Maryland Through My Lens #4: The Works of Our Hands

Welcome back to my Maryland Through My Lens series. I've been back home for over a week now.

When I was trying to figure out how to divvy up the pictures among blog posts, I decided to do it by subject. One post was on our visit to the Clara Barton home, and another on a Sunday celebration in honor of my dad's autumn wedding to Anny.

In this post, I am including several handmade pieces by the women in our family. Most of them are in Maryland, but the last two in Florida. This post will jump around the decades a bit!

The inspiring needlepoint above was created by my late grandmother, Dorothy Ransom Hess. She also enjoyed making afghans and Christmas ornaments for her children, grandchildren, many of her great-grandchildren. You can read more about her here: Sweet Grandma, Dorothy Ransom Hess.

Though I was first an oil painter, I started machine quilting as a newlywed. I haven't quilted in many years, but here are two of my early pieces. I designed and sewed this Bethlehem star as a present for my sister Barb, and it still hangs on her wall!

I found this quilt square hanging in the kitchen at my niece and nephew's apartment. I recognized the fabric, because I used it in some other quilt pieces. I think I made this one in the late 1980s.

What's with the roosters? When my sister and I were on a road trip with our family in 1976, en route from our home in California to grandmother's house in Pennsylvania, I would pester her for suggestions of what to draw. She would invariably say, "A rooster!" I thought of that shortly before we left on our trip this month, so my youngest daughter and I each sketched a rooster for her when we were doing a home school unit study on pioneers and farming. Unfortunately, at nine, she didn't realize you're supposed to keep them flat instead of folding them for transit!

Here's that sweet little one wearing a hat knit by her Aunt Barb, who is quite talented with her yarn and needles.

Barb is showing Anny one of her latest knitting projects, a shawl.

Another recent project by Barb - a hand knit sweater. This is a little detail from a picture I took while she was wearing it. The design on the right is on the front of the sweater. Isn't she talented?

Anny is an amazing knitter, too. She made this lovely lacy scalloped scarf for me for Christmas.

Shortly after we arrived, Anny pulled me aside and told me she had something that she thought I would want. It was my mother's, a small photo album with Bible verses written on index cards. What Anny didn't know is that I am the one who made it for my mother. So sweet to see it again and bring it home.

Here's a peek inside at some of the pages - such a wonderful reminder for me even now. I can't even remember when I gave these to my mom, but I'm guessing it was over 20 years ago.

Speaking of my mother, she was a amazing crafter, too. Her specialty, besides sewing dresses and blankets for her grandchildren, was stained glass. She designed these two pieces for me many years ago because I have camellia and magnolia flowers in my Florida backyard. Beautiful!

I hope you've enjoyed these "works of our hands." The phrase comes from Psalm 90:17.  

"And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it."

Grace and peace,

Virginia Knowles

www.VirginiaKnowles.blogspot.com

P.S. One more old picture! My mother in the middle with four of my kids more than 10 years ago. The afghans were made by my grandmother.