Crochet Queen: Royal Ramblings

Transformation 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.

Each year as the birthday of my dearly departed husband, Alan, draws near on June 23, I begin to cocoon. Thankfully, I have my crochet for comfort! Shortly after he died, I began to crochet shawls for Threads of Compassion, the charity of the Indiana Donor Network . I can feel great pride in doing this work; because with utmost courage, Alan donated his brain to research on his incurable disease at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. Both locally and nationally from the Mayo Clinic, I experienced compassion for what he was going through. It is almost two years until the day of his death; and it doesn't get easier. I draw happiness for the creativity I put into my crochet. It's colorful and can be a bright spot in my day; it is soothing as the smooth or rough fibers flow through my hands. I'm taken away to a place from the rhythm of crochet that is both nostalgic and distracting. Just like the vibrant colors of yarn fade after years and much usefulness; so too di...

First let me begin by saying that I've missed being perched up on the throne watching the crochet world evolve and sharing it weekly with you.  All I can say is life and death got in the way! A long and progressive disease, Corticobasal Degeneration (CBD), got the best of my husband, my King;  and he died on July 1, 2016. If you want to know the details of this horrible and debilitating disease, you can find it online. If, after you read about it, you wish to contribute to the research to find a cure for this rare disease, thank you! I've been faithfully committed to this blog since May of 2007; crochet is life to me. It is not my nature to let "life get in the way" of my weekly blog posts: but since my last post on May 5, 2016, I have not had the energy or the time to keep up with it. Although I am a public figure in the crochet world, I am also a private person. You have not read here or on Facebook about this 10-year journey Alan and I were on. Explaining ...

February 25, 2014 Time softens some of the loss and settles the mind. It has been a whirlwind since my dad died on February 11. We left returned home to Chicago that day having shared our love for dad in his last hours. Shortly after on February 15, we left for our long-planned vacation to Anna Maria Island, FL with the blessings of my brother to go ahead with our plans knowing that his memorial was planned for March 1. Now that I am back home and settled in from traveling, I turn my thoughts to my dad, Martin Blakley. He was a quiet and humble man who had a subtle sense of humor. Kind, caring and helpful, he had so many friends who loved and depended on him. Having served in the US Army during World War II, my dad's Division landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy on that fateful D-Day. Yes, he survived but he saw many, many of his comrades perish that day and never wanted to talk about it much. I am so proud of him and his bravery and can only imagine what it was like to g...