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Italian trunk (baule) brought to this country in 1955  Shipping tag - Naples to NY I have been married 52 years and have owned this crochet bedspread for 50 years or more. It was part of my trousseau (corredo) together with other treasurables. 
Crochet bedspread - Copriletto all'uncinetto
It took my mother 5 years to complete this bedspread utilizing many summer afternoons, skilled hands and lot of ecru thread..a lot of work..a lot of love. When I got married, I found the bedspread to be old fashioned, fussy and not useful. Not practical but yet very pretty. And really, it’s a treasure. An heirloom practically and too good to use every day. So, I have never used it. I decided to save it for a really special occasion.
The years went by. My husband and I moved from a double bed, to a queen sized bed, to a king. Children were born. More years go by. Lots of them. The children moved out and married. My mother is no longer here.
 More years go by. Until, finally last week, getting ready for very special houseguests - I decided to use the crochet bedspread. It has been waiting fifty years for my Real Life to begin. |
Saturday, September 11, 2010
A Crochet Bedspread in my Italian Trunk - Il Copriletto all'uncinetto nel mio Baule
Few days ago, I decided to crack one of my two Italian trunks open and live a little.
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What beautiful things! I never had a hope chest. Actually, my grandmother gave me an embroidered bed cover and pillow sheet that had been hers when she got married. I treasured it and kept it hidden away for almost 40 years. It occurred to me that I might not have grandchildren, so i gave it to my cousin's daughter who has the same name as my grandmother. She loved the embroidered angels all over it. I'm glad you are using your treasures too
ReplyDeleteI have my grandmothers trunk. It was the filled with all of her possesions when she arrived here in the United States from Frondarola. She died at the age of 24, having given birth to three children. I really treasure that trunk and all of the memories that might have been.
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ReplyDeleteYour grandmother died very young.
ReplyDeleteI still have some hand-woven linen sheets, which my mother used to wash with ashes and later extend towards the sun to dry.
I, too, have many things my mother made. I treasure them so much, so many hand embroidered sheets she never used, none that fit my king size bed, which makes me sad! I, too, love to crochet, but unfortunately, the crochet thread in the USA is not as good a quality as that of Italy. Twenty years ago, I was in a serious car accident where I was laid up for 18 months (broken ankle). My mother's best friend sent me enough crochet thread to make 2 bedspreads, which I finished in less than 18 months! They are so beautiful! I have no children to leave them to when I'm gone.... but I do have people that will appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous - Thank you for stopping by and commenting. Of course, there will be someone who will treasure your crochet bedspreads.
ReplyDeleteI have two of them one from my mother and the other from mother in law, white laces and all. Years of work. I came from Greece in the 80s and brought the one and husband had the other waiting. 7 kids later and 25 yrs married still are waiting in the closet. I was so happy to hear your story and felt I had tpo leave a comment!
ReplyDeleteEleni-Thank you for stopping and commenting. 7 kids - OMG! Wait for all the kids to move out, then take the "treasures" out and enjoy.
ReplyDeleteMy mum is from Naples and she had a silk like bedspread with hand painted picture of Romeo and Juliet on it.I have no idea where it is now, I'll give her a call and find out! I've never seen anything like it in this country (UK). I also remember from my childhood a velvety richly multi-coloured bedspread which I assume was from Italy also, very ornate bedding from the 50's and 60's. I would love to own one now I'm in my forties... just come back from 3 weeks in southern Italy but I could only see the modern duvet type bedding :-(
ReplyDeleteAnonymous - Thank you for commenting. My mother used to have a velvet bedspread in very bold colors (red and golds)from the 30's and 40's. Believe or not, it's still in her trunk.
ReplyDeleteChe bellissimo corredo complimenti!
ReplyDeleteNunzia - Grazie. Tanti ricordi tra le pieghe del corredo.
ReplyDeleteE sai che qui la tradizione va ancora avanti? mia madre ne ha fatti per me e mia sorella e continua a lavorare l'uncinetto ancora per noi!
ReplyDeleteAnche io ho una coperta fatta all'uncinetto da mia zia Italina. La tengo chiusa in un cassetto perche' troppo speciale...forse e' ora di farle prendere un po' di aria buona di Sydney!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful story. As they say, "we can't take it with us". Everyday life is a beautiful thing, and we need to enjoy our beautiful things daily - after all, what are we saving them for?
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