Crochet Queen: Royal Ramblings

I have decided to take a break today from the influx of every changing information about the virus called "Corona" that is sweeping our nation and creating fear and even panic in otherwise mostly well-informed people. Today marks Day 12 since I decided to self-quarantine in my home. I have only been out to take daily walks walk in my neighborhood daily; and yesterday I took a car ride in  to no where in particular! I am determined to think of only positive things. Tomorrow, I will be refreshed and ready to go back into battle to do the best for me and my family during this crisis of unknown quantity for our nation and the world! I have been playing Kenny Rogers music all day to honor him. His death may not seems positive to you, but after all, he has gotten us through good times and bad for years with his talents and songs. Bless his heart! During this time I have been cooking and baking up a storm! So far it is more fun when all I have is time. Also, it can be an int...

I've been thinking a lot lately about how keeping busy, exploring new avenues and attending art exhibits brings me to my happy place. This past week in particular had lots to offer. It seemed like many a venue had openings of exhibits that I was interested in. I've mentioned the Stutz Business & Art Center before <Link> and they had an exibit called "Red." Everything in the multi-media show featured red primarily. It was veried and interesting. The locale is a huge warehouse which was originallt the Stutz Bearcat showrooms. Many artist studios are also there. I look forward to the Open House they will hold in March which will be much bigger and feature working artists in their studios, food and music. Located within a straight shot of each other, I was able to take in two exhibits on Saturday. The Indiana State Museum held its Annual Indiana Artists Craft fair and I was delighted to find a wonderful hostess gift for my cousin who I will be visiting in...

I will get right to the point: run , don’t walk to buy this book! If you want to understand the thoughts, emotions, and excitement that brought me to this unusual book review introduction, carry on! I could hardly wait to get started reading about the famous and incredibly capable female aviatrixes from whom Denise derived the inspiration for her new book, Leather, Lace, Grit & Grace ! As I began, my first instinct was to search among all the pilots' portraits for a photograph of Denise herself! She is, indeed, a very capable woman, standing tall among the women she has written about. Denise has set the bar very high for anyone who is contemplating a self-publishing journey for their crochet designs! Combining her artistic talent and extreme creativity, Denise has brought us seventeen delightful crochet and knit designs, as well as a good read about twelve women pilots who lived during the timeframes between 1831 through 1975. Some are well-known like Amelia Ear...

Crochet Ever After This book is especially ideal for doting grandmothers; but anyone who likes to crochet unique and whimsical designs will love it too! It is adorable and I like the recent trend of crochet books with a theme! All projects in the book are inspired by classic fairy tales.

Soul Mate Dolls ~ Dollmaking as a Healing Art Sparked by a recent trip to   American Girl Place (AG)  in Chicago with my granddaughter, Chloe, I’ve moved into “doll mode.”  My own AG doll has lived with me for at least ten years and I possess life-long love dolls! The joy of crocheting fashions in miniature, made it necessary to have someone to wear the fruits of my labor. My granddaughter, Chloe, has enjoyed playing with my doll when she visits; and now, as she approaches the age of five influenced by an older friend, she has begun to want her own. Two years ago I put “dibs” on a plan to be the special one to buy her first A G doll since I am the one who loves dolls, unlike my daughters who were never very caught up in doll play. On the calendar for two months, our special “Girls’ Day Out” finally arrived! I tried my best to contain my excitement to an acceptable level. It was a great outing for all of us, including high tea at the store with the newl...

July 12, 2014 Amy Solovay: Part 2, Designing I first   met Amy Solovay when she joined my fan group,  Cro-Kween Designs   on Ravelry. She was humble, enthusiastic and a delight to have as a group Courtesan. I wanted to know more about her designs and the inspirations for them. Check Amy's website often as she is currently focusing on developing it into a comprehensive resource covering both crochet and knitting, as well as other topic of interest needleworkers. I wondered what got Amy interested in crochet and how long she has been designing. "I started designing original patterns for public consumption in 2009 when I began working with About.com. My father's aunt taught me to crochet a granny square when I was a child of about 7 years old. She also taught me the basic crochet stitches, but I was on my own with figuring out what to do with it all. Envision 7 year olds -- They draw pictures; build things with  Legos  and blocks; and follow th...

Tuesday, September 17, 2013 I recently had the opportunity to interview Kristen Stoltzfus in  Talking Crochet eNewsletter and because she is such an interesting person and so passionate about vintage crochet patterns, I invited her to be my guest. Please enjoy what Kristen has to say about the "Swing Era;" her love for vintage style in her crochet designs shines through! Swing Era Crochet: Using Vintage Patterns as Inspiration for Today by Kristen Stoltzfus Before the modern resurrection of crochet as a fine-tuned make-it-yourself fashion element, crochet was often thought of as either a Victorian needlecraft, with fine thread and scanty instructions, or associated with the hippie movement and splashy granny squares in coarse, fuzzy yarn. Actually, crochet enjoyed a long period of usefulness in the eras between the early 1900s and the 1980s. Especially popular during the 1940s when “make do or do without” was the order of the day, creative women everywhere tu...

Monday, June 6, 2011 Friends, Rita and Debbie, get together with me every once in a while for breakfast and catch-up. They are both uber-athletic and I was honored that they invited me to join them for a bike ride in Busse Woods before our meet-up last week at Wildberry Pancakes! It was a picture-perfect day, cool and sunny, and we biked 9.8 miles. That's a lot for me, but I did it! It felt great! Rita is an art therapist and she donates her time and skills to offering art experiences for children. Our conversations led her to invite me to teach crochet to her children this summer. Feeling a little guilty, I also went off on an adventure to Forest Park to "take advantage" of the going-out-of-business sale at Chicks with Stix yarn store. None of my crochet pals were available so I had to go it alone. Everything was 35% off, but the sale had been going on a while, so there really wasn't much left. I felt like I lucked out because I got enough yarn for a sw...