October was a great month; my wish came true when I found my perfect car, the Honda CRV AWD in a lovely cappuccino color. It easily holds all my plastic totes, tools, supplies ans display items. Now I travel in style and feel so blessed to have found THE perfect one with just 25,000 miles on it.
It came in handy for my October demo time at the Folk Art Center. We had close to 1,000 visitors each day and many started their Christmas shopping due to the supply chain concerns. We love it when our visitors shop with us and support our artists. We have gifts for everyone on your list! It was my best weekend ever!
While spending time with the demonstrators and in the galleries, many folks also visited the Black and White Exhibition upstairs at the Folk Art Center.
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The above image is from my submission, it is piece #4 of my Quarter Turn collection. Each piece is a homage to my beloved heritage techniques; three have a black canvass background, one is beige. The name Quarter Turn comes from the idea that once you are tired of the look, just give the canvass a quarter turn for a completely different appearance.
The Black and White exhibit will be open until January 16, 2022. I am already excited about my final demo for this year because the holiday season gives everyone a festive spirit, starting with the giant, fresh fir in our lobby!
My lace encased glass ornaments are usually very popular and I sold some glass cake dome covers for the holidays already. Now I need to replace several of the very popular items to be ready for my Christmas demo. I have also made a few stuffed animals, which are popular for little ones.
This last week I enjoyed teaching 4 days at SAFF (Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair). Masks made talking a bit more challenging and harder to teach in a group setting, but everyone loved being back together and enjoyed the instructors and vendors from all over the USA. An entire parking lot is dedicated to motorhomes and 5th. Wheel trailers every year and the vendors’ offerings are unbelievable! You cannot keep from taking home fiber treasures for new projects.
I saw some old friends from up north who really enjoyed our warm weather and the fall colors along the Parkway were spectacular. They have an antique sock knitting machine and make beautiful socks from hand dyed cotton sock yarn in Monet color schemes. I treat myself to a new pair every year. They actually get softer after being washed in warm water on a gentle cycle. My feet are ready for winter!
Our annual family reunion is coming up in early November and despite the new car, I am going to fly to Ohio to get together with everyone. We are going to have a Celebration of Life to honor my sister Pam’s life on her birthday. She passed away last December. This event will bring everybody together, not just my sisters and spouses as we did in the past, but all of her and my brother in law’s extended family will be there. Dave will be missed as well, but it will be comforting for me to have everybody around.
Thanksgiving will be with my good friend Kathy and her family; she prepares a tasty spread every year and we enjoy having the little ones around. My part is making pies for dessert because I love to bake and Kathy is a better cook! In any case, we are grateful for all good things and each other.
As we spend more time at home, I would like to recommend a great little book by actress Sutton Foster, who crochets between scenes while performing on Broadway. It is called: Hooked – How Crafting Saved My Life. She captures her feelings in interesting crochet projects and writes to inspire.
I just finished a restoration of diamond shaped medallions with clusters in a king size bedspread. It also had very long fringe all around and weighed as much as my car! Just kidding, but the owner delivered and picked up from Tennessee because of the size.
Now I am working on a filet crochet tablecloth, it is worked from a chart in a lovely rose and heart pattern. It has 2 hand size holes due to an accident with a bleach bottle. My #13 hook (the next to the smallest one made) and #30 cotton will take care of the problem this coming week.
Let’s be grateful for all the good things and loving people in our lives and think ahead on how we can gift them for the holidays!
Happy Thanksgiving, I am grateful for all of you!
“I do what I love and I love what I do.”