Hello Doily

My Hometown A - Z: Letter D

I had quite a bit of trouble deciding how to do justice to the letter D in my hometown, St Louis. After careful consideration, I decided to highlight the popularity of the DOILY in good old STL.

For those of you who may not have ever seen a doily--officially it is a small ornamental mat placed underneath a bowl or vase or lamp on a wooden table to prevent damage to the table top. The doily is made in a lace-type pattern on purpose. The wood of the table must show through.

Now, why in the world would I choose the letter D to be DOILY as a representative of my hometown? OK, fair enough. When I was growing up in St Louis, among those of us of direct European descent in the Catholic school system there were three main groups: the Germans, the Irish and the Italians.

The Germans had the best doughnuts.

The Irish had the best parades

The Italians had the best food

Each had their own home neighborhoods--but no matter how different we thought we were from each other--lets face it, we all had doilies!!

Better than that--the doily continuously tried to outdo itself--show status and otherwise compete with other doilies. It grew into tablecloths, table runners, dish cloths, bowl covers, gloves, chapel veils and in some neighborhoods--even doily CURTAINS. I had heard rumor of the doily CHAIR--but never saw one.

As a kid, I saw doily wall hangings, doily shower curtains, doily Halloween decorations (yep, spider webs--had to be black) and doily wrappings around African Violet flower pots (leftover influence of Eleanor R) in homes of my friends.

To say I was in awe of the doily-is true.

In my pre-pubescent opinion, a doily-deficient home was a home without love.





The pineapple pattern was the most prevalent--but there certainly were many other designs. My German grandmother had doilies that had rippled edges (the trickiest to make)--my Irish grandmother made the pinecone pattern doilies (which I think I snatched when she died).

Although I never made a doily--secretly, I always wanted to. . .I have recently removed it from the list of things I want to do before I die. . .

since my sons would probably throw it away, or sell it shamelessly in a garage sale (for less than a dime) along with all the holiday decorations they consider silly.



The intricate designs of the doily are a true work of art--and a piece of history lost in modern day St Louis.
Hello Doily--you are certainly worth the Letter D in this blog!
__________________________________________________






Coming soon: From my personal library