An area outside of Denver, Colorado, now called Cherry Hills Village wasn’t always the Hi end society that it is now. Though the country club hosted the PGA Championship in 1941, Cherry Hills Village wasn’t incorporated until 1945. The country Club was founded in 1922 with golfing in mind. Before that it was all farm land.
A few miles southeast of Cherry Hills Village, in what is now Centennial, Colorado is the 17 Mile House. I used to do re-enacting there and share what I know about sheep, wool, fiber and spinning with people of all ages. That house sits on farm land turned open space. I got to meet a couple of the people who lived in that house in the 1970s. Before they lived there however they lived on the Cherry Hills Farm in Englewood, Colorado. Jack, the brother of the brother and sister I met, shared the story of making the move, with the herd of cattle, from Cherry Hills Farm to the 17 Mile House in 1939.
They made that move in February, before the choke cherry trees in the area of both the Cherry Hills Farm and running along the Cherry Creek that runs behind the 17 Miles would have any leaves or blossoms. His story focuses more on water and lack thereof to begin with but how quickly it came, after the move thankfully.
With this shawl, Cherry Hills, I am connecting a couple of different time periods and lifestyles.
The 17 Mile House was on the Smokey Hill Trail heading to Denver and ultimately the idea of striking it rich in the gold rush. A Mile House was a place to stop and get food and shelter for you and your animals for the night. The number indicates how far the house is from Colfax and Broadway in Denver. That is where supplies and information were acquired before heading into “the hills” for gold.
I think about all the different people who came to America and then came west for the chance of better life. People from all over the world as well as those who have been here since the beginning. These people brought with them their own traditions, beliefs and ways. This applies to everything from worship to food to knitting.
The Cherry Hills shawl uses Estonian nupps to represent the cherries on the branches. I can see a woman, far from the home she has always known, working out a shawl using her surroundings for inspiration, making a shawl similar to this one. The yarn is 100% wool, something she would have had access to as well. Either from the sheep they were trailing with them or from ripping out another piece to remake it into another piece. She might have even tried the choke cherries to see if they would dye the wool. Not much.
Both of these locations were historically farm land as I have shared. Cherry Hills Farm is now part of Cherry Hills Village, which is still a town outside of Denver, Colorado. A very affluent place to live. The tree signs are a different color, signifying that this is not Englewood, Centennial or Denver, but Cherry Hills, as we in the metro area refer to it. It isn’t completely gated, but is mostly surrounded by a stone wall, which is a huge luxury in Colorado and some fencing. I have driven through it once in the 39 years I lived in Colorado.
When doing some research this morning on the area, one of the houses that is for sale is on 14 acres, is almost 14,000 square feet, has 5 bed rooms and 8 bathrooms. It was built this year and is going for 28.8 million USD. Quite the change the from 80 years ago.
This shawl is something that is now considered a luxury item and not a practical every day wear item.
I have a couple of trips to Colorado next year and I’m looking forward to getting to take photos of this finished shawl, hopefully with the trees in bloom and seeing Cherry Hills and 17 Mile House again.
This is the first pattern in my Mountains and Plains collection that will be published.
Happy Making!
Azariahs Fibre Arts 