I strongly considered calling this post "Knitting After Dying" but suspected most of you would think I don't know how to spell.
So, my mother's moving to a lovely new house and she's anxious to downsize, which in her case means "move to a larger home but put fewer things in it." We've been going through boxes, drawers, cabinets, closets, shelves, chests, and other nooks and crannies, and among the treasure (a Staffordshire ceramic tin with lid, lovely) and detritus (one of 1,000 programs for some event I sang at that I now retain little memory or affection for) were my grandmother's assortment of crocheted doilies.
Now, I like doilies as much as the next person (i.e. not that much, although I suspect as with anything that old they're due for a comeback, probably in stronger colours than white, off-white, oyster, and ecru). But a whole boxful of doilies is a bit much. It's not like when the Zombie Apocalypse comes they're going to be destroying the doilies first, nor can I imagine any household which had enough <i>objets d'art</i> lying around to require all those doilies in the first place. In short, I have no use for them.
They'll be going to the garage sale / thrift store / antique shop / bin, depending. And I refuse to feel guilty about that, firstly, because my Mom doesn't want them so it's on her, and secondly, because I'm fairly sure Grandma herself wouldn't want us to hang on to her doilies forever.
Thirdly (it gets its own paragraph) I am keeping her large crocheted tablecloth, which represents far more effort, and is actually useful, and is apparently made out of a bunch of doilies next to each other. Which got me thinking that perhaps those doilies were really swatches to see what she wanted to make her next tablecloth out of. And there's no way Grandma would saddle me with storing her swatches for eternity.
And it all got me thinking: one day, I won't be here, but my knitting (and occasional crochet) projects will remain. And maybe, just maybe, my heirs will be saddled with going through my things. And sure, like my Mom, maybe they'll just hang on to everything for 25 years until the next move, but eventually the reckoning will arrive and they'll have to decide what to keep and what to toss.
Hopefully they'll remember this blog and and this post and come here for guidance!
Gauge swatches: big old tosserooni, no question about it, I should spread 'em with butter now 'cause they're toast.
Hats, scarves or socks, cowls, etc.: keep if someone will wear them, otherwise toss.
Shawls or sweaters: now it gets tricky, because you and I know how long these took, but my foolish heirs, who spend all their time on their Google implants playing Fricknack and Spuvvy (the two most popular hologames in 2062) will likely have no idea. And I really don't want to burden them, even the one who didn't visit me enough, but still ... so let's split the difference. Sweaters you toss, shawls you keep--they make great wall hangings or table cloths as well. And, hopefully, the sweaters have gotten lots of wear by that point and have lived a good life.
Actual tablecloths, blankets, bedspreads: heirs, you must keep these! That one blanket there, no, the other one, yes, that one, I worked on that for over 2 1/2 years! In fact, it's probably my Spirit Attachment Object and I'm haunting it right now (I'll be a good ghost, promise, the kind that whispers the answers to your math homework to you in your sleep). If you can't use them now, fold 'em up, put them in a nice chest with a note as to where you obtained them, and wait for their eventual return to fashion, or donate them to a museum of early 21st Century craft, either way.
Tea cosies, mug cosies, anything with cosy in the name: ha! trick question, I would never have made one of these.
Amigurumi:* see Tea cosies, above.
A final note of caution: if it's unlike I would have worn/used the item in question, then it's probably a spectacular piece of knitting that I just wanted to try out. Throw it on etsy and make some money from it
On The Needles
(I will mark with a ! those projects that have advanced, and !! those projects that are new to the blog.)
!Sophie's Universe crochet project (Part 6: Round 51) and there's 113 rounds so I'm almost halfway (except that each round gets bigger, and bigger, so I'm still eyeing 2019 as the likely finish year
!GGN Norwegian Ski Sweater (adding the steek stiches and knitting from eventual armhole to neck)
!Persian Dreams Blanket (row 30 of the third hexagon)
!A Church Mouse sock (4.5" through the 5.5" of the foot prior to decreasing to toe)
!Sweater Sample (from the Sweater Workshop, finished the cardigan border section)
A Random Blanket (about 40% through)
Glossary
*amigurumi = small knit or crochet animals/creatures, generally for decorative purposes, not for kids' toys