Meet Great Aunt Viola and her husband Harry. They were married back in 1932, 83 years ago. Notice the afghan to Viola's right...the left side of my old picture.
This is Great Aunt Viola's Mother, Mary Florence, my Great-Great Grandmother who was born 4 days before the start of The Civil War in 1861. Mary Florence crocheted that afghan. Likely 83 years ago as a wedding present for her daughter, Viola. Though it's possible, she made it before or after that; that's a logical conclusion given family history.
That afghan was made by my Great-Great Grandmother, used by her daughter, my Great-Aunt, given to my Dad and used alot! And now I have the honor of owning it.
Though it's in need of some repair, it's still around and is probably at least 83 years old! Afghans, knitted or crocheted are family heirlooms and carry a-lot of sentiment and meaning. We here on Bridge and Beyond knit and crochet afghans to bring meaning, and hope to those less fortunate. We donate our Afghans to Homeless Families Foundation as a way to say congratulations and best of luck. Congratulations because they have moved forward, they are transitioning from shelter living to their permanent living situation. That's certainly something to celebrate and commemorate. We also hope these afghans we make and donate give them hope for a brighter future, to know someone cares for them, and made something special for them. We hope the afghans we donate carry a special meaning to those who receive them, must like this special afghan does for me and my family.
Today is the first day of the annual A-Z Challenge for the month of April A=Afghan. Welcome to those in the challenge who may be seeing this blog for the first time. The blog is dedicated to helping the homeless through knitting and crocheting.
**We call this project, "Welcome Home", you can use those words and or afghans in the search box to see some of the afghans that have been donated in the past.
2015 DONATIONS:
Hats: 179
Scarves 67
Mittens/Gloves/Wrist Warmers: 45
Slippers: 50
Rain Poncho's: 53
Cotton Washcloths: 109
Afghans: 6
Socks: 126
Cowls 12
Shawls 1
Misc: items like personal care and things don't fit into above categories aren't counted
This is the starting portion of the 2nd square to "Learning Logs", my regular readers will remember the fits this ghan has given me, but.....I can say things are improving with the various changes I've made to the pattern. Comparison to square #1 is
HERE
All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.
As the old saying goes, "if that afghan could talk":+) I guess in a way this one can for the fact that you are keeping it alive 83 years later and it is being repaired and loved some more. Wonderful old memories and stories that are fun to hear again and again.and we are talking about it on the internet! who would have thought? I am afraid my siblings and I have gotten to the age where we rehash old memories and stories from the good old days when we are together.Keep your memories alive Sandy. Like the old ghan they are what we are made of.
ReplyDeleteLearning logs is coming right along. Good to see it again. You are doing well.
Spring is here in MN. We are expecting 74 today with rain later in the evening. Will really green things up. Have a good one. Marj in Minnesota/45 to start
Still below freezing here this morning Marj, glad to hear you're having such nice weather. We will eventually. Right you are, if the afghan could talk. It's pretty cool how long these afghans will hold up. I think of the warmth it's given over multiple generations and it makes me smile.
ReplyDeletesocks look popular - a lot of the local women here are into making socks...looks to complicated for me.
ReplyDeletegreat idea to write about afghans
People who knit socks, love them and say they are very comfortable. It's not something I've ever knitted and we suggest store bought vs homemade for the homeless because they really don't have the ability to wash often and therefore once they're in bad shape, they pretty much need a new pair. Learning to knit them is on my list of things to learn..........someday. Thanks for the visit Zannie
DeleteEvery house I've lived in has had afghans. We have about a half dozen lying around the house right now.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the visit Stephen, how nice you have so many. Are they family pieces? Who in your family is the knitter/crocheter?
DeleteI've been following this and your Travelling Suitcase blog for years, possibly as far back as the Entrecard days. Anyway, I noticed you were doing the A to Z Challenge again so this time I thought I'd follow in your footsteps :)
ReplyDeleteI so admire the work you do here, and your heirloom afghan is something to treasure!
Waving hello Sheila, I remember you as well and miss those Entrecard days, thank you for the sweet comment. Glad you joined the challenge, looking forward to hoping over to your blog.
DeleteIt was interesting to see the old pictures of your family. Thank you for sharing. Such wonderful memories that you have from the afghan. I don't have afghans from my Grandmothers, but I do have some dollies that each had made. I also have a set of pillow cases that my Grandma Seger put lace around the ends using pink varigated thread.
ReplyDeleteThank you Sue, how cool you've got special mementos too!
DeleteI love those old afghans. They come with rich history. My husband still has 3 from his grandmother. They are wonderful to have around.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to visiting through the A-Z!
As I See It Daily
That's impressive Katy, having 3 from grandmother. Thanks for the visit and comment, adding you to the list of a-z in the blog log and looking forward to seeing you in the future.
DeleteI am visiting from the A-Z challenge. I am an obsessive knitter and crocheter. I love the idea of your organization and your Welcome Home donations. Afghans are wonderful. I have knitted and crocheted so many over the years.
ReplyDeleteI would like to help the Homeless Families Foundation. It is a worthy cause indeed!
Thrilled you visited Lyndagrace and am doing a happy dance that you're a fellow knitter and crocheter. Love to have you join us by knitting or crocheting afghans or other items. Each item we make and donate has it's own tab with information across the top of the blog. Let me know if you have questions.
DeleteWhat a beautiful afghan as part of your family history! Even after all these years, it seems like it has held together pretty well! I bet every afghan donated to a homeless person or to someone getting into housing is much appreciated!
ReplyDeletebetty
Thank you Betty for the visit and kind words, both are appreciated.
DeleteWhat a treasure to have Aunt Viola's afghan! I crochet prayer shawls for hospice. Making something for someone that will warm them gives a great sense of accomplishment.
ReplyDeletejkcandlen.wordpress.com
Thankyou for the visit and sweet comment, I so appreciate it. How nice you also crochet for the good of others. Looking forward to visiting your blog.
DeleteWe don't have any big afghans like that, but I cherish the baby blankets that have been hand knit or crocheted and passed down through the family. I'm a very sentimental person when it comes to this stuff.
ReplyDeleteStacey, the size isn't important, now nice you have family pieces with meaning, that's what's it's all about.
DeleteWow! I love the story of the Afghan! We don't have anything heirlooms, or anything handed down in my family...kinda wish we did. We don't even have history written down!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the visit, you could do your family tree and would then have some history.
DeleteThat is amazing! To have an afghan that is that old. I have several that my grandmother and mother have made me and I can only hope and pray that they last that long! What a great family heirloom and treasure.
ReplyDeleteI also think it's amazing. How nice you have ghans family members have made.
DeleteYes, indeed, your afghans are art! I love that my post got your wheels turning. I am in full support of your sharing your artsy afghans far and wide (and I know you do). Afghans have been in my family for years as well. Every now and again I find a new interesting pattern that I give my Baba (grandma) to try out! I have yet to learn myself, but I hope to someday. I linked to Bridge and Beyond in my "B" post! I hope it gets you some more traffic.
ReplyDeleteAwesome, thanks for the link, much appreciated.
DeleteI think this is an awesome program. Unfortunately, I don't have the knack of crocheting or knitting. My Mom used to joke that she had two daughters and neither one of us took after her with sewing. My Husband has an afghan made my his grandmother and it is special. Good job!
ReplyDeleteHow nice to hear your hubby has a special heirloom afghan. Thank you for the visit.
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