"...most housewives used and re-used what was immediately at hand because it was free. and now, we find ourselves yearning to return to this recycled, use-what-we-have tradition."
My mother and grandmother treasured a handful of housedresses that took up perhaps three hangers in their closets. A housedress was a housewife uniform of sorts. Cotton print dresses were usually covered by an apron to protect the wearer from food stains, dripping mops, and kid’s tears. My mother wore her apron while she whipped up mac-n-cheese (Velveeta cheese, of course) for lunch, served with a helping of canned green beans on a plastic plate accompanied by a tumbler of whole milk. I remember burying my face in that apron to shed tears after the school nurse gave me a measles shot. Worries go down better with warm soup and kitchens are seasoned with love.
Many of us handcrafters grew up sitting within the apron folds of our mothers and grandmothers as they crocheted rugs out of stripped bread wrappers, knitted potholders from discarded denim jeans, and sewed tea-cozies from old quilts. Aprons, housedresses, tablecloths, potholders, tea-cozies, and washcloths, all crocheted, knitted or sewn at home, have become kitchen icons. Local yarn stores did not exist, nor did big-box fabric stores. Ben Franklin carried inexpensive sewing and craft supplies but most housewives used and re-used what was immediately at hand because it was free. And now, we find ourselves yearning to return to this recycled, use-what-we-have tradition.
olympic coffee cozy
by Cindy Owings
Exploring the kitchen stuff of yore is so much fun! I have found my fingers crocheting cotton wash clothes and pot scrubbies to sell at our farmers’ market. Potholders of all stripes fill baskets on my display table. Although the materials I use are sometimes new rather than recycled, it feels good to whip up kitchen nostalgia for my customers. Most recently, I experiment with the idea of cozies, those hat-like coverings for all things kitchen: toasters, mixers, teapots, coffee cups, blenders, and now, my French press coffee pot. Remember Dobby, the kitchen elf in the Harry Potter series who wore a tea-cozy as a hat?
A little digging into the history of the tea-cozy finds its main purpose in Victorian times was to help extend the time spent in the occupation of socializing. In other words, as long as the teapot stayed warm, visitors would continue chatting around the tea table. The warming of the teapot with a cozy was the 1840 English invention of the Duchess of Bedford, who established the Tea Time event each afternoon to gather friends and visitors for the purpose of gossip, networking, and sharing a cup or two of tea.
Fast forward to today, and the idea of an afternoon break still holds. Less formally now, the tea or coffee break happens in cafes, coffee shops, and offices, wherever a caffeine-laced hot or iced drink can be had, even outdoors. Our own French-press coffee pot was a welcome companion on our six-day canoe camping trip on Yellowstone Lake this past summer. A ratty towel served as a coffee-warming cozy next to the campfire. My Olympic Coffee Cozy, designed and crocheted during the 2010 Olympics, is stacked stripes with silly but heat insulating bobbles. On a small elf head, this cozy could easily pass for a whimsical hat. Contemporary in color and design but historical in form and function, this French-press cozy will keep a two-cup pot toasty warm.
Like yesteryear, our kitchens today are the heart of our homes. The bottom drawer to the left of our kitchen sink is where my thoughtfully and lovingly curated collection of my grandmother’s crocheted potholders and embroidered tea towels live. Even though most are threadbare, I cannot stand to part with them. When I hold them in my hands I know I am holding a piece of my past. That is coziness!
Cindy crochets and knits in McAllister, Montana. She sells her Gramma Hazel’s Kitch-N creations at farmers’ markets and regional shops. She writes about her creative endeavors, gardening, and volunteerism through her popular blog, Petunia Girl-Mountain Threads: www.petuniagirl.blogspot.com.
