This Month’s Musing
March Musings
I really enjoyed St. Valentine’s month; lots of love in the air and even a touch of spring outside. We observed 2 squirrels making out on top of the fence line in the pouring rain, now that’s romantic.
As I promoted in my February musings, I took several opportunities for self-care days. Some of our thrift shops are open again and I love to go bargain hunting for yarn and threads occasionally, which is vitally important to keep my restoration supplies shelf stocked with wool, classic orlon and cotton threads in all color shades for any vintage lace repairs.
February brought me 3 enjoyable restoration projects. The Filet Crochet Lord’s Prayer, which I mentioned in last month’s musings, needed some of the letters restored and some of the background areas reinforced. Once the thread work was complete, I blocked it to a perfect rectangle to facilitate the framing job.
I cannot overemphasize the importance of using a board that gives you lines and measurements to follow, such as a foldable cutting board. It makes it so easy to follow the lines when pinning to size.
Please do not soak your vintage items in water for any length of time as suggested in a recent YouTube video. This weakens the fiber and it can break when you stretch it in that condition. Pin your piece dry and then mist it with purified water to avoid any damage.
Not only was the Lord’s Prayer the perfect poster size, but the blocking also added somebody to the very delicate piece. Due to nasty weather in Texas, it took quite a long time to get back home. Thank goodness, USPS and UPS are back to a reasonable shipping schedule.
The day after The Lord’s Prayer left, a
beautiful oval-shaped doily arrived at my door. It was white with a green border and my biggest challenge was to match the green thread to complete the border restoration. My restoration supply shelf held the perfect shade of #10 green bedspread cotton, which was too big to use since the doily was made in #20 cotton. I cut a 3’ section of the #10 material and split the thread to the right thickness to restore the border. Then I removed some stains and yes, I pinned it slightly damp. After I removed the stains in a gentle Woolite bath for 1 minute, a very long cold-water rinse was in order. Only when I was sure that all traces of detergent were removed, I rolled it up in a thick bath towel and squeezed out as much moisture as possible. Only then did it go to the pinning board. It truly was in original condition after I gave it all that love!
The last project in February was a well-loved knitted baby blanket that had severe damage in only one area; most likely from kitty or puppy claws. The gaping hole was repaired, thanks to most of the loose threads still attached to the edges. The little blanket is now ready to be passed down to a brand-new baby boy.
I loved those three projects during Valentine’s month. What a gift to be able to do what I enjoy so much!
Just the last couple of days I started to show some love to my home, taking one room at a time to do some deep cleaning. In the past, I used to have company or visitors to do that job, but with the pandemic hanging on, I have only done an occasional lick and promise in all but bathrooms and the kitchen. I treated myself to some new cleaning products, gloves, and gadgets to make it more fun. It might take me a month to get it all done, but then I can call it a thorough spring cleaning! It will be nice to get it all done before I get busy again this spring and summer.
Just a few days ago I received my demo schedule for the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway and my workshop line-up for this year’s Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair (SAFF) in October. I can’t wait to get back to “normal”. I am ready.
My schedule for 2021 is now posted on the Events page on my website in the top menu.
www.heirloomtreasuresfiberarts.com
Have a wonderful March, celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a delicious Ruben sandwich and why not work some Irish Crochet? Maybe just some flowers to spruce up a spring outfit or a straw hat ……
Happy March and welcome spring!
“I do what I love and I love what I do.”
This Month’s Musing
March Musings
I really enjoyed St. Valentine’s month; lots of love in the air and even a touch of spring outside. We observed 2 squirrels making out on top of the fence line in the pouring rain, now that’s romantic.
As I promoted in my February musings, I took several opportunities for self-care days. Some of our thrift shops are open again and I love to go bargain hunting for yarn and threads occasionally, which is vitally important to keep my restoration supplies shelf stocked with wool, classic orlon and cotton threads in all color shades for any vintage lace repairs.
February brought me 3 enjoyable restoration projects. The Filet Crochet Lord’s Prayer, which I mentioned in last month’s musings, needed some of the letters restored and some of the background areas reinforced. Once the thread work was complete, I blocked it to a perfect rectangle to facilitate the framing job.
I cannot overemphasize the importance of using a board that gives you lines and measurements to follow, such as a foldable cutting board. It makes it so easy to follow the lines when pinning to size.
Please do not soak your vintage items in water for any length of time as suggested in a recent YouTube video. This weakens the fiber and it can break when you stretch it in that condition. Pin your piece dry and then mist it with purified water to avoid any damage.
Not only was the Lord’s Prayer the perfect poster size, but the blocking also added somebody to the very delicate piece. Due to nasty weather in Texas, it took quite a long time to get back home. Thank goodness, USPS and UPS are back to a reasonable shipping schedule.
The day after The Lord’s Prayer left, a beautiful oval-shaped doily arrived at my door. It was white with a green border and my biggest challenge was to match the green thread to complete the border restoration. My restoration supply shelf held the perfect shade of #10 green bedspread cotton, which was too big to use since the doily was made in #20 cotton. I cut a 3’ section of the #10 material and split the thread to the right thickness to restore the border. Then I removed some stains and yes, I pinned it slightly damp. After I removed the stains in a gentle Woolite bath for 1 minute, a very long cold-water rinse was in order. Only when I was sure that all traces of detergent were removed, I rolled it up in a thick bath towel and squeezed out as much moisture as possible. Only then did it go to the pinning board. It truly was in original condition after I gave it all that love!
The last project in February was a well-loved knitted baby blanket that had severe damage in only one area; most likely from kitty or puppy claws. The gaping hole was repaired, thanks to most of the loose threads still attached to the edges. The little blanket is now ready to be passed down to a brand-new baby boy.
I loved those three projects during Valentine’s month. What a gift to be able to do what I enjoy so much!
Just the last couple of days I started to show some love to my home, taking one room at a time to do some deep cleaning. In the past, I used to have company or visitors to do that job, but with the pandemic hanging on, I have only done an occasional lick and promise in all but bathrooms and the kitchen. I treated myself to some new cleaning products, gloves, and gadgets to make it more fun. It might take me a month to get it all done, but then I can call it a thorough spring cleaning! It will be nice to get it all done before I get busy again this spring and summer.
Just a few days ago I received my demo schedule for the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway and my workshop line-up for this year’s Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair (SAFF) in October. I can’t wait to get back to “normal”. I am ready.
My schedule for 2021 is now posted on the Events page on my website in the top menu.
www.heirloomtreasuresfiberarts.com
Have a wonderful March, celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a delicious Ruben sandwich and why not work some Irish Crochet? Maybe just some flowers to spruce up a spring outfit or a straw hat ……
Happy March and welcome spring!
“I do what I love and I love what I do.”
Happy Valentine’s Day and a happy celebration of love all month long!
During this pandemic it is especially challenging to find ways to express our love and affection to each other, so get inventive and explore ways to send love and hugs to friends and family.
I usually take a day or two and bake goodies to share before Christmas, but last week I used a sick neighbor as an excuse to get in the kitchen and bake. There is never just one cake or pie, once I start, I might as well use all the ingredients already laid out and go for it.
I left bread and a small cake at my neighbor’s door and rang the doorbell. I was trying to ring and run like the UPS man but, all bundled up in her recliner, she saw me through the glass door and waived at me.
A friend left a sweet note under my windshield wipers while I was in the store last week. I intend to send mushy e-cards in time for Valentine, just because it is fun!
I think it is also time for some self-love. After all, taking care of our own needs benefits everybody around us. While teaching adults at the Community College, I used to tell my overworked wives and mothers that their cup could not run over unless it was full. What a revelation to many who were brought up to put everybody else first! Self-care is self-love and an especially important component of well-being. My manicure, pedicure and hair appointments are part of a regular wellness routine, but this month I might throw in a facial and even a massage.
Wintertime is great for a personal care day; not the usual “work at home” day that many of us experience due to the pandemic, but a vacation at home day. No bedmaking, no cooking, just hanging out on the couch in my robe and bunny slippers. There are dozens of movies and documentaries waiting to be watched! Maybe even a chocolate treat or a heart-shaped cookie, just because it’s Valentine’s month.
Outdoor playtime is another fun activity, weather permitting. Sometimes we just run away to the park and throw a frisbee or try to fly a kite if the weather cooperates. Outdoor play is fun and great exercise! Well, I mostly like to play indoors in the kitchen or playing with thread or yarn.
After completing my baby projects for my neighbor’s new great-granddaughter and replacing many of the items I left for the new baby corner at the Folk Art Center in Asheville, I received several interesting requests for restorations. I am currently working on a granny afghan made from 3” jewel-toned squares, bordered with dark navy around each square and the outside border. A lovely way to create a granny afghan for a little boy. It is made from soft wool and I had to dig deep in my supplies to find the lovely shades of wool. The same customer sent his parents’ wedding afghan, made in 1941 by his grandmother. It is made from early orlon, and the center is in good shape, only some of the outer squares came undone and in some areas, she used a 2 ply instead of a 4 ply yarn and several of those shells in the squares need to be reinforced. Thankfully she changed colors in every row, that held most of them together. I will enjoy going through my orlon stash to match or complement the really pretty retro colors.
Another interesting piece is on the way, “The Lord’s Prayer” in filet crochet. Several of the letters need to be reinforced and some need to be restored. The customer also asked about how to remove small brown spots. I suggested hydrogen peroxide applied with a Q-tip or a drop of lemon juice for just a few minutes. I intend to block the piece to its original 26” x 39” size, because the customer is having the piece framed after I restore it, and it will turn out so much better once it is properly blocked to size.
So, February looks like I get to spend lots of time doing my favorite things, restoring heirloom treasures! The other favorite, of course, is creating heirloom treasures.
Be sure to do something really special for yourself this month and know that you are loved and appreciated. I love my customers and all my fiber friends.
“I do what I love and I love what I do.”