Topic: not crochet...

Those of you who know me well know that not only am I a crochet designer, but I am a physical therapist as well. I work primarily in an outpatient orthopedic clinic, but occasionally have to work a weekend in the hospital. I don't share that here, typically, because we are bound by federal Hippa laws to protect the privacy of those we serve, so usually the easiest way to comply with this is not to share anything. But I have a story to tell that I think will touch someone and will disguise the person I am talking about so that their identity is safe.
I went to see a gentleman today to get him out of bed and walk him. I was rather well acquainted with him as well as his wife, as his wife had been a patient of mine in the clinic at one time or another over the last 5 or 6 years. As we began our walk, I inquired about his wife, and by the way he drew up short and looked at me, I knew I had said something wrong. "Oh, Renee', she passed away this summer." to which I replied, "I am so sorry...I did not know."
In my some 20 years of working in health care (dentistry, then PT), I have lost patients, which is to be expected. We all die eventually, right? It just took me by surprise and as we walked down the hall (tears running unashamedly down my face) , he shared with me how his wife had gotten ill and finally just couldn't fight anymore.
The thing about this couple is this; they were special people to me. They were open about being Christians and they both loved the Lord. You could see and feel the love they had for Him, for each other and for their fellow humans. As to the lady, who I will call Milly (not her real name, by the way) she was extra special. She had lost a leg as a young woman, but you would have never known, because she used her prosthesis so well you couldn't tell. She survived breast cancer and radical mastectomy....twice. In more recent years she developed multiple other health problems, yet every time I saw Milly, she had a smile on her face and I never heard her say a bad thing about anyone. She was genuinely loving and caring and never felt sorry for herself. I often thought of her in amazement that her faith was so strong that none of her circumstances seemed to get her down.
I often tell people that I have been called to this profession of caring for people because it keeps me from taking myself too seriously and prevents me from having my own pity parties. I see so many people who are challenged in life, that it reminds me that I have nothing to complain about. Oh, that more people could see some of what I see, that they could also realize how truly blessed they are!
I have no doubt that Milly is in heaven, whole and healthy, looking down on her family, waiting for the day they will join her. Nevertheless, I miss her, and will never forget her. You just never know what kind of impact you will make on others, but she definitely made one on me. I won't say good-bye, Milly; rather I will say, "See ya later"

Okay, so you've all heard me blathering on about my win in the CGOA design contest. This is a new photo of the dress hanging at the show...I still don't have a photo of the model wearing it yet. But it seems there is a wrong I need to make right. That's right...I have messed up! I was so excited about my win that I have slighted the model, Kimberly McAlindin, by misspelling her last name in my previous post. So, to make it up to her, I have created a new page on my website called "Industry Insider Interview". After further consideration, I am going to make this a new monthly feature on www.crochetrenee.com . So what are you waiting for? Go check it out!!!!

Grand Prize Winner CGOA Annual Design Contest!

So, I turned on my Computer Thursday evening to check my email. The first thing I saw was several posts had been put on Facebook, congratulating me. For what? Seems I won the Grand Prize in the Crochet Guild of America's annual design contest! I wasn't sure when the judging was taking place, so it took me by surprise, to say the least! Several folks have wanted to see pics, so I decided to blog about it and share.

Some people have asked how long I worked on my entry and did I design it specifically for the contest. I had actually entered the contest last year, but didn't win anything. Fortunately, Jean Lienhauser (who was last year's judge) agreed to give me a personal critique on my entry, which was very helpful. Before I left the conference, I had a good working concept of the next year's entry and actually bought all of the yarns for this dress before I left the market there.

The elements on the bodice were made from Berroco yarns, Seduce, Bonsai and Lumina and Prism Custom Dyed Yarns with a half-skein of Impressions in the Dune colorway, with a couple of other yarns thrown in for good measure (sorry, couldn't find the other yarn labels). The skirt is made of three skeins of Alpaca with a Twist's Fino, a 70% baby alpaca, 30% silk laceweight yarn. Yum!


I am told that Kimberly McClinden modeled my design when the winning entries were announced. It is my understanding that she WORE this dress! I also heard via Mary Beth Temple's podcast, Getting Loopy, that Mary Beth used double-sided tape to ensure that Kim would not have any embarrassing mishaps on the catwalk, if you know what I mean.

I hope everyone enjoys the pics. I would like to first thank the Good Lord for giving me the ability and the inspiration to create, my Mom for putting a hook in my hands all those years ago, and my husband for getting my entry in the mail in time to meet the deadline!!! Have a great weekend everyone and check out the links above for info on a couple of my designing associates, and of course, don't forget to visit me often at www.crochetrenee.com

So long, Austin!

Well, it's my last day in Austin, Texas. After the conference ended around noon today, I walked the six or so blocks to a place I had scoped out on Tuesday called, "Wiki Wiki Teriyaki", where I had a bowl of Udon for lunch. If you aren't sure what udon is, it's a broth full of soba (buckwheat) noodles, veggies, and in this case, grilled tofu. It was pretty yummy. After that, my next mission was to return to Hill Country Weavers, as I needed one more ball of yarn to complete a project I had started. As most of my yarn loving friends know, it is very important to match the dye lots so the color is consistent. After that I got some iced tea (it is pretty hot out, after all) and sat at a table outside all of these little vending trailers. The building just the other side of this Airstream is actually the yarn store.

More of the vending trailers. Seems the SoCo area of Austin is very busy on Saturday with outdoor artists, street musicians and vendors. As mentioned in my previous post, SoCo is a very "artsy" section of Austin, and might I add, very colorful, both literally as well as figuratively, and is a great people watching venue.

This is the night time view from my hotel room...the man-made lights are pretty, but they still can't hold a candle to the lights the good Lord has made!
I've had a great time in Austin. Too bad CGOA or TNNA don't have a convention here, because it would be an awesome venue, and I would most definitely attend! Any of my fiber-loving friends have any pull in this area? Think about it....

I am off to pack my bags to head back for Arkansas in the morning! Take care & God Bless!

For those of you who have been wondering what I have been up to lately, well...alot! As I write this I am in Austin, Texas, where it is about 101 degrees outside. That is why I am inside in the a/c! I spent some time yesterday after I arrived looking around town. It was only about 87 (a cool day in July in Austin, I am told) so I walked the seven blocks to the state capitol. Here is a pic of the dome, which is 14 feet higher than the the White House in Washington, D.C.

I took this shot at the top of the stairs before I climbed back down; just to show I really did climb all those steps! Okay, call me weird (you wouldn't be the first), but I adore unusual hardware; not the computer kind, but things like hinges, doorknobs, you know...hardware. These hinges are on the double doors leading into the Texas House of Representatives gallery. I thought they were pretty cool!

Here is the view walking up to the Capitol. It is a very beautiful walk and is lined with several memorial statues and fountains.

I also spent some time in the SoCo District, which is an artsy part of town. There is a very cool yarn store (you knew I would mention yarn somewhere, didn't you?) called Hill Country Weavers. If you are ever in Austin, they are located at 1701 S. Congress Avenue, and are very accessible via the Metro system.

This is something else I have been involved in lately with David. We have been trout fishing more and this is an 18" rainbow I caught a couple of weeks ago...the biggest rainbow I've caught to date, and probably one of the tastiest. And speaking of fishing, David was in a catfishing tournament last week on Lake Norfork. He caught the only two catfish that were caught, so obviously also had the largest...

Yep, this is the big one! That's right; it's in a coffee cup, in case you were wondering. I asked him how much he won for catching the largest catfish. He replied that he was disqualified, as he did not catch this monster with a rod and reel, but rather scooped him up...that, folks, is considered noodling, hence the disqualification! We turned this one and his/her little brother loose in our catfish pond to grow into real monsters.

And last, but certainly NEVER least, the grandbaby has been keeping me busy as well. I keep him once a week while Mom is in school. The other day we built him a tower and it kept him occupied for nearly an hour! Here he's playing peek-a-boo with me. Ain't he sweet?

I am working on some new patterns. Watch for some new designs coming out in the next "One Skein Wonders" book, Crochet World and Crochet! Magazine soon! Until next time, have a great summer!

Well, last weekend was alot of fun. I went to North Little Rock with my sister Angel and her friend Dani for the annual Greek Food Festival put on by the Greek Orthodox Church in Little Rock, complete with dancing girls!

Here Angel is enjoying the falafels while Dani has a mouthful of pastitsio. Afterward, we went into the bazaar where I bought my assistant Tammy some "big fat Greek" earrings. Sorry, I didn't get a pic, but they had eyes on them; seems this is a common motif employed to ward off the "evil eye".

You are probably wondering how the bunnies are doing...they are growing more every day and mom no longer requires my assistance in rearing them. All I have to do now is feed and water them. Another week and they should be ready to wean! I bet Mama is about ready for that!

The other day the wild bee balm (also known as bergamot or oswego tea) was ready for harvest. I got three quart jars of dried bergamot for tea later when the weather gets chilly again. Of course, I left some behind so they could reseed for next year! Life in the hills is good! God provides a bountiful harvest for us round here! David says, "If we could eat ticks, we'd have it made!". Ugh! Don't think I would, even if I should! Til next time, keep those hooks and needles working!

Baby bunnies growing up!

Well, Godiva and family moved back to the barn Sunday afternoon. As I was still getting over the bronchitis, I was moving a little slower than normal, but I decided it was time. As you can see, the babies are growing.
They now have hair and as of today are 12 days old today. They have not yet opened their eyes, but I expect that to happen any time now! They are getting so big! And wiggly! Godiva stills seems a bit clueless about the whole mothering thing. I gave her 24 hours and checked to see if it looked like she was nursing them, which she evidently was not, so.....each evening I go out to the barn to provide a little "encouragement" (read I put her in the nest box so those babies can eat). I am also still having to take care of their toileting needs! I am looking forward to that day that they can attend to their own "toilette" independently! I have been advised that when the babies are a bit bigger that I should breed her one more time this season. The only thing will be finding homes for the babies when they are weaned. Any of my fiber artists friends in the market for a french angora bunny? There's nothing like blending a little angora in with other fibers...my favorite? Alpaca and angora (about a 90/10% blend) is fabulous!
The babies are too small to figure you yet which are boys and which are girls. One is jet black, one is chocolate brown (like Godiva) and the other three are called "Broken Black" which is basically black and white. The runt of the litter is about 2/3rds the size of the largest babies, which are the black and brown. As they get bigger, I will try and get pictures of the individuals, so you guys can start thinking about names!
Remember to visit the website often to see what else I am up to! www.crochetrenee.com
Have a blessed day!