A Legacy of Making

Welcome to my blog! I thought I’d start at the beginning … introducing you to Mamie, Hester, Ella and Maria (pronounced with a long i). Maria was my great-grandmother. Her sister Mamie died in the 1920’s. But I grew up knowing Hester, Ella and Maria (and all of the family just called her Mum). Neither Hester nor Ella had children. So in a sense, I had three great-grandmothers!

Hester, Ella and Mum were makers. Between the three of them, their talents included sewing, a variety of needlework, quilting, knitting, braiding rugs.

Add in my two grandmothers and there was more sewing, needlework, knitting, plus crochet. My mom’s talents include needlework and knitting.

Mum’s family was Pennsylvania Dutch (or German) and they lived in Lancaster County, the heart of the Pennsylvania Dutch area. The Pennsylvania Germans were known for their distinctive folk art style, often depicting flowers and birds in their work that spans fraktur to furniture. Like these artists, I’m drawn to subjects in nature, especially plants, flowers, birds and insects.

You can see I come from a long line of makers — women who took pride in creating all kinds of textiles with their hands.

My studio includes both a large, room-sized rug Hester braided and a small chicken-scratch embroidery pin cushion Mum stitched. The spirits and creations of these women keep me company as I work.

In my writing I’m planning to share posts about my work in progress, the “why” behind the rugs, my creative life and inspirations. Thanks for joining me here!