Sunday, January 30, 2011

Reminiscing

Here is my old school. The photo was taken in 1971 but it is still there and looks exactly the same.
I found the photo when I browsed a new website called Danske Billeder where you can find a lot of old photos. After I joined the global knitting world, Ravelry, I have been in contact with several knitters, who have ancestors from - or have been in Denmark, and I believe they can find some very interesting information on this website.

The room for needlework was at the top floor. And I was so excited when I found this photo from the local newspaper in 1965. It is a picture of the annual exhibition of needlework and my sisters and I definitely have stuff displayed here. Perhaps one of the nighties hanging on the blackboard.
I remember the first time I "exhibited". It was at my fourth year at school and we should all work mittens. Grey wool. The first mitten took a veeery long time, and I found out that if I knit very loosely, I could finish the second one in a more reasonable time. I guess, I suffered from second mitten syndrome already then. The result was, that the second mitten was huge, and could fit a bear´s paw. My teacher was not pleased at all, and when I realized that an exhibition was coming up, I was really scared. However, I did not have to worry. A compassionate teacher had put my disabled mitten underneath the first one in a way that they appeared to be the same size. I have been a teacher myself and we can be nice.

The dolls' clothes in front were made from the most popular fabric for fifty years, I think, a soft check blue and white cotton and every school must have bought a kilometre of it every year.

I still like the fabric very much, but I do not know if you can still buy it. It was used for children´s clothes as well. Here is a photo from my Gyldendals Sy og Strikkebog from 1940. I can still feel my neck tickle when I see the photo of the little girl fitting the unfinished dress.
I found this little doll´s dress at a flea market. It hangs on my wall next to this photo of me, aged three.                                                     

4 comments:

  1. Oh, I have so enjoyed this post and especially the photos. You were one cute 3 year old.

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  2. Thank you for sharing your lovely story. It reminded me when I was in elementary school, struggling with needleworks. You as a little girl and the dress are both very pretty!
    Please take care,
    ym

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  3. Thanks for this sweet post. We didn't have needlework in school. It certainly looks like the blue and white fabric was very popular. It is easier to do embroidery and smocking with the checks to line up, I guess. You were a cute kid!

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  4. Oh My Gosh! You were Soooooooo cute! And it looks like your dress was made from the same fabric as the doll's dress! What a nice memory.

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