Crochet Queen: Royal Ramblings

1945-60 - “Well-Scrubbed Boys & Girls”- With the return of the soldiers, priorities revolved around making up for lost time and fixing up the nest.  America settled into domesticity.  By the 1950’s, wholesome families were being raised in suburbia and stay-at-home moms formed sewing circles and gathered together to create friendship quilts.  Crochet was found in crafters’ totes everywhere. Projects reflected the range of creativity from sequin snowflake tree skirts to ripple afghans.  “Aprons:  Icons of the American Home” is a retrospective exhibit that toured American museums through 2002.  “While these bow-in-the back aprons aren’t likely to return as a fashion statement, they are coming back, this time as collectibles.  As they disappear, so does an era’s worth of memories.  Aprons that wiped sweat off foreheads in steamy kitchens, dusted furniture, doubled as hot pads, and held peas from the garden when the bottom was pulled up....

The word crochet is derived from the French word, croche , meaning hook.  Early on it was almost entirely a convent art, classified as nun’s work.  The exact origin and date of crochet is in great doubt.  Some believe it goes back to before the time of Christ, but there is no record of this form of needle art before the 1800’s and it was not until the 1840’s that written instructions were published. Hand-turned hook from author’s collection Archeologists believe the Israelites were familiar with crochet during the time of Solomon, before the first millennium BC when they left Egypt.  Heinz Edgar Kiewe, in his book titled  The Sacred History of Knitting , concluded that crochet hooks were probably implements of that time. He refers to the story of one of Jesus’ followers, Akida Ben Joseph who was said to have used a crochet hook so that he might spend his time as a shepherd more usefully. Crochet has been handed down from generation to genera...