3/11/09

THERE WAS AN OLD WOMAN who lived in a shoe


        There was an old woman who lived in a shoe, 
        She had so many children she didn't know what to do.
        She gave them some broth without any bread
        Then whipped them all soundly and put them to bed.

For some reason I saw this snapshot and the first two lines of the nursery rhyme kept running through my brain. Then I went in search of the last few lines and thought "Whoa!" I hadn't remembered the violence in the rhyme.

The reality of this photo is unknown, but I'm willing to bet she's not standing in front of a giant shoe. Most likely this nice lady received this lovely chenille bathrobe as a gift and stepped outside to have her photo taken. I'm thinking it was probably one of those pretty pastel chenille colors. I'm hoping it was pink or green. Chenille. I miss chenille. I do have an old chenille bedspread that is still in beautiful condition. I wonder why it went out of fashion. My useless thought for the day: "Chenille was fun." You may quote me.

chenile_tatteredandlost

6 comments:

  1. Chenille is the fabric equivalent of comfort food. I recently put on a chenille robe for the first time in a long time, and was reminded of how great it is. The late Ben Apfelbaum, a scholar of American folk art and a true character, was working on a book about chenille when he died, a loss I'll always regret.

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  2. That's it. Comfort food. It's the mashed potatoes of fabrics. It's the bedspreads of my youth. I know Vermont Country Store still carries chenille bedspreads. I haven't seen a robe in a very long time.

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  3. Oh, and I just remembered another great thing about chenille - the imprint it left on someone's face if they fell asleep on top of it!

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  4. Yes! I'd forgotten about that. And a friend and I were discussing last night how much fun it was to pretend it was a series of roads. Lying in bed running your finger or little cars along the roads. Stuck in bed with a cold, playing with the chenille.

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  5. Hi, I goggled chenille bedspread and your blog came up. Love it.
    I put a picture from an old catalog on my blog tonight. I think it is this bathrobe.
    Could I use your picture on mine.
    Let me know? Thanks Jean McLain

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  6. Thanks Jeani. Yes, sure, post it with a link letting people know where you found it. That would make me happy.

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