The handmade letter card

This hand made letter card is dogeared and worn.

It has been in the pocket of my filofax for over 20 years.

The Protea Pendula pen drawing is signed D E Wedderburn, 92. Daphne Estelle.


My mother.
This would have been her last Christmas Card and her last Christmas.

Dad has written in the letter card 'may we all enjoy our festive season'.

On the left side of the card he has a PS. 'Mom did this card about a month ago'.

My Mom was gifted.
At Iscor she worked in the drawing office and during her years at home raising four children she drew up house plans, she set up her home office in the garage and worked many hours at her drawing board.

Her drawing skills were remarkable.
A walk about in any of our homes, whether in Johannesburg, Hilton, Cape Town or Amanzimtoti and even in Cowra, Australia, you will find a framing of my mother's art, pen drawings or watercolours of finely sketched botanicals and detailed replicas of old buildings.

She never had idle hands.
There is not a craft that she did not attempt, she hand knitted and even machine knitted, she crocheted, she sewed, she made her children and grandchildren toys, she painted porcelain dolls, she made mosaics, she worked with pewter, she made cane furniture, she did macrame, she made twine lampshades, she made gemstone jewellery, she made hand dyed batiks... no doubt I am forgetting something, will check with my sisters.

So Inel also remembers Mom working with leather, enamelling and using a soldering iron for wood craft.

Ah, but she did not like to bake.