But, I can't - not for a few more months at least.
It's because I'm not Rachel Lynde.
There are plenty of people in Avonlea and out of it, who can attend closely to their neighbor's business by dint of neglecting their own; but Mrs. Rachel Lynde was one of those capable creatures who can manage their own concerns and those of other folks into the bargain. She was a notable housewife; her work was always done and well done; she "ran" the Sewing Circle, helped run the Sunday-school, and was the strongest prop of the Church Aid Society and Foreign Missions Auxiliary. Yet with all this Mrs. Rachel found abundant time to sit for hours at her kitchen window, knitting "cotton warp" quilts--she had knitted sixteen of them, as Avonlea housekeepers were wont to tell in awed voices--and keeping a sharp eye on the main road that crossed the hollow and wound up the steep red hill beyond.
(Anne of Green Gables, Ch. 1)
Mrs. Lynde would have been top poster on boards, don't you think?
Alas, I can't do it; not unless I 'neglect my own'.
Hey - did you ever wonder what a cotton warp quilt is? Here's the answer. Yes indeed, Rachel Lynde was knitting bedspreads out of fingering weight cotton yarn.
6 comments:
I can't even imagine knitting with that weight yarn, let alone knit anything large! And - alas - I also fall short of Ms. Lynde's skills.
Oh I loved the Anne of Green Gables books:)
Rachel Lynde sure spent a lot of time sitting at the window to be able to knit 16 bedspreads. Maybe the beds were smaller back then?
My grandmother crochets bedspreads for every grandchild that is born into the family. She's in her 80s. Usually they are big enough for a full-size bed. They go fairly quickly once you know how; she can make one in 2-3 months. Still, knitting them would be much harder. I imagine an accomplished seamstress with "hours" on her hands could make one in about six months. Still, that's eight years of quilt-making in Mrs. Lynde's case!
Darn,
Can't you multi task it:>)?
So often I consider you to be one of the saner voices on a certain forum I will leave nameless:>)
Along with always enjoying and appreciating your insightful comments and well written posts!
I well know the feeling of having entirely too many bases to cover :)
I miss you over there too. I'm glad you have a blog where we can sorta stay connected. :)
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