[Nfb-krafters-korner] Please

[Blindhands at aol.com]

Our friend Susan has been writing for the Matilda Ziegler Magazine and I  
wanted to share with you an article she recently wrote.  It appeared in the  
magazine just a couple of weeks ago.  Thank you Susan.
 
 
Hands On Living: Blind Crafting for Everyone  
By Susan Roe  
I have been an avid crafter both before and after I lost my sight over  
thirty-two years ago.  There is  nothing I love more than working on a project 
and actually seeing it through to  completion.  Whether I sell an item,  
give it to someone or donate it to a charity, I always have the satisfaction  
knowing that there will be someone somewhere who will appreciate owning what 
I  do best. 
There have been quite a few people who have either encouraged my crafting  
or have taught me different skills.  My mother, Katherine, first taught me 
to crochet when I was eight years  old.  She showed me how to crochet  granny 
squares in matching or contrasting colors.  We would then sew them together 
to make  warm afghans for our beds.  She  didn’t stop with crocheting and 
soon taught my sister and I to quilt by hand, as  well as how to use a sewing 
machine.  When we were small children, she made handmade Hobby Holly dolls 
and sold  them to make extra money for our Christmas.  Later on, she tried 
her hand at the  cutest little clothes for Cabbage Patch dolls and they were 
even more  popular. 
Not too long before I lost my sight, I had just discovered a talent for  
drawing.  My sister Pattie  encouraged me to start taking art classes in 
school like she did.  She was a wonderful artist herself,  starting with drawing 
and painting.  When Pattie began having vision problems of her own, she 
switched to  woodcarving.  No surprise to us, she  excelled in that craft as 
well.  Pattie had just started showing me some basics of oil painting when I  
lost my sight at age fifteen. 
I have never allowed my blindness to be a hindrance in my day to day  
living and that included my current crafts and learning new ones along the  way.  
Pauline, a family friend, took  the time to teach me how to knit and it has 
been my favorite ever since.  She also introduced my family to liquid  
embroidery, making Christmas ornaments with beads and sequins and latch hooking  
rugs.  From school I learned to work  with clay, coil and reed basket 
weaving and tapestry weaving using colored  burlap.  I even managed to take a  
class on using the potter’s wheel while attending my local community  college. 
 Luckily, I stopped myself  from adding a potter’s wheel to my small one 
bedroom apartment before I started  rearranging the furniture. 
Believe it or not, my crafting curiosity still was not satisfied.  Pattie 
and I took ceramic classes,  enjoyed working with beads, making hats and 
scarves on circular and rectangular  lap looms, and successfully figured out how 
to crohook.  When I attended our local Rehabilitation  Center for the Blind 
one summer, they showed me how to set up my sewing machine  to make it 
easier to use.  I have  heard that curiosity killed the cat, however, it only 
expanded my thirst for  crafting to collecting the tools of the trade along 
with many books and  magazines covering even more crafts.  I could definitely 
open my own crafting store. 
My mother-in-law, Anna Roe, was someone else who loved crafting.  She loved 
knitting, crocheting and  plastic canvas work.  To her credit,  she also 
passed on crafting to her children as well.  Matt likes to draw and paint, 
wood  working and Native American leather working.  I suppose Anna also passed 
on to Matt  some of her patience, because he does tolerate my boxes of yarn 
and shelves of  crafting books.  In fact, he doesn’t  even get ancy while we 
are in a craft store.  Matt is really good at ferreting out all  kinds of 
hidden crafting treasures. 
On a sad note, when Anna passed away, Matt and his family asked if there  
was anything of her’s that I would like to have in remembrance.  I didn’t 
hesitate and asked for anything  dealing with her knitting and crocheting.  
Well, my ever-growing craft stuff was increased by four large  boxes. 
With all of my accumulated crafting energy and supplies, I needed an  
outlet for my items because I just couldn’t keep it all.  I sell a few items here 
and there as  well as making items for friends and family.  My biggest joy 
is knitting and  crocheting for the Webb of Hope, a charity group that is 
run through the Red  Cross.  A local group of women get  together here at 
Black Creek Baptist Church and meet once a week.  They share patterns, discuss 
items being  made and who the organization will be sending them to, both in 
the United States  and several countries over seas.  The women also provide 
lessons for those who want to learn and  participate with them as well as 
providing yarn so it doesn’t have to cost you  anything. 
Over the years, I have done searches on the Internet and have found  
several on-line crafting groups, and several of them have been for blind  
crafters.  I had to narrow my  participation down to only one blind crafting group 
or I would never tare myself  away from the computer.  This group  works 
together from the Krafters Korner.  The group is filled with some of the most 
talented crafters I have ever  known.  Everyone is either blind,  low-vision, 
or works with the blind.  The Krafters Korner also provides lessons to its 
members via conference  calls and everyone works at the project together.  
All classes are recorded for the  students that attend each class and are 
provided as downloadable MP3 files for  easy reference at a later date.  Some of 
the classes have been beginning and advanced knitting, beginning  and 
advanced bead working, soap making, origami, plastic canvas work, small loom  
weaving and even tips for finding the best tool for the job, to only name a  
few.  They are even working on  knitted and crocheted helmet liners for our 
soldiers over seas as a community  charity project. 
I have even taught two classes myself, coil basket weaving and paper  
basket weaving which seemed to be a success with those who attended.  I have only 
taken one class, which was a  beading class for making your own Rosary.  
The teacher even gave a brief history on the different styles of Rosaries  
through the years.  All classes are  open to members once you have paid your 
$10.00 membership dues.  Krafters Korner also has a weekly Monday  Night Chat 
which runs from 8:00 Eastern Time to about 9:30 via the conference  line.  
This gives everyone an  opportunity to talk to someone about their crafts and 
exchange information as  well.  Members also have the  opportunity to get 
help with problems they may be experiencing with a project in  order to work 
through it instead of getting frustrated enough to set it aside,  never to 
be picked up again. 
I have found that many members take their projects quite seriously and  
even attend numerous crafting shows as venders or sell their wares at Farmers  
Markets.  There are those who have  been blind and crafting for several 
years, or they find themselves wanting to  learn to craft.  Also, there are  
those who have been sighted crafters for years and recently lost their sight 
and  now want to find ways to continue crafting.  It is really nice when a 
member seeks  encouragement with continuing a craft after losing their sight 
and seeing the  eager responses from other members sharing and explaining how 
they have managed  to continue that very craft.  All of  this and more can 
be found at the Krafters Korner.  They have even had guest speakers on  blind 
wood working so they can explain how they manage their wood working craft  
with no sight. 
Joyce Kane is the group moderator and President of the National  Federation 
of 
the Blind Krafters Division.  She has been an avid blind crafter for many 
years and is always available  to assist members as well as eager to learn 
new crafts and techniques from  others in the group.  You can call  Joyce for 
more information at (203) 378-8928 or via e-mail at _Blindhands at AOL.com_ 
(mailto:Blindhands at AOL.com) .  Please feel free to visit Krafters  Korner at 
www.KraftersKorner.org.  Krafters Korner has also recently gone International, 
bringing blind  students from around the globe into their classrooms with 
the use of SKYPE.  Come and join us and see what you can  learn!
 
Joyce  Kane
www.KraftersKorner.org  (http://www.krafterskorner.org/) 
Blindhands at AOL.com