Saturday, Sept. 29, saw two locals ladies display some of their hard work in the form of embroidery and knitting at Coteau Place in Arcola. Margaret Olsen and Doris Silcox are two women who have had plenty of practice at their respective crafts. About 20 people attended throughout the day enjoying amazing work and a cup of tea.
Olsen will be turning 90 in April and Silcox recently celebrated her 100th birthday. Both women began their crafts at very young ages and were taught by their mothers.
Olsen's specialty involves embroidery. In the 1930s Olsen and her twin sister both belonged to the home craft club.
"I find it sad today that you can't find many people who do this sort of craft anymore, you can't find this old stuff," Olsen stated.
This was a craft which Olsen instantly enjoyed as a youth. She continued to work, enjoy, and get better at embroidery throughout the years. She is very happy to have learned the craft as she says she would have too much time on her hands otherwise.
"I'm lucky to be able to do them," Olsen explained, "nobody is really interested in the work anymore, but it's very enjoyable. Times have just changed so much and people are busier now with other things. I think it would be nice if they were able to make the time to learn something. Knitting, crochet, and embroidery are all wonderful to take up."
Olsen also had nothing but kind words for those who work at Coteau Place.
"I've been here five years and do they ever look after us all well. They take such good care of us," Olsen said.
Olsen grew up eight miles from town and has always loved being in the area. One of her two sons is still farming the family land and she is happy to see him often. Her other son lives in Toronto, but she is glad to speak with him every night.
Silcox on the other hand was born in Winnipeg and through time moved with her family to Carlyle when she was nine-years-old.
A woman in superb spirits answering the question of how she was doing with, "Too blessed well," and being completely serious about that fact. The 100 year-young woman has been knitting since she was 12 and continues to use knitting needles which her mother brought to Canada in the 1800s upon immigrating here.
She has knitted 511 sweaters throughout her years all for people in need.
"Not one of them is ever sold," Silcox stated.
Working on numbers 512 and 513, she will continue to fill her time with knitting.
"I know I'll be around 10 years from now because many of my ancestors lived to be so old. 110, 109, 107 and not just one, but two or three lived to those ages. So, I expect to be around for awhile and am very thankful I'm able to continue knitting," Silcox explained.
Knitting for Silcox has changed over the years as when she first began knitting to give sweaters away to those in need resulted in donations of wool, clipped straight from the sheep which Silcox would then spin on her spinning wheel.
"The wool started coming in, ticks and all. I used to sit with a pail of water and Lysol next to me. I would pick of the ticks and toss them into the pail. They'd die in there and you wouldn't believe how many of them there would be," Silcox smiled as she reminisced over the old days.
Now donations of bought wool pour in for Silcox to continue knitting.
"The crazier the combination the colours are the more the kids seem to like them nowadays. The sillier the colours the better," laughed Silcox.
Silcox was also an avid painter, having taught classes for many years to those in the area. They used everything from oil paints to barn paint and it was simply a fun place to learn how to paint anything from still life to nature scenes.
The two women enjoyed seeing people filter through Coteau Place as they showed their respective crafts to the public. They enjoyed speaking with and showcasing their beautiful work, which has been a lifelong love for both women.
They both encourage young people to learn one of the old crafts, which used to be a part of the typical lifestyle when they grew as young women. Useful skills to both fill time and be proud of, crafts which can be passed through families and enjoyed by generations to come. Despite a hectic world, down time can still consist of creating something spectacular from scratch.
