My great grandmother's "crocheying"

Here are scans of three crocheted items from the skilled hands of my great grandmother, Lou Chritton.

Doily crocheted by Lou (Hogue) Chritton.

In her diary from 1946-1950, which I'm transcribing in other posts, she often writes about passing her time with "crocheying." As I type up her diary I occasionally fix the stray typo or clarify the punctuation, but I'm leaving her unique spelling of crochet intact. It's part of the charm of her notes.

I'm no expert on nor aficionado of crochet, doll clothes, or doilies, but I'm struck by how precise and detailed these pieces are. The yarn is quite thin and the loops are very small, yet everything is impeccably consistent and symmetrical.

Doll clothes crocheted by Lou (Hogue) Chritton.

She died 14 years before I was born, so I only know of her through a few brief stories, a handful of photos (which you're seeing over and over again on this blog), the short notes in her journal, and these crocheted items. They are only knotted yarn, but they are tangible artwork created by her hand. I will pass them down as heirlooms as if they were made of gold and diamonds.

I'm very thankful that my grandmother, Marie (Carver) Chritton – Lou's daughter-in-law – was thoughtful enough to keep these items, label them, and pass them down to me in her final years. Genealogy, to some degree, is trying to preserve some degree of immortality for our ancestors, to keep their stories alive for posterity. Lou Chritton's diary and her crocheying are a lasting part of her legacy and I treasure the opportunity to share them.