These are my dad's parents , Anna and George on their wedding day in 1928 (LOVE her wedding gown !!!!) and...
this is a beautiful pie plate that I remember seeing on my grandmother's dining room table for years and years ....
....and now I am honored that it has a place in my dining room!
This is my other grandmother holding my mother in 1930....and just a year or so before this picture was taken my grandmother , Mary, left her home and family in Italy , packing up all of her belongings in ....
...this very suitcase to join her husband, Harry, here in the USA. They got married before WW I, then my grandfather came to this country to find a job and make enough money so that my grandmother could come over also. But, before that happened WW I broke out and my grandfather , who was still an Italian citizen , had to return to Italy to fight in the Italian army. So, surviving the war and having his legs frozen in the Italian Alps , he returned to the USA AGAIN and started AGAIN to work and save up enough money to bring Mary over - which he finally did. And if you think THAT's amazing, what I think is even MORE amazing is the fact that she fit all of her stuff in that one suitcase !!! HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE??? Moving from Italy to the USA for good and all you need is one suitcase ?!?!?
Love the worn leather of the handle. My mother told me that she can remember going away for vacations to visit their aunt for a couple of weeks and grandma would pack her things PLUS my mother's stuff and her younger sister and brother's stuff in that ONE SUITCASE !!! For TWO WEEKS !!!! ONE SUITCASE !!!!
....and here's grandma with her sister Carmella (in the polka dot dress). I wanted to show you this picture because .....
...when I opened grandma's suitcase, I found these sheets .....
...that were hand embroidered by Aunt Carmella !! (GASP..... HAND EMBROIDERED !!!)
(GASPING FOR AIR !!) H-A-N-D
E-M-B-R-O-I-D-E-R-E-D !!!!! GORGEOUS !!!! Let me tell you .... IF I ever accomplished anything like this (and that's a BIG "if" since we all know my track record for finishing things isn't a stellar one) I most certainly would NOT let somebody sleep on them (because we have alot of slobberers and droolers in this family). I would frame them with a big neon arrow pointing to them so everybody could see how amazing they are !!!! Sadly, these gorgeous sheets are stained in a few spots and torn and patched here and there so I would like to maybe take the embroidered parts and make them into pillows......one of these days !!!
Well, I still have lots of big events coming up and my "delusions of grandeur sewing project gift list" that goes with all of these events, so I should go attempt to get organized and get started (or just spend time making another list of everything I hope to get done then hyperventilate .....)
Have a fun and safe weekend !
Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)
4 comments:
What treasures you have there .... such absolutely precious treasures :o).
Hugs,
Joy :o)
my own family has a similar history - but no hand-embroidered sheets ... thank you for this lovely tribute to your nonnas.
I have 2 pillow shams that once were my grandmothers. One has her initials (FG) in the same design as yours, It must have been a popular pattern at the time. The handwork on mine is as gorgeous as yours, if fact, it almost looks like the same person did it. I'll send a photo later today.
Oh my gosh what a treasure you have there! I am a hand embroiderer so I know how much time has gone into something like that. What a lucky gal you are!
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