Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Minnie's or Mary's ?

My aunts, my dad's sisters, 
Minnie and Mary both enjoyed sewing.  
They were both frugal, and not a scrap of material went to waste. 
 They each made pot holders out of any scraps of material they could find. 
 They would give them away, and I was the benefactor of many sets.  
There was only one problem--
 Aunt Mary was more frugal than Aunt Minnie and was a little bit more stingy with the padding that was inside.
Back when my kids were home, using the oven, it was very common for them to hold up a potholder and say "Minnie's or Mary's?" 

If it was Mary's they knew that they needed two potholders to remove the item from the oven.  

If it was  Minnie's, one pot holder was sufficient.
  
Sad to say I am down to one of Minnie's and two of Mary's potholders.  

And by the looks of them, they should be thrown out....but I just can't make myself do it!!!




Once my daughter asked me how I could tell who's was who's by just looking at them.  
Well its easy, they had their own style of making potholders, and never varied from their design.

When my son and his family lived in northern Minnesota, he was near the 
Anderson Fabric Factory, which made custom draperies and bed coverings for retail stores like JC Penneys.  Anderson's would sell the Waverly scraps for ten or fifteen cents a pound.
There wasn't a time when I visited the kids, that I didn't take a trip over to Andersons'.
And always came home with something!

Now that I am trying to down size and reduce my fabric inventory,
 I decided to make potholders.  
I used scraps of the Waverly fabrics  with the padding being  two squares of fleece!!  
That should be sufficient thickness.


I will probably give most of these away as little stocking stuffers!!!

Just like Minnie and Mary........





And that's the way it is..............



20 comments:

  1. yours are beautiful. I love the story...my aunt made aprons, like yours made potholders. she had so many aprons we could not count them and she gave mother a lot of them. this brought back memories.

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  2. Great minds think alike...!!
    I've been using up my scrapes and making pot holders as stocking stuffers....i use two layers of batting scrapes for the inside....
    Max & Mia forgave me this morning...of course i had a treat in my hand...!!
    Enjoy

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  3. Oh I LOVE those potholders! and what a GREAT tradition to continue!!

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  4. I adore this post. Love the photo of the two ladies and the story of how their potholders were different. Anybody would be lucky to get one of your potholders as a stocking stuffer. You can never have too many!

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  5. LOL - by their pot holders shall you know them ;>)

    I wouldn't throw the remaining few out - they're heirlooms.

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  6. oh, what great memories! i love the 'minnie's or mary's' routine! :)

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  7. p.s. my mother-in-law crocheted the top hangers for kitchen towels. one year she gave me about 20 of them that i had requested. i continue to use them completely thin as they are treasures to me. she's been gone a few years now so the stock will never be replenished...

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  8. Oh boy do I remember always saving scraps to give to Grandma to make things from. What wonderful memories they are!

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  9. What a great walk down memory lane! I'm looking for some of those towels now with the crocheted tops that TexWis referred to. There don't seem to be any church bazaars in this neck of the woods. :(

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  10. oh my gosh what a great memory that must be for you, I enjoyed this so much! Those scraps must be great for quilts too! Mary and Minnie, thats so cute, lovely ladies,

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  11. That's so sweet, I love the idea of two aunts making potholders. What memories you must have of them.

    Jen

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  12. A gret idea! Continue the family tradition.... but which one are you aiming to take after with the stuffing !!:)

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  13. Ah there are the potholders. I have been waiting LOL. That is so special that you still have two from
    your aunts. I have come to realize the older I get the more precious some items become to me. The potholders
    you made are fantastic. I would love one in my stocking. :)

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  14. This really was a wonderful story. I think it is great that you are folowing in the family tradition--with the twist of doubling the innards. I have burned my fingers on too-thin potholders a time or two.

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  15. Great stocking stuffers! Everyone can use many!

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  16. Oh what a lovely post and such lovely memories to have. Seems like a great use of excess fabric and a good idea for a stocking filler.
    Many thanks for visiting my blog and your lovely comments. :))

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  17. Delightful post today..it made me smile..thanks..I am sure your potholders will be appreciated long after you are gone..just like Minnie and Mary:)

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  18. oh what a cute story!! it's tells so much about who these 2 ladies were!!

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  19. I enjoyed the story. I've been thinking about dusting off my sewing machine....

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