Too busy to stop knitting for a photograph
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (340077)
Rockingham, Australia
May 1, 2018 9:55am CST
I was looking for a photo tonight and came across this one of, I think, a great aunt or possibly a great great aunt. Isn’t it gorgeous? I’m sure the photo would have been posed but it looks like she is knitting. The bonnet is pretty groovy too. And are you old enough to remember these old cane chairs?
I have quite a few old black and white photos and feel privileged to have them. Heaven knows what will happen to them eventually. Maybe I’ll give them to the museum in my, and her, home town.
30 people like this
33 responses
@1hopefulman (45120)
• Canada
1 May 18
She didn't want to waste any time. At one time, people were always busy doing something. They used to say that idle hands were the tools of the devil.
8 people like this
@Fleura (30399)
• United Kingdom
2 May 18
@JudyEv @1hopefulman 'The Devil makes work for idle hands'.
2 people like this
@allknowing (136477)
• India
2 May 18
Knitting in those good old days was a part of every sophisticated lady (lol) She looks sophisticated alright (lol)
Cane furniture is still alive and kicking.
3 people like this
@hostessman (11871)
• Tucson, Arizona
1 May 18
we have some old pictures to and i am not sure who they are
3 people like this
@JohnRoberts (109846)
• Los Angeles, California
1 May 18
She must have seen a thing or two in her lifetime.
4 people like this
@rebelann (112879)
• El Paso, Texas
2 May 18
Wow, if it was taken that long ago then the old woman had to have sat really still for several minutes in order for it to be this clear @JudyEv I saw a show once on how photography got started and back then a person would sit or stand very still for several minutes while the photographer tried to make heads or tails out of an upside down image.
1 person likes this
@Juliaacv (51214)
• Canada
1 May 18
It does look like she is knitting.
I remember my aunt and uncle had a sun room on the end of their cottage, overlooking the lake, and it was filled with an assortment of old cane furniture. They even had the cane chest that my grandparents brought with them when they immigrated to Canada.
Memories.....
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40294)
• Laguna Woods, California
1 May 18
@JudyEv - What a delightful woman. She looks like someone I would have enjoyed knowing. I love this photo. She looks like a very busy woman!
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40294)
• Laguna Woods, California
3 May 18
@JudyEv - Ha ha! Yes, she was probably bored with the whole process! People at that time did not worry so much about how they would look in a photo. They weren't taking "selfies" and then using photo shop all the time! LOL
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (340077)
• Rockingham, Australia
3 May 18
@DeborahDiane I know there is no way it can be just a spontaneous snap but that's more what it looks like.
1 person likes this
@BearArtistLady (6037)
• United States
1 May 18
Many people are collecting these old photos. I work in an antique shop and we sell LOTS of these old photos. So at least they aren't destroyed. Same thing with the chair. "Back in the day" people couldn't afford to buy knit sweaters and other knit clothing , so Grandma an even Ma would sit at night after a long work day and knit. Kudos to whomever thought to set this picture up, saving a bit of history for th "but it off the rack" generation.
It does look like she's knitting something, possibly a scarf. Socks take four needles and sleeves are knit in pairs. Look really close at the right side and you can see something in her lap. The "bonnet" was worn by ladies back then to help keep their buns (they would gather their long hair up and twist it into a bun at the top of their head) in check. Only "loose" women of that era would have "short" hair. The lady in the picture's hair probably reached down past her waist, hence the bonnet.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (340077)
• Rockingham, Australia
2 May 18
Thanks for the information. I hadn't thought about selling the photos. My grandmother had a bun as did my mother. Mum would knit at night or darn socks and always had something in her hands.
@JudyEv (340077)
• Rockingham, Australia
3 May 18
@BearArtistLady I would guess she is in her 80s and that the photo was taken in the 1880s/1890s. I agree with all your comments. I have old crochet books with patterns for 'jabots' which were worn to decorate the neckline of a dress and which might be what she's wearing here although it doesn't look quite the same.
@BearArtistLady (6037)
• United States
3 May 18
@JudyEv It is so much fun to see a picture like the one you posred! It's even more fun dating the picture by the clothing style and the accessories. Looking at the close up I did of her on my tablet she definitely in her 80's and still doing a LOT of work where ever she is by the condition of her hands. It's truly a fantastic picture, I hope you'll post more.
1 person likes this
@mlgen1037 (29886)
• Manila, Philippines
1 May 18
Your great aunt looks adorable with her knitting. She still made time to look at the camera.
2 people like this
@mlgen1037 (29886)
• Manila, Philippines
2 May 18
@JudyEv Yep that is right. We can have as many as we want today and have it edited anytime. Back then, when they take pictures, they really have to look at it or else the photographer will get mad?
2 people like this
@JudyEv (340077)
• Rockingham, Australia
2 May 18
@mlgen1037 You had to sit very still for some seconds I think. And people weren't encouraged to smile so everyone looks very stern in the old photos.
2 people like this
@buenavida (9984)
• Sweden
1 May 18
It is interesting to see old photos.. I have photos in my grandma`s album.. they are from the beginning of 1900..or around that time..
The women used to knit socks when they were walking long ways that time..
1 person likes this
@buenavida (9984)
• Sweden
2 May 18
@JudyEv Crafts, like knitting , is a good therapy, even in our days, and that time it was necessary to get some clothes etc..
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (340077)
• Rockingham, Australia
2 May 18
@buenavida It was a necessity back then.Nowadays it is often used as therapy.
1 person likes this
@Fleura (30399)
• United Kingdom
1 May 18
She looks a real character. Perhaps her knitting was so much a part of her persona that the photographer thought it would be a great picture. I have a lot f old family photos too, but mostly the subjects are not doing much other than holding a child, although there are a few photos of family picnics!
1 person likes this
@kobesbuddy (78882)
• East Tawas, Michigan
7 May 18
What a precious photo, she's definitely wearing a good example, of her lovely, intricate needle work:)
1 person likes this
@kobesbuddy (78882)
• East Tawas, Michigan
8 May 18
@JudyEv Yes, and I'm envious of her contented and peaceful demeanor.
1 person likes this
@FayeHazel (40243)
• United States
1 May 18
How precious. It's nice you have the photos
1 person likes this