I inherently a little over 50 handkerchiefs from my my maternal grandmother. Most are hand made, and some have embroiled designs, and some have been hand painted. They show some beautiful colors, and some have faded to soft colors. I have stored them in good plastics coverings since to early 80's, but I fear that if I don't do somethings with them they will just get lost because no one else in my family is very craft oriented. Many are still strong, but a lot are very delicate. I'm looking for ideas as to ways to incorporate them into works of art. So I'm asking you ladies for ideas. I know handkerchiefs are not used by women as they once were, but maybe a couple of you have come across works of art put together by someone in your families. Got any ideas Ladies and gentlemen?
Hopefully you will get some ideas Ina, would be lovely to preserve them in an organised way and maybe display them
I don't know how I missed this thread @Ina I. Wonder. I have lots of scarves that were left by my mother and two aunts and have been thinking about a crafty way for them too. Here is a link for you for the hankies with some pretty neat ideas. http://www.houseofhawthornes.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Vintage-Hankie-Crafts.jpg
@Von Jones thank you, those are very good ideas. I could put the stronger ones into a quilt form for a couple of wall hangings, and the really delicate ones into frames. That would make beautiful decorations for a bedroom, and I could leave them to my adult granddaughters as a remembrance after I'm gone. I just pulled my sewing machine back out of storage. Now if I could just find someone to give my standing quilting frame to , I would have room to set up a cutting table. Know anyone who would want it?
Sorry @Ina I. Wonder. You had mentioned the frame in another thread and how it would cost to ship outside of your area. Maybe there is a quilting bee nearby that would take it.
Surely these could be of historical interest to somebody. A collector maybe. It would be nice for them to be kept just as they are for future generations to admire.
This is exactly what i have been thinking would be a great idea, too, @Ina I. Wonder . Many towns, or counties, have a kind of historical museum where they display these beautiful artifacts of older handiwork. I remember visiting one somewhere that had tiny items that were crocheted out of human hair, and they were both amazing and very delicate. Since your grandmother was also Native American, I am sure that her handiwork with the handkerchiefs would be something that would be prominently displayed at one of the Indian museums, and that way your family would know that they were actually being preserved and enjoyed in the future. If you check online for some kind of Indian museum or historical one of that area where your grandmother grew up, you could write to them, give a brief history of your grandmother, and ask if they would like the handmade embroidered items that she made. Even if you use some of them in another project that your family would treasure and keep, the ones that were too delicate could be a donation to the museum there.