Thursday, January 3, 2013

Memories . . . like the corners of my mind . . .

I recently went through my "memories box".  It's a box I think citrus fruit came in years ago.  I have some childhood things in there...newspapers of John Glenn's first orbit around the earth, JFK's assassination, Beatles stuff, notes from friends that we exchanged in high school.  Some of these things I wonder why I kept but, they are still fun to look at every 10 years or so.  There's a neighborhood "newspaper" that a friend and I did when we were about 10 years old . .  .typed on a typewriter . . . X's through mistakes . . . original poems . . . biographies of the "editors" . . . too funny.  I think we only did one issue . . . no way to make copies for mass distribution. We may have used carbon paper for a few copies . . . probably for our parents.  It makes me appreciate modern technology!

Also in this box are a few things I don't remember seeing before . . . or maybe the last time I looked in here was before I got back into cross-stitching.  This first one seems to be stamped on this cloth and very poorly stitched compared to other child-done samplers I have seen.  Of course, these kids were being taught to stitch for a reason . . . I, no doubt, was just doing it for fun.  X's are crossed every-which-way.
It's dated 1966 . . . I would have been 16 . . . would that make it almost an antique now?  (Geez, I must be old!)  Even more embarrassing considering the poor workmanship!

I have no idea when I did these.  They are also stamped on the cloth.  The workmanship on these is a little better.  Maybe my grandmother actually told me how to do it!

This little apron I still remember making at my grandmother's house.  Badly stained now . . . the box must have gotten wet at some point.  I must have been about 7 or 8 years old . . . could have been younger.  It's all hand stitched and even has two pockets.  I've always found this little apron so sweet.

These were in the box too.  I'm sure my grandmother crocheted the little doll dress.  I don't know where the needle book came from.  I'm guessing it was my grandmother's or perhaps she gave it to me since she is the one who taught me to sew.

I think the dress was probably for this little doll that was one of the toys we only played with at Nanu's house.  Most of the toys were "boy toys" since she only raised sons . . . metal cars and trucks . . . which I now have in my "old toy collection" . . . yes, another collection! 
 
I have no idea where this doll came from . . .  perhaps it was her's as a child . . . no idea.  It's definitely older than dolls of my generation.  Actually . . . I just remembered that she used to make doll clothes and dress dolls to donate to some charity.  I think it may have been to the hospital.  She was part of the Board of Lady Managers at the old Alexandria Hospital (where I was born . . . torn down now . . . damn I'm old!).

What "treasures" do you have from your childhood?

                                     ~*

4 comments:

  1. What great treasures you have!
    Especially the dollie.
    I have a kitty from my childhood.
    It was originally sewn from grey corduroy.
    I always carried it around by the neck, it went wherever I went. :)
    I think it was my "security blanket". :)
    Because I carried it around sooooooooooo much, the stuffing always wore out of the neck. Mom repaired it many, many times because I wouldn't let it go. I still have it, skinny neck and all.
    I don't think I ever named it though, but it was well-loved. :)
    I also have my scrapbook.
    Back then we made scrapbooks out of sketching tablets. We pasted and glued our treaures in there from various events. Movies, trips, etc.
    I also have a few old dolls whose clothes were all made by my aunt. She never used a pattern , just cut them free-hand.
    What treasures we have.
    Thanks for sharing yours.
    Marilyn

    ReplyDelete
  2. I also had a kitty I took everywhere! It was white and furry. I kept it for a long time until the fur was well worn and the foam stuffing turned to sand. I remember emptying out the "sand" . . . don't know what happened to it after that. I wish I still had it!!! ~*

    ReplyDelete
  3. I wish I could have consolidated to just one box of memories but I have a cedar chest AND several other boxes! I can't bear to throw things away, from old notes and letters to stuffed animals to cassette tapes I made in elementary school of me and my sisters singing and goofing around. I have some stamped stitched pieces as well - like you, I chuckle when I see them. The most precious treasures are the handwritten letters from my grandparents, gone now but never forgotten.

    Happy New Year, Bonny!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Okay . . . so when I say one box of memories from childhood, that's just the "organized" memories. There are scattered memories here and there as well. I run across stuff tucked in drawers or in a peculiar place and wonder who put that there! I thought this move would help to get all that stuff better organized, but time ran out and things just got pitched in boxes. The unpacking continues to be slow since the "essentials" are unpacked . . . someday . . . someday ;-) ~*

    ReplyDelete