This is a crocheted throw I bought from Country Primitives in Winter Haven on my first visit. I paid $20.00 for it, which I considered a fair retail price. Here's one very similar to it selling on eBay for a penny less.
It's probably ten, maybe fifteen years old, and was handmade by someone who was not an expert crocheter. The maker dropped stitches frequently enough that one end is noticeably narrower than the other. There are other mistakes, particularly with the attempt at a ruffled edging. The yarn is not the best quality, either.
I am not an Americana collector. I don't especially care for flag colors as a palette. Who makes throws to use in the middle of summer anyway? I can also crochet something myself that is far superior to this in about a week. So why buy it?
Despite it's imperfections, it is a labor of love. Someone loved America, these colors and possibly Independence Day enough to try to make a patriotic throw. Maybe it came from Maine, where it is cold enough in summer to merit using throws. I remember waking up to 50F on my birthday in July in Portland. For me that's like winter.
Anyway, they tried. That is the story of America. We try and we keep trying and we don't give up. The real beauty of what this throw represents is the freedom we have to try. No one can tell us what to make.
I will never know the reasons someone made this throw, or how it ended up in an antique store in Florida. What I do know is that I fell in love with it, and I wanted it in my home on display today, to remind me of what we're celebrating today. America. Like my country, I will cherish it for the rest of my life. In the end, that's all that matters.
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