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Works in Progress (WIPs)

I woke up this morning "thinking"! November is a hard month for me, full of so many celebrations: Chloe's 10th birthday; my wedding anniversary; and Thanksgiving. I'm not alone with all of my family here to share these celebrations; yet I am alone. I am grateful that we have now moved into December, a busy and creative time.

It has been 3 1/2 years since Alan's death. I held his hand as he took his last breath. I have started a new chapter of my life; and  I am proud of myself for the progress I have made. It does take time to adjust, though. Anyone who has had a loss may feel grieving is like "carrying a stone in your pocket. One always feels it; sometimes barely noticeable, other times if turning slightly, it may feel painful. You rub the pain and keep going. Few know about your stone or realized it can still bring this much pain.

There are days now that I feel happy and slap my leg with laughter. Feeling the stone, t still hurts and I wonder if I should …
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Update: Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Feminist Icon, Collector of Crochet

October 2, 2019:
A proud accomplishment for me - I have completed the crochet collar I will be sending soon to the Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg for her collection!



This is the letter I am enclosing with her gift:

October 2, 2019
The Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg The Supreme Court of the United States One First Street N. E. Washington, D.C. 20543
Dear Justice Ginsburg,
It is my pleasure and honor to have created this collar as a gift for your collection. I am deeply grateful for all you have done for women and humans everywhere.
On 11/14/2018, I blogged http://bit.ly/2Imk8tb about you and showed the prototype of the collar I had planned to make for you. As Founder of the Crochet Guild of America (www.crochet.org), I am a passionate crocheter and so pleased that you chose to include crochet in your collection. My dream is to gather fiber artists together to create an exhibit of collars made with their individual techniques and displayed on mini-wire hangers!
The majority of my first ca…
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Celebrating CGOA: Twenty Five Years

Sometimes it takes a while to come down from the near-nirvana from attending a Crochet Guild of America (CGOA) Chain Link conference. This year was no exception! It's been a little over a month since I returned; and I'm now ready to share.



Firstoff,  I was officially named Founder and first President of CGOA in 1994. That came after 2 years of planning and developing the concept of a guild exclusively for crocheters. Twenty-five years later, we long-time members had cause for celebration; and that it was!




One of the highlights of the weekend, especially for newbies, is the opportunity to sit and stitch in the hospitality suite or the lobby of the hotel. While doing so we met new friends and re-united with old ones.



There was a feeling of celebration in the air all weekend. All members should be so proud of their participation as members, volunteers and officers of the board of directors. In the Market, the conference committee set up a "selfie booth" which gave us a…
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Indiana State Fair: The Votes Are In

This is second year I have entered the state fair in the needlework category and I am still learning how to negotiate the process. Nevertheless, I am happy with the results: three ribbons!

The judges comments on all three of my entries were 100% positive and complimentary. At first, I found their choices of prizes baffling. However, I came to realize that many, many entries are submitted in all categories and the competition is stiff. I thoroughly enjoy entering and hope that the prize money covers my cost of entering!  I will enter more items in each category next year; that is if I have enough  projects completed and worthy of entering.

I will include a small portion of the comments with each photo that follows. Tell me what you think and if you've entered a State Fair where you live.

Free Form Collar: "Enough beading to make it interesting but not overweigh the item. Thank you for entering."

Vintage Collar: Lovely idea but not lace. Did you make the crocheting?"

Col…
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Transformation: 7/1/16-6/23/19

I started to think about titles that would convey my feelings in a  piece of art to memorialize my husband, Alan Kinsler, on 6/7/2016. The date is significant because we both knew he was dying of Corticobasal Degeneration, an incurable  brain disease. It struck me that I needed to hold on to some of the extra medical equipment that had been so necessary for his use and comfort. Although none of this equipment was enjoyable, I knew that I wanted to use it in a way to make the discomfort and his death transform into something that would honor the  memory of his courage throughout the painful 10-year journey we traveled together. He died on 7/1/16.

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Textiles with New Materials

So goes the title of a 7-week class I have just finished at the Indianapolis Art Center. I enjoyed it very much!

Each week our class of 3  touched on a textile technique: weaving, macrame, dying, crochet, arm-knitting were all included. I've done all of these technique in the past, except arm knitting. I enjoy them all as I do them, but crochet is the one that calls to me. I am an advanced crocheter and always have trouble finding a class to suit my needs. After 40 years at it, I am mainly interested in improving my art-making skills with crochet.

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On the Texas Trail with Celebrate Doilies: An Update

For those of you who were not able to hear Suzann Thompson’s inspiring presentation at Evening of Excellence at the CGOA conference in Portland last July, I have an exciting update about her exhibit's sucess!

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