Mother's Crafts Book

The Craft Book

Earlier this week, I went through the box containing my mother's crochet patterns. There were a few pattern booklets she had bought from Woolworths and a few crochet pattern magazines she had subscribed to, in the late 1980s. Nothing very out of the ordinary, but lots of ideas, even if I am not the expert crocheter that she was.

Then, at the very bottom of the box, I found IT - a book I remembered from my childhood! Mother had bought it - sometime in the late 1940s or early 1950s (judging from the styles worn by the models)*, but certainly before 1963. A McCalls crafts book, featuring crochet and knitting patterns mostly, but also including other crafts such as stenciling, painting, cross stitch, rug making and reupholstering chairs.

*  Update:  I've done a bit of searching on-line since posting this, and now know that this was the McCall's Needlework Annual (1950); apparently the 1st edition of the McCall's Annual. 

She had given the book to her mother, to crochet something shown in the book. The book must have had a soft cover. Grandmother had propped it up in front of the kerosene oil lamp by which she did her crocheting - at some point, the heat from the glass shade burnt through the center of several pages, leaving holes and scorched areas.

Page 5: "Today's Luxurious Colors"

The book is missing the front and back covers and several pages. I have all the pages from page 5 to page 122; on page 121, the gifts section begins, with an index that indicates that, at one time, the book contained 160 pages.

Inside Pages: Black and White as well as Color

At somepoint, my mother taped over the scorched areas and some of the pages that had torn in half. There are several other torn pages, that have not been taped. And she had had the rest of the book rebound with covers made of paper about as thick as a file folder. It had been a light blue color, at one time. It is a rather faded blue, now, browned with age, itself torn and tattered.

Mother Crocheted the Table Cloth Shown on Top Left

The re-binding had been done sometime after December 1963 - how do I know this? Someone had included a page from a magazine, titled "Child Education", dated December 1963, at the very end of the book, when the book was rebound. On one side, is a Christmas story, titled "Louise Helps Santa Claus"; on the other side are instructions for Christmas decorations and presents. 

This book, about 11 inches wide by 14 inches high, is scorched and torn and yellowed with age. But it connects me to my mother and grandmother - I can picture my grandmother, sitting down when her day's work was done, to crochet, by the light of a kerosene oil lamp, the table cloth my mother had requested of her. I can picture my mother, taping the scorched and torn pages and getting her crafts book rebound.

I don't have what ever it was that grandmother crocheted from the book, although I do have a table cloth she crocheted for my mother. However, Mother crocheted at least one table cloth shown in the book, and I have it.  

So, what am I to do with this old book?  If you look at it dispassionately, it is nothing but an old, torn, burnt book of old fashioned, out-of-style items.  But, I want to keep the book for sentimental reasons.  Maybe even knit or crochet something from the book, to pass along to my daughter (along with her grandmother and great grandmother's crochet.)

If not for those sentimental reasons, there's very little justification for keeping such a tattered old book. Someone who didn't know the history behind it would raise her eyebrows and wonder why on earth would anyone keep such a tattered old thing - it so obviously belongs in the dust bin!

Mother's crochet book will join her cookbooks on my bookshelf.  Mother's cookbooks will be another post.

Do you have something similar?  Would you keep something like this book, especially if it was in a similar condition?  Do you think I should continue to keep it?