Sharing their gift

NC Handmade artisans are spreading the joy they find in their craft.

Weaver Cindy Long recently spent three afternoons demonstrating loom weaving with Miss Kelly’s K-6 art classes at Two Rivers Community School in Boone, NC. After showing the students how the loom works, she encouraged each of them to try it for themselves. Together the students created a unique scarf which they presented to the director of the school, Natalie Oransky. The kids had so much fun they made big, beautiful cards with special messages for Cindy to thank her for sharing her knowledge.

Quilter Marilyn Gore made a Zoom presentation, Talking Threads: My Journey as an African American Quilter and My Quilt History to the Charlotte Quilters Guild. She discussed how African American quilts follow a different set of rules where improvisation replaces repetition, off-setting is preferred over matching, and the grid is abandoned for a vertical strip format which results in wonderful and exciting energy. She showed examples of historic quilts and recommended some of her favorite quilters Roberta Horton, Harriet Powers, Roland Freeman and the Women of Gee’s Bend. Marilyn also offered an intimate look at quilts created by her own family.

One participant commented:

I also wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed your lecture at our last Guild meeting. It’s plain to see that quilting is your passion as you just lit up when you started talking about your quilts. Thank you for sharing that with us. I don’t think anybody wanted the meeting to end.

Happy Quilting,
Dawn

Fiddlemaker Mike Anderson has a longstanding tradition of sharing the love of music by giving away one of his handmade fiddles to a young North Carolinian between the ages of 10 and 17 every year near the winter holidays. The prize is awarded based on a 300-word essay submitted by each entrant explaining why they or someone they know should receive a free violin. Mike says sometimes the essays are so good, he has a hard time picking just one. Essays must be emailed to fiddlemakermike@gmail.com between December 1st and December 15th and include all your contact information. ONLY North Caroline residents can win a Christmas Violin. The 2021 recipient was Ana from Raleigh, North Carolina.