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.”
That time frame also coincides with our annual vacation, although this year we will miss seeing my sisters and their spouses due to Covid 19. Several family members are high risk, so we are staying safe and plan to make up for it next year, if possible.
One very nice birthday treat was the event of my first lace demonstration of the year at the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We took some images of my demo space in the beautiful lobby before they opened the doors the first morning. Social distancing and my well received Irish lace mask made the interactions with our customers easy and safe. I met lots of visitors from all over the country, even Canada, but not the usual summer tourists from overseas.
Baby items were hot sellers this time, maybe due to the fact that being quarantined just naturally increases the need for them? In any case, I sold more baby items than usual and already started to replace lace booties and caps for my next demo in November. I will likely be selling more!
My second most popular item were my Irish lace masks, made from cotton in classic cream or black, featuring Irish roses, blossoms and leaves. I suggest placing a coffee filter inside for added protection and to eliminate the need to wash the mask too often, just replace the filter.
During the evenings I enjoyed restoring a vintage wool baby blanket and a huge Colonial style bedspread with beautiful circular medallions. The 11 pound weight really stressed the cotton fibers over the years and I always reiterate the necessity of gentle handling to my customers. Often my restored areas are stronger than the remaining original fibers.
One of my unusual gifts was a bag of 6 bearded iris rhizomes from a favorite neighbor with a beautiful yard. Since I am not known for possessing a green thumb, I was very nervous about planting them and did lots of research before the big event. Pray for the survival of my rhizomes! I hope they meet a better fate than my peony bulbs, which I evidently planted at the wrong time. I apologized to them but there seems to be no forgiveness. I will keep you posted on any visible progress in my flower beds.
I hope there is joy in your lives and you have blessings to count despite the challenges of these times. Regardless, there is yarn and thread!
Be well, happy crocheting!
“I do what I love and I love what I do”