It is summer and beach time! I hope everyone is enjoying a vacation or some down time after such a long stretch of Covid restrictions. Enjoy whatever opportunity of outdoor time you can take advantage of. Our beaches are several hours away, but we have beautiful and clear lakes close to the mountains.
July brought more challenges about things up in the air due to the loss of Dave. I sure do miss him! Thanks to Paula Easton this website is up and running and my new Boutique site will soon be a reality. It will feature my ladies’ and babes’ collections and high-end items. I can’t wait to show some of my special designs and give their inspiring background information.
This past Thursday I started demonstrating at the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway and stayed busy welcoming visitors from all over the country. We have not seen many international visitors due to the continued restrictions but are happy to see people from every corner of this nation. Our beautiful scenery and the pleasant weather make the Blue Ridge Mountains a popular vacation spot. By Sunday I was ready to give my voice a long rest, but it felt so good to enjoy some social interactions again.
Many of the visitors were on vacation and headed to the beach. My beach sandals were a big success and lots of giggles were heard amongst groups of friends taking turns on the chair trying them on. It set the tone for a fun time on the beach! The sandals are popular for beach weddings and brides’ maids’ gifts as well. Some young ladies got some great ideas for upcoming nuptials!
Baby items continue to be popular right now because we have a higher rate of new babies due to a happy home life during the pandemic. I ran out of cute baby girl headbands and better get busy replacing them for the next demo in August.
My current restoration project is a very special Irish lace tablecloth. It was made by Italian nuns from tatting thread, not much bigger than regular sewing thread. I have to wear my magnifier to see the stitches and feel like a neurosurgeon performing brain surgery. I started the work around the border, moving up with each complete rotation. Now I continue in circular motion towards the center panel, which features several intricate designs. This restoration will take many weeks and I hope to post some images of it in the future.
I manage to stay busy and always end each day on a high note, which continues to mean time to crochet, creating or restoring something lovely. I don’t feel super creative just yet, so the Irish lace work is a real healing blessing.
I hope everyone gets some vacation or rest time to enjoy this summer! Make your porch or backyard your oasis and spend some more quality time with your family. Soon enough it will be time for fall. Enjoy!