Spotlight on a Crocheter: Jennie Gaskin

Jennie Gaskin loves to talk crochet and says her involvement in crochet is precious to her. This is fortunate for all crocheters, since Jennie provides an invaluable resource for us all, especially the Threadies. Jennie owns and operates Country Yarns, a mail order business selling crochet leaflets and pattern books, and she specializes  in patterns that are hard (if not impossible) to find  elsewhere.

Here is an order that Anne Kroner Cho recently received from County Yarns. Anne says Elizabeth Hiddleson is her favorite designer, and when she discovered Country Yarns, her husband told her to go ahead and order 20 books as an early Mother's Day and Birthday gift!

photo used courtesy Anne Kroner Cho

Here is Jennie's story:

Here is a little background on me, in case some of you have no idea who I am , LOL! I have been a Threadie since the age of 12. I learned from my mother on size 30 thread, probably because she needed her size 10 for herself. I've been married and sitting on this 120 acres of pasture and timber for 45 years this coming April 4th. 

Back in 1982, hubby decided I needed more adults to talk to so he built me a little needlework shop across the driveway from our house, using mostly leftovers from when we built our home back in '77. The lady in our tiny, tiny town who sold yarn in their general store had just retired and closed the store, so it was a good time to do that. The shop was only 16 x 24, and some of that was storage so there wasn't much room but it made me happy. 

It wasn't long before we had to enlarge (and then enlarge again!)  after  I started carrying craft supplies for the groups (scouts, school, church, etc.) in our area. I was a Girl Scout from way back, and I knew how hard it could be to figure out crafts for the groups so I started putting together little inexpensive individual kits for the leaders. It was a blast, and I had so much fun over the years until I finally had to close the shop in 2007 for family reasons.  The best pats on the backs were from leaders and teachers; one teacher told me that her class "bad boy" came to her one day and thanked her for getting the kits to make beaded Christmas tree ornaments.

In the meantime I had become very friendly with the sales reps at LA and discovered that with the new ownership back then there had been changes in their reprint policies! Before, when inventory on a title ran low they would just do a reprint. Now, they discontinued many of their titles when inventory ran out. Ack! So I started watching their inventory list and started buying what I could afford of certain "good" titles, like the Patricia Kristoffersen titles and even older ones, especially thread titles because nobody seemed to be printing many anymore.

I also sell a large selection of Elizabeth Hiddleson pattern books. 

Not everybody even knows who Elizabeth Hiddleson is. She was just a "threadie" like all of us, except that (like a few of us) she had a creative side and loved to fiddle with her doilies and turn out something new. Her son told me that she would come home from work (I think she worked as a bookkeeper in the shipyards in Vallejo, which is across the bay from San Francisco) and sit in her chair and crochet until time to start supper.  

Elizabeth Hiddleson

Mrs. Hiddleson sold volumes 1-15, and Delena Byrd (her daughter) sold volumes in the higher numbers. Then Mrs. Hiddleson started on the "A" series for herself, so they both ended up with about an equal number of volumes and individual patterns. Delena passed away, and Delena's daughter Shirley Siracusa took over her mother's part.  On top of the 49 volumes, there are about 300 individual patterns, and I'm pretty sure I have all except one of them which nobody seems to have.

At the time, Lily Mills was selling EH books along with their thread, and they were the ones who advertised EH books in the Workbasket. That was because Mrs. H. recommended and "advertised“ Lily threads in her books, and it was a mutually beneficial arrangement. When Lily Mills quit, that meant there were no more advertisements,  so naturally sales went down because nobody knew they were still being published! 

I heard through the internet grapevine that Shirley was still selling the books, so I wrote her a letter and asked her if she wholesaled the books because I would like them on my web site. Her reply said that she would actually like to sell them all at one time because she was moving into a smaller house and wouldn't really have room for them. She was on the verge of having them hauled to the dump!!!!! *gasp* Nooooo!!! 

So I talked to my husband and asked if I could borrow that much money from our savings, and his only question was, "Can you sell them?" Could I sell them??  You bet! I got back in touch with Shirley to tell her we were interested. She told me there were about 200 book boxes full. Yikes! 

Okay, my husband works for a moving & storage company and he could figure out how to get them here from California (to Louisiana). A week later, Shirley called back and said, "Jennie, I have some bad news." Uh oh, she's found somebody who can afford to pay lots more than me. But it was other news - there were more like 300 (!) boxes. Okay, George can handle that. We sealed the deal, and when they showed up there were 328 boxes, not just book boxes but double stack book boxes, like the boxes that copy paper comes in but slightly larger! And a  (small) water heater box full of loose patterns. And in that box was what I called my Golden Easter Eggs - two Japanese EH books!! Apparently, Mrs. H. had made a deal with Ondori to let them publish her patterns in special books with just her patterns in them. And best of all, Ondori charted them all! These were only patterns from her first 15 books. (I've since gotten the other ones from Japanese Yahoo auctions, and you wouldn't believe how much the Japanese were bidding on them against me!) So I got volumes 16 through 49 from Shirley, although a couple of them were very low in stock and volume 24 was sold out. 

The books mentioned Wheeler Publishing in Vallejo, so I decided it couldn't hurt to call them and see if they were still in business or maybe could at least tell me how to get in touch with the Hiddlesons. Rita Burke, the owner of Wheeler (I think that was her maiden name), is a delightful 80+ lady who still went into the office every day and enjoyed a busy life. She told me where the Hiddlesons were (they had moved to Arkansas with Mrs. Hiddleson who was in her 90s then), and she told me that she had a printing of volumes 1-A through 10-A that a missionary in Japan had ordered and would pick up when he came back to the states for a visit, but something happened and he never picked them up or paid for them. She was happy to sell them to me and ship them to me. Thankfully, this was not 7 TONS like the last shipment! 

I got in touch with the Hiddlesons in AR, and they had boxes of books and patterns that they had hauled to AR from CA,  but because they couldn't advertise and mail wasn't being forwarded after all that time, they hadn't sold them. They were glad to sell them to me, so hubby and I drove up to AR and picked them up.

Unfortunately, Mrs. H was in the nursing home by that time so I didn't get to meet the Doily Pattern Queen herself. But I did get to hear about her from her son and daughter-in-law! She was designing back in the 1940s (maybe even longer) and selling her patterns to Lily, American Thread, and Coats & Clark, but as you all know those companies didn't name their designers on the patterns. Mrs. H was interviewed by the Vallejo newspaper (I have a copy) and she told them, "Call it vanity, but I wanted to see my name with my designs." 

Mrs. Burke told me that Betty, as she called her, came into the business "sometime in the mid 50s" with 2 doilies and a hand-written pattern. She had already been to another business in town and HE hadn't wanted to bother with it. Mrs. Burke said she could photograph the doily against a black background and have the patterns typed for her. After that, Mrs. H advertised the pattern in a "weekly newspaper" (probably something like the Grit newspaper, if you remember it) for 25 cents, and she sold all 1,000 copies in 2 weeks! Her daughter-in-law Carolyn said that it was either the year before or the year after she and Bill got married, so that puts it in the mid 1950s.

So, here I was with all these books, sometimes a couple thousand of one title but only a couple hundred of another. Luckily, I got in touch with a distributor who sold to Hobby Lobby, and HL wanted them! With that money, I had reprints of volumes 3 and 24 made by Wheeler Printing from the original plates (!) which they still had because they did so many reprints through the years for Mrs. H and for Lily Mills. Lily would call Wheeler and order a printing of certain volumes, which they sold through stores to help sell their threads, and Mrs. H would get royalties on those books too. 

When I have reprints made of either the volumes or the individual patterns, I paid Mrs. H (and now her son) royalties on the reprints too. It's the right thing to do. I just wish I had the money to get them all reprinted *sigh*

Mrs. H's last patterns were all published in Decorative Crochet and Magic Crochet (look in the early 1990s editions), because she didn't have to write out the patterns. She just sent them the doilies and they "wrote" the patterns and charts themselves. Her goal was to have a final volume 50, but with Lily Mills not advertising for her anymore it became financially impossible. I would love to realize that dream for her, but it doesn't look like we'll ever get to do it. But at least we have a dream!

Thank you, Jennie, for sharing your story with us. I admire and appreciate all you have done for crocheters everywhere, and I know we all hope someday your dream of printing volume 50 will come  true!

You can find Jennie at:
 Web site:  http://www.countryyarns.com
 Blog:  http://countryyarnscrochet.wordpress.com/

Spotlight on a Crocheter: Becky Weidner

Some crocheters stick to making only hats and scarves; some only want to make doilies and items from thread; yet others prefer to make toys or baby items. But, the talented Becky Weidner makes all of these things and more! It was  a picture of her Declaration of Independence filet piece that first caught my eye, and I asked her if she would allow me to share a picture of it. But, when I saw some of her other crocheted pieces I was amazed; she not only does incredible filet pieces in tiny thread, she creates realistic birds, lovely doilies, toys, scarves, and so many other things I had trouble choosing which ones to share in the post today! All of her pieces are so beautifully made- it is no wonder she has won many blue ribbons in her local fair! Here is Becky's story:

I am the wife of the greatest man; he lets me indulge my one "vice", crochet!  We have 5 kids and 6 Granddaughters. I've been crocheting for around 40 years; my mom and Grandma taught me to crochet when I was around 10 or so. I don't usually sell the things I make or even have a web page. I just crochet because I love to! Most things I give away because someone else liked them,  too. I have made countless scarfs and hat sets for the kids in the neighborhood.

This Declaration of Independence wall hanging is from a pattern I purchased from Annie's Attic. I'm not sure if it is still available. Other pieces I've made from my own original patterns. I made this with DMC Cordonnet Special #80 and a size 14 crochet hook. This is the smallest thread I've used to crochet. It took me about a month or so to finish.  

This large angel wall hanging  hangs over our son's bed. It’s the prayer he says every night.

The Marine Corps League and Boy Scout hangings were also made with #80 thread and size 14 hook. The boy Scout one was for a very beloved out-going Cubmaster. All the boys in the pack signed it and we gave it to her at our annual banquet.

I got a Grand Prize on the blue Butterfly shawl, which is a Kathryn White pattern.

At the last county fair I got 7-1st places, 3-2nd place, 4-3rd places, 1 grand prize and Premier Crocheter. 

I am a big fan of BellaCrochet and Kathryn White's designs. I also love to make toys, baby things and afghans.

Thank you for sharing your lovely work with us, Becky! It is truly inspiring!

All pictures used courtesy of  Becky Weidner. 

Spotlight on a Crocheter: Pamela Tasny

Several years ago, when I first opened my Etsy shop, I joined a group of other Etsy sellers who specialized in thread crochet. It was through this group I met the talented Pamela Tasny, who has since become a dear friend. Pam was the first to follow my blog, the first to ‘like’ the BellaCrochet page on Facebook and she has also tested several patterns for me. Pamela creates some of the most gorgeous doilies I have ever seen; her color choices are stunning and her stitching is flawless. I asked Pamela if she would share a bit about herself and her crochet work. Here is what she has to say:

I live with my husband and father-in-law in Michigan during the summer and Arizona during the winter. All my family live in Cincinnati, Ohio except for my oldest sister who lives in England. I have 2 sisters - one older and one younger- and my brother is the youngest. I have one daughter, 3 granddaughters and twin grandsons.

I have a 8 year old Chihuahua named Ginger who is the joy of my days.

I like to crochet - mostly doilies - and read and geocache. I studied geology at the University of Cincinnati with a 4.0 grade average.

My ex late mother-in-law taught me to crochet when I was 17 years old (40 years ago) and the first thing I made was a ripple afghan. The second thing I made was a pineapple doily. My favorite doily I've made so far  is this Hairpin Lace Doily.

I make on average 12 doilies a year. I love to make them  using several colors. I haven't made very many using all one color.

My favorite hooks are Susan Bates and my favorite thread is Lizbeth in  sizes 10 and 20. I used to not like symbol patterns but once I got used to them I like them the best. I have all 155 issues of Magic Crochet, and make doilies from them often.

I have a couple of favorite crocheting tips. One is to use rubber knitting needle point protectors for my crochet hooks to protect the hook end.

And sometimes my thread starts twisting real bad while I am crocheting.  I put a safety pin in the stitch I'm on and hold the ball of thread as high off the floor as I can and let the doily hang as close to the floor without it touching. The doily will spin and when it stops spinning the thread from it to the ball will be untwisted. Some thread - especially good quality thread- twists a lot, so I do this periodically when the thread starts twisting again.

I get pretty frustrated when I find I have made a mistake in a doily. My husband

blocks all my doilies for me, and occasionally he will notice a mistake that can’t be fixed without frogging nearly the whole doily.  I'm embarrassed to say I have actually cut up

a few doilies with scissors and have thrown some in the trash!

 Pamela has an Ebay store where she sells craft books, supplies and her gorgeous doilies:

http://stores.ebay.com/tadrickcrafts/

And a blog:

http://crochethuahua.blogspot.com/

And you can find Pamela on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Crochet-Creations-By-Pamela/126471237368354?ref=bookmarks

Thank you, Pamela, for sharing your expertise and love of crochet with us today!

All pictures are used  courtesy of  Pamela Tasny. 

Precious Memories of Crochet: Rosina's Story

Today Rosina Smith shares a beautiful story about her mother's legacy of love and crochet. Here is Rosina's Story:

May I take up a little space here to talk about my mother? 

After Mother passed away, one of my brothers visited me with what little remained of Mother's crochet and knitting supplies. Wadded up in a small box were eleven snowflakes Mother had crocheted, all in different designs, never blocked and finished; apparently she had something in mind, but I had no idea what it was. Since she had exactly eleven granddaughters and grandsons, I decided to wash, starch, and sprinkle with Twinkle Bead each snowflake, add a hanger, and tuck each one into a Christmas card for each of her grandchildren. The card also contained a letter from me, explaining the story of the snowflakes. My hope was that the snowflake would bring them a little comfort at the recent loss of their beloved Grandma.

Would you believe ALL eleven of Mother's grandchildren – even the grandsons – either called me or emailed me to tearfully tell me what it meant to them to have one of their Grandma's snowflakes? My mother was so loved by everyone. A simple gesture of love on my part, to forward their Grandma's love, meant the world to all of them.

Please don't ever think that some small act on your part will not mean the world to someone else! Treasure your opportunities to be of service to others. The love and gratitude you receive in return will be so much more than what you gave. Although it might take years for you to receive the blessings of your act, those blessings will come.

Rosina's mother's needle gauge

Thank you, Rosina for sharing your story!

All photos used courtesy of  Rosina Smith. 

Spotlight on a Crocheter: Jolene’s Name Doilies

 Jolene Ortiz is a very talented crocheter, who has found a way to make some extra money doing what she loves. Jolene makes customized name doilies, as well as many other intricate and beautiful doilies, to sell. I am fortunate to have Jolene as a tester for my patterns, and I greatly appreciate her amazing crochet  skills and eye for detail!
I asked Jolene if she would share  her expertise  in crocheting and selling  crochet work, and she kindly agreed. 
Here is what she has to say:

Jolene, will you tell us a bit about yourself? 

I have been a public employee for 26 years, doing all different types of office work. I started the year I graduated from high school and have moved around to several different types of jobs.   I have been married for 21 years to my husband Jim.  I have a 19 year old daughter named Samantha, a 31 year old stepson named Joe and a 25 year old stepdaughter named Heidi.  I like to crochet and I also like to scrapbook (but haven’t done it in years – I have lots of pictures to catch up on!)  I love going to the casino and vacationing in Las Vegas!  I was married in Las Vegas at the drive through wedding chapel, that shows how much I like Las Vegas.

How (and when) did you learn to crochet? What are some of your favorite things to crochet?

I learned to crochet as a child.  I used to watch my mom crochet mittens, hats and slippers and couldn’t wait to try it out. I learned how to crochet but didn’t really do too much of it.  When I was in my 20’s I picked up a thread crochet book and some thread and have been going strong ever since.  I prefer to crochet with thread and love making doilies. I find it amazing what you can create with thread!

When did you start making the name doilies? How did you get started?

I started make name doilies about 10 years ago, I was in need of extra cash for Christmas.  I was in a crochet group and a woman in the group had so many orders at Christmas time.  I asked her about it and I bought a book and made a listing on Ebay.  I got my first order pretty quickly and was still making my “sample” name doily.  Over the years I have made hundreds of name doilies and have sold to people all over the world.  I get a kick out of the fact that items I have made are as far away as Australia!

What size thread and hook do you use for your name doilies?

I always use size 10 thread and B1 – 2.25 mm Susan Bates hook.

How many doilies do you make on average each year?

I would say on average I complete at least a few doilies per month, time permitting I would do a few a week.  My job cuts into my crochet time.   

What is the longest or most difficult doily you have ever made?

The longest doily I ever crocheted was a beautiful runner I made for my mother in laws sofa table.  I would guess it was about 4 feet long.

How do you set your prices on the items you sell?

I really have no set way of pricing items , normally I see what else is out there and price my similar to sold items.

Where do you get most of your orders from?

Most of my orders come from Ebay.

How long does it take you to make a name doily?  

Generally I can finish a name doily pretty quickly if I have time to focus on it.  But because I work it is normally a few days to complete a name doily.  If I receive multiple orders, I do them on a first come first serve basis.  I also find out if there is a particular time that the doily is needed for.  I try to accommodate special time requests as best I can.

Do you do any finishing on them (blocking or framing?)

When I finish the name doily I wash and lay out flat to dry.  I don’t normally pin my doilies, I gauge it by eye and usually will measure to make sure that things are even.  I don’t spray starch or anything on my doilies before I send them out, I figure I don’t like them starched and I will leave it up to the person purchasing it whether they want to starch it or not.

Do you make your name doilies year round or just at Christmas time? 

I make regular and name doilies all year round, but my focus on name doilies is usually from October through December.  Last year I had a name doily request the week before Christmas and I was able to get it finished and out to the buyer so they could deliver it for Christmas.

Have you ever made a mistake on a doily or had any kind of funny or interesting incident you would like to share?

I have done LOTS of frogging but nothing too interesting.

Well, I think all of Jolene's work is interesting, and lovely, too! Thank you for sharing your story with us, Jolene!
You can follow Jolene on Facebook here: Crochet By Jo

All photos used courtesy of Jolene Ortiz. 

Dawn’s Doily: A Crochet Treasure Hunt

Dawn Speaks inherited a gorgeous doily from her mother; a doily that held many special memories for her.  Dawn, who is a high school business education teacher in Berkeley County, West Virginia, wanted to recreate the doily, but had searched in vain for the pattern for many years. She never gave up on her search, however, and last week, Dawn posted the story of her doily in the Threadies Facebook group:

“My treasure hunt is for a special crochet pattern. I hope by posting these pictures of my mom's doily I will be able to find someone that has or knows where I can find this pattern. My mother crocheted this doily while she was pregnant for me in 1951. For many years the doily was always kept on a large square table in our "front" room right beside the front door. My grandmother Josie's old fashioned lamp was the only other item on the table.

When I was 4 or 5 years old, I used my kid scissors on a little section of the doily, and it was put away for many years and never brought out unless we were showing it to someone. About 40 years ago, my mother handed me the doily and said basically that I had cut up the doily, so now I could put my crochet skills to work and repair it.

It wasn't easy to fix; but I did, and I returned it to her the following Christmas. It took her almost 30 minutes to find the repair! When she took more than 5 minutes to find the place I had sliced, I knew I could crochet as well as my mother--and she did positively beautiful work. This doily is now mine and every now and then it is brought out and put on display.

I have looked for this pattern for many years. My mother and my aunts generally used Coats & Clarks patterns, and they shared them around the family. No one in the family remembers the pattern,  but they do remember the doily that was on the table for so many years.

If anyone has this pattern, or has seen and knows where they came across it, I would love to hear from you. As I said before, I have been looking for this pattern for many years and have not been successful. Any help would be greatly appreciated!”

After Dawn posted her story and pictures of her doily, several other members of the group made suggestions and guesses as to where the pattern could have originated from.

Then Penny Freshour posted this:

 “Could this be the same doily Dawn? I searched for 1940 doily patterns and this photo was among many. I didn't get too far in the search for the pattern but if this is it then you can know it's out there somewhere.”

Dawn realized that the picture Penny had found was of her doily! She was off on the hunt again, but this time she had an image to go by. Within minutes, she had found a copy of the pattern listed for sale on Ebay, which she immediately ordered.

Another member of the group, Cynthia Alicea, posted that she recognized the doily, and that the pattern was originally published as “Tea Table Cover” in the Woman’s Day 1949 Crochet Annual. Cynthia also mentioned that the pattern could be found for free online. But Dawn replied that she had been searching for the pattern for so long that she was happy to pay for a copy.

Dawn is thrilled to have found the pattern at last, and plans on using it to crochet even more family heirlooms:

“When mom made this doily she had been crocheting for only a few years. I think she did a great job considering this was one of her early projects. When you look really closely, you can see how consistent her tension and stitches were. She used Size 30 Coats & Clarks for the doily and I was able to use the same thread. I'm glad she  used white because that made making the repair a little easier.  

I have two grown daughters, so I know I will be making at least two doilies from the pattern. There are also other members of the family that admired and remembered that doily always being on the table in the front room and I know they would cherish having their own doily.”

Dawn and her husband will be celebrating their 45^th wedding anniversary on New Year’s Eve.  In addition to their two daughters, they have four grandsons. Dawn’s husband is a retired Marine and technology electrician. Dawn says she is looking forward to retirement in a few years so that she can do even more crocheting.

I love a good mystery, and I love happy endings even more.  Dawn’s story has both, and it is even about crochet; what could be better? Thank you for sharing your story, Dawn!  

All pictures are used courtesy of  Dawn Speaks. 

Penny's Clocks

Penny Freshour caused a sensation when she posted a picture of an amazing crocheted clock she had created in the Threadies Facebook group last week. Everyone loved the clocks, and wanted to see more. Penny not only posted more pictures of her clocks, she shared step by step instructions on how she made them. She has also kindly allowed me to post her pictures and instructions here on the blog. 

Thank you so much, Penny!

Penny and her husband  live in the Colorado Rockies. He is retired from the Air Force and she is a retired Home Health Care Provider. Since retiring, they enjoy traveling, crafting and fishing. 

Penny has been crocheting for almost 30 years now. She taught herself to crochet with thread by subscribing to the Magic Crochet Magazine  back in the ‘80’s. Penny was inspired by her great-grandmother who crocheted  beautiful heirloom doilies. The doilies were passed down to Penny and  other family members after her great-grandmother passed away.  Penny admired her work so much that she wanted to honor her by making doilies of her own.   Penny feels thread crochet is in her  heart and  blood!
You can follow Penny on Pinterest here:
KnotForgottenSudio  

Now here is Penny, to tell us how she makes her lovely clocks:

Here are the clocks I made earlier this year. Maybe you'd like to try your hand at making one or ten! (hehe!) They would make lovely Christmas gifts.

The clocks are Mainstays brand and can be purchased at Walmart for $3.88. Such a deal! Heck, you can't even buy the clock works by themselves for anywhere near that price. The clocks at my local Walmart come in four colors. White, red, black and a royal blue.

Here's how I made mine: First you'll need to make a small doily. No larger than 6.5 inches in diameter.
Note: When making your doily you will need to make sure that the starting center chain is large enough to allow the clock mechanism to come through. You'll also need some edging approximately 23 inches long. It should have at least 3-4 rows to it, if not more. The first row won't show because it's going to be hidden under the clock rim. After I chained my edging length, I double crocheted the first row. That row is going to be glued under the rim of the clock and won't be seen. You will need some clear drying glue for that and for the doily and paper backing. I use Aleene's Tacky Glue.

Now you'll need to take your clock apart. Take the screws out of the back and remove the rim and the glass. Carefully remove the hands of the clock by gently and evenly pulling them up. The back of the clock will remain in place. Now you will want to remove the paper backing that has the numbers on it. It's just tacked on and should come off easily. Keep it and use it as a template to make a new or different colored backing if you'd like.

To add your doily and reassemble your clock: Lightly glue your paper backing onto the clock. Insert the center of your doily onto the clocks mechanism and glue lightly around the edges of the doily. Replace the hands of the clock. You may need to carefully bend/adjust the hands slightly because the thickness of the doily may hamper the movement of the hands. It's easy to do. Next you'll need to glue on the edging. After all is dry, put the glass and the rim piece back into place. Put the screws back into the back of the clock and add a battery. TaDah!! 

Thank you so much, Penny! Now I am off to Walmart to get a few of those clocks!

All photos are used courtesy of Penny Freshour.