Mattie Marie

My grandmother, Mattie Marie, was born on April 19, 1911, just 4 years after Oklahoma became a state. When her mother ran out of milk to nurse her, she had a nurse maid who was a neighbor. Grandmother was a child of the depression who got a college education, married, had three children, and was a beloved elementary school teacher.

Grandmother was also a master of handwork. When she wasn't bustling in the kitchen, she was crocheting or knitting or quilting. One of my most treasured items of hers is a quilt that was pieced by her mother and quilted by Grandmother 70+ years later on a quilting frame my grandaddy made for her. That quilting frame is still in use by her church family in the Texas panhandle. Every Christmas for years brought us a pair of crocheted house slippers. She crocheted afghans for each of her three children and five grandchildren. Each of our children got baby blankets, and we each got at least one quilt.

She tried to teach me to crochet when I was a young girl. It didn't take. When Grandmother died last summer, I inherited her needlework basket (I'm still sad that she never knew that I came to love knitting). I also inherited a bag of embroidered, knitted, crocheted, and tatted items. Of these items, there seemed to be a plethora of unidentifiable tatted pieces that looked like this:

I couldn't tell if they were intended to be dresser scarves, place mats, or doilies. They weren't doing anyone any good sitting in a bag, and it was very much unlike my grandmother, a child of the depression, to make something and not use it or gift it.

I decided to honor her by putting these otherwise useless items to use. I contacted an angel friend, Lisa, who fell in love with the pieces. I told her I was desperate to turn them into something usable but I was at a loss (of imagination and skill) to know what they should become. Lisa lovingly took the items and ran ran ran with them. This is what she has made:

Lisa is also a master of handwork. She treasures family heirlooms and handmade items, and she is so unbelievably creative. She applied Grandmother's pieces delicately and lovingly by hand to a quilt. She even sewed on a little info. square on the back so that I can write in the history behind the piece. It's my understanding that there are enough pieces of Grandmother's work for her to make three blankets. What a treasure that I now have to share with my family.

Thanks to angel Lisa for honoring my Mattie Marie and for creating usable treasures my family will cherish for generations.