Photo A Day: …and all things nice
Posted under Photography
Hmm, well that was an anticlimax. I’ve been thinking about doing this shot for a while; it’s the outfit I wore for my baptism about 500 years ago. Satin shoes lined with fur (and the real stuff too, eek), little frou frou dress and a circular shawl crocheted for me by my mother. Or so I thought…
Ever since I took up crochet earlier this year I’ve been thinking about the shawl, almost obsessively actually, and wanting to get it out to examine my mother’s work. It’s the only thing I have that she made for me and, since she died, it’s become one of my Very Precious Things. Once I could crochet myself, I started to think of the shawl as a kind of ‘connection’ as it were, tangible evidence of a shared love for a craft even if it wasn’t actually handed down mother to daughter.
So, in a moment of glums this afternoon, I decided to dig out the bag with my baptismal outfit in. First, out came the furry shoes which (dead bunny aside) are really very glamorous. Why my mother had stuffed them with beige coloured kitchen roll I can’t imagine. Tucked in the bottom of one was a teeny tiny silver bangle, just peeping out of the shoe on the right in the photo. Then out came the dress. A real, old fashioned ‘baby doll’ style one, short, layered, lacey etc. Made of nylon and proud of it too: ‘NYLON’ it says inside, it has a whole label just for itself…NYLON. This was 1970, I guess NYLON wasn’t the dirty word it is now. I misread the brand label…I thought it said Rosieclad and I had a warm fuzzy moment…then I realised it actually says Kosieclad. What? In NYLON? Yes, ‘kosie’ from the static build up I would think. I’m sure my little tootsies were pretty kosie too…what with all the dead bunny ‘n’ all. The dress stinks by the way, absolutely honks.
And, finally, the moment I’d been waiting to relish all these months finally came and I slowly brought out the Holy Grail crocheted shawl. Except it isn’t crocheted. It’s bloody KNITTED. I looked, I checked, I kept checking and hoping but, nope, it’s not crocheted it’s knitted. Waaaaaah! Any hope of a ‘beyond the grave’ connection moment was instantly quashed, my disappointment only matched by my slight embarrassment. I was so, so sure it was crocheted. But I was so, so wrong.
The Holy Grail shawl stinks too, and has dodgy brown stains on it. And, deep intake of breath, it’s made of acrylic wool. No Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino at the cost of £1million a ball for me, just some cheapie, scratchy acrylic mix. Bet it’s got NYLON in it too…
And that was that. The big moment I’d built up for myself came to nothing. I shoved the whole stinking pile back in the bag and dumped it back in the cupboard, along with my foolish hopes and dreams.
Harumph.
so you were a autumn/winter baby?
and no, don’t let it get you down! nylon was the flashy, fancy thing back then – no ironing required, the avantgarde stuff at the height of the times!
and who knows – seeing how amazingly fast you mastered the art of crocheting, you’ll probably learn knitting in no time. you could also air the shawl out in the sun and make a crocheted interpretation of it. when the time’s come for it …
Oh dear :/ I too am trying to master the art of crochet – abysmally I might add. I knit wonderfully (shucks but really I do – I can even knit Aran) but crocheting is beyond me since my Mum doesn’t do it and can’t help me decipher the code. Unfortunately I started teaching myself using US sites and now I’m really stuffed since their code is totally alien – think I might stick to two needles!
Even the stuff I knitted for my babies from 95 onwards had acrylic in it – the alternative was knit, wear once, wash and bin ;) Forgive! I also remember when the epitome of style was nylon sheets – urgh sweaty McBetty!
Oh! I don’t know what to say! You poor thing!
I know this was a poignant moment for you, but your desciptions are hilariously unsentimental.
Were you born in 1970? Just think: NYLON used to be a miracle of science.
Nothing foolish about those dreams.
You hoped to find the outfit she chose for you, the one she thought beautiful, the shawl she spent hours over, and you did.
My husband’s Baptismal gown (1970 baptism) is Nylon too, I know because I dressed Josiah in it for his Christening – I’d have put the others in it too, but they were too big. Yes, I’d have loved it to have been raw silk, with tiny seed pearls, but what mattered was that the machine made lace had been chosen by my late MIL for her tiny, precious baby.
I expect mine was nylon too – I’ll never know, my mother donated it to the church jumble sale and saw it bought by a child for a doll.
Hug? What a let down on the crochet front. But joking aside your mummy dressed you in beautiful clothes for your special day and then stored them for you to cherish! Hand made(ok, knitted and acrylic) blanket/shawl/whatever, bunny insulated booties with on-trend silver(plated?) jewellery (I have one too but I’ve chewed mine). I think that crochet/knitted acrylic/pashmina it’s neither here nor there as mummy G passed on her nurturing and loving ways. And you don’t need to look for vacuum packed evidenc; you just need to look in the mirror x