April Musings

 

Welcome Spring! Those of you who read last month’s Musings know how strongly I feel about the Olympic games and after they were finished, I could hardly wait for the Para Olympics in the same beautiful location, the Italian Alps.

1976 was the first year to include disabled athletes with their own event after the regular games concluded. Only 2 skiing events took place at that time, Alpine and Cross Country.

Now, after 50 years, 79 medal events took place with over 600 athletes participating. Since the Para Olympics started, incredible advances in prosthetics have been achieved and public awareness and improved accessibility in public transit are growing, thanks to the broad coverage of the events on the heels of the Olympic games.

As I followed the games, I worked on replenishing my warm fingerless gloves supply, playing with a few new design options. Several pairs are gauntlet style without the usual cuff. It is my easy basic design that starts with a square of any stitch variation you like and is then folded and decoratively seamed with thumb openings in the correct location. I had fun trying out several ideas with techniques that usually don’t work when crocheting in the round; Tunisian crochet and its variations being one of them. Now, since I am thinking of summer lace gloves, I will try the gauntlet style in broomstick lace technique, done over a knitting needle. So far, it’s just mulling around in my brain; I will keep you updated on design ideas.

As I mentioned in my March Musings, a local customer brought me a very large, colorful granny square Afghan to restore. It had 2 separate areas of mystery destruction – no burned edges, evidence of angry claws or moth activity. Just 2 ugly holes in a large Afghan in otherwise perfect condition. My main concern when I received the customer’s images, was to find the perfect match of variegated yarn to restore the damaged squares. A little research found that Red Heart Yarn Co. still makes the original variegated Mexicana yarn from the 1950 ties, what a stroke of luck! I was able to replace the missing sections of 2 granny squares with a perfect color blend match.

Last month I also mentioned 2 curtain panels that required some sewing and embroidery skills – and lots of imagination to find solutions for replacing machine made lace designs. One panel was only slightly damaged by a playful kitty, the second one had severe problems. Both are now back in their cozy home, but in a safer location with less temptation for the kitty. Customer was extremely happy with my restoration solutions and sent pictures of their new placement.

I always ask my customers to leave a review on my Google Business page, there they leave a star rating, comments and often images of my work. Check it out under Google Business: Heirloom Treasures Fiber Arts.

Last week I received a filet crochet panel in a mystic horse design. It only needed a 2-row border repair, and I gave input on my customer’s desire to wash and block it and then have it framed. Having had doilies and filet crochet images framed and matted in the past and breaking glass in the process of transporting them to demos and shows, I stopped using glass with my work. As most of you know, I have placed lace samples and geometric designs on black canvas. This is much lighter and safer to deal with. I did not recommend framing the large mystical horse or mounting it on canvas, it is just too large. It is however very impressive on a wooden surface, which was its original purpose.

My latest canvas project was just completed and delivered yesterday. It is called Ripple Effect and is inspired by my Quarter Turn Collection, which means that whichever way you turn the piece, it always looks the same. Two of my geometric Quarter Turn pieces are on permanent display at the Folk Art Center.

This last piece, Ripple Effect, was created by request for a special auction to benefit artists in my county which are still affected by the damage from Hurricane Helene. All participating artists are invited to the actual auction and festivities at a local winery, which just reopened after being totally rebuilt due to hurricane damage. I am really looking forward to this fun evening!

I am also very excited about my first demo session for this year. I will be in the lobby of the Folk Art Enter on the Blue Ridge Parkway on April 23^rd through 26^th demonstrating crochet lace. Many visitors are still unfamiliar with Broomstick lace, Hairpin lace and Tunisian lace, some are familiar with Irish lace and thread lace – they all remember grandma’s doilies. I enjoy giving a little historical background with my demos as well and explaining the stories behind my designs which incorporate the lace techniques I demonstrate. It makes me happy to answer questions and inspire visitors to give crochet and crochet lace a try. That of course, gives me an opportunity to talk about my Master classes on Udemy.com and my 2 books.

Here is wishing you a happy Easter time, fun with new ideas and techniques, but also time outside playing and planting, as Mother Nature allows.

Have a happy spring!