~Blog about someone in the fiber crafts who truly inspires
you. There are not too many guidelines for this, it's really about introducing
your readers to someone who they might not know who is an inspiration to you.
It might be a family member or friend, a specific designer or writer, indie
dyer or another blogger. If you are writing about a knitting designer and you
have knitted some of their designs, don't forget to show them off. Remember to
get permission from the owner if you wish to use another person's pictures.~
This may come off as corny and cheesy but, my fiber craft
heroes are my mom and maternal grandmother. Both of these lovely ladies are
always striving to learn and try something new; always improving on their
skills. Can’t isn’t even in their vocabulary, which makes them awesome role
models in the crafting world.
My grandmother is the one who taught me to crochet. When I
was 4 she handed me some yarn and proceeded to teach me how to finger chain.
Once I mastered that she upgraded the lesson with showing me how to chain with
a hook. By the time I was 8 I knew all the basics of crocheting and with a little
help with reading patterns and charts was able to make my own FO’s.
She doesn’t crochet much anymore, mostly focusing on her
painting, but she still works on expanding her knowledge in her craft. My
grandmother is a watercolor artist and recently she has informed me that she is
taking up acrylics.
My mom is the type who has many, many (and I mean many) irons in the fire at once. Her first love is
all things sewing. Embroidery, cross-stitch, plastic canvasing, etc. And when I
was a child she taught me these same skills; including trying to teach me how
to use a sewing machine. To me they are a necessary evil and I only use one
when I can’t talk her into doing it for me.
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| Two charcoal sketches my grandmother gave me. |
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| Cross-stitch and crochet items my mother has given me. |
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| The baby blanket my mother made for me 34 years ago. It fits a full size bed and I still use it. |
She picked up crocheting again in my pre-teens and I remember how
odd it was that she would ask for help from me from time to time when she would
get stuck on a stitch or reading a pattern. Recently, my mom has decided to
learn knitting. And again there are these moments when we are talking over a
pattern that it strikes me how odd it is that I’m the teacher.
Also, I blame her for my penchant of having multiple
projects going at once. Every time I talk to her she has some new endeavor
she’s working on. Last month she was making feather and ribbon hair barrettes
and now she is doing something with a laminating machine and peacock feathers
(don’t ask, I don’t know). My mom has given me a sense of wonder at what I can
accomplish if only I set my mind to doing it; there is nothing I can’t achieve.
