. Then she would dip the scarves into this mix, hang them on the outside line to dry, roll them in a pillow case, and in a few minutes, she would iron them.

They were just as stiff as boards. The coverings depicting the pretty flowers, butterflies, and other creatures made them seemingly come alive.

I don’t believe I would have the patience to sit for hours and stitch or embroider pieces of material like my mom did; however, she spent many hours on her many hobbies.

During her later years, it gave me great pleasure when I would see my mom with her head bent low over some project she decided to tackle. I knew it was giving good exercise to hands and fingers that were afflicted with arthritis.

It’s fun to drift off into my world of memories of my childhood, and especially of the two parents I loved so much.

So now, my friends, as I bring another memory to close, I hope all of you good days in the weeks ahead. As always, until next time, may God hold all of you safely in the palm of his hand.


Thursday, April 17, 2008 www.whiteville.com

	Rambling with Ann By ANN WORTHINGTON I stood there overwhelmed at the sight of so much furniture, bedroom suits, tables, dinette sets, stoves, and many more items too numerous to mention. Looking at a dresser, I thought what this particular piece of furniture would have looked like if it had been in my parents’ home. It certainly wouldn’t have been sitting there, just a plain piece of furniture; rather, it would have had the top covered with a fine piece of linen or cloth like it. Back in the day, most people used scarves on their dressers, chest of drawers, nightstands and most other pieces of furniture, except maybe the table that was most regularly used for the weekly family meals. My parents didn’t use just any kind of scarf. Mother always crocheted a pretty border around the scarf. She also embroidered a scene of some kind on them, such as bouquets of flowers, complete with brightly colored yarn, and an appropriate butterfly or something to complement the scene. She also made little doilies to place on the backs and arms of our sofas and chairs. She made them from the same material, matching the colored thread and embroidery pattern she used on the other pieces of furniture. I thought the little pieces of material on the pieces of furniture were absolutely beautiful and planned to do the same thing to my furniture when I grew up and had a home of my own. However, I didn’t inherit my mom’s artistic ability, so I decided to leave my furniture plain and simple. I remember my mom had very special times when she would wash, starch and iron those furniture covers. She didn’t squirt a little dab of instant starch on her items of clothing or table runners, as she often referred to the furniture scarves. She used starch that had to be cooked on the wood stove, mixed with more water and cooled. Then she would dip the scarves into this mix, hang them on the outside line to dry, roll them in a pillow case, and in a few minutes, she would iron them. They were just as stiff as boards. The coverings depicting the pretty flowers, butterflies, and other creatures made them seemingly come alive. I don’t believe I would have the patience to sit for hours and stitch or embroider pieces of material like my mom did; however, she spent many hours on her many hobbies. During her later years, it gave me great pleasure when I would see my mom with her head bent low over some project she decided to tackle. I knew it was giving good exercise to hands and fingers that were afflicted with arthritis. It’s fun to drift off into my world of memories of my childhood, and especially of the two parents I loved so much. So now, my friends, as I bring another memory to close, I hope all of you good days in the weeks ahead. As always, until next time, may God hold all of you safely in the palm of his hand.
		Ann Worthington