Tag Archives: Lorna Miser

Small Town, Small World, Big Punch in Fiber Arts

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The world has ways of reminding me that it is much smaller then I think, and I have had friends recently make me think of my home town a bit differently. I grew up, currently live, and have long roots in the California gold country; a friend made a comment about living in such a historic place, and I admit I think I probably have taken that for granted. However the craziest thing isn’t how much my area has history, it is how often I learn about companies in the fiber industry that have roots here too.

 

As I was getting into the profession of crochet I began to pay a bit more attention to my surrounding in regards to other professionals. My local Fibers Guild (a groups of members that love all things yarn) I learned that there was a yarn company just a short distance from my kids school, Lisa Souza Knitwear and Dyeworks. I have worked with Lisa over the years to help create crochet designs in her beautiful yarns, as well as help work her show booth and visit various cities throughout the United States.

 

If only having a well-established yarn company in my town was enough, I also learned that a nationally recognized fiber spinning instructor and author, Lexi Boeger of Pluckyfluff, grew up in my community as well. Heck she was only a year ahead of me in high school, but my high school was large enough that I can honestly say that we did not run in the same circles. Her family owns a well-known local winery, and she has a studio just near the tasting room, that I have had the pleasure of teaching workshops at.

 

Those two connections should be more than enough, then I got into a conversation with a long time member of my Fiber Guild and when she learned where I lived she immediately assumed that I must know Lorna Miser, the creator and founder of Lorna’s Laces yarn. I did not know her, but the connection was made that as I was growing up she was starting the yarn company literally about 2 miles from my childhood home. There is even a colorway within the yarn company that features my street name, Bucks Bar. I did meet Lorna a few years later, and long after she had sold the business that is now housed in the Chicago, Illinois area, I was when working on some designs for a book that she was working on, and learned that she knew several members of my extended family. Even though up until very recently she and I only lived about thirty minutes apart, while she was starting up her latest yarn adventure, Zombie Yarns,  we would only cross paths at trade shows thousands of miles from home; but that is how it works out at times isn’t it? Never have lunch with a friend when you are in the everyday routine of home, but definitely make time when out of the ordinary grind.

 

So looking back over the connections above to my community, I thought that maybe there was something in the water or maybe every community as secret fiber artists dwelling in plain sight. Then I was at a trade show earlier this month in Columbus, Ohio when a friend and colleague escorted me over to check out a hook supplier. Honestly, I was tagging along a bit, my mind was already taking in the days discussions with various yarn companies when the gentleman, Chris Barnes, mentioned something about California. I mentioned I was from Placerville, that got him to look up, as he started he grew up there. Now I should mention that when traveling it is exciting to find someone that can pronounce the name of the town correctly (it is a short a sound), let alone know where it is without me drawing a map. We began chatting back and forth to find that we knew several of the same people and he was only two years ahead of me in high school and hung out with my cousin during his high school years. Apparently he had just taken over the business his father had started in my hometown, Brittany Needles. The company moved several years back to a little down on the northern coast that I enjoy vacationing at, Mendocino, but it started right here in my little gold rush town.

 

I know I have taken the local gold rush history for granted, but I did not realize that there was such a rich fiber arts history in the professional sense surrounding me. Honestly, since this last connection I am beginning to think I need to question the ladies at the Hangtown Fibers Guild more, as when I excitedly mention these new to me connections, they have already know everyone involved.  I wonder if there are any other industry connections hidden away in my back yard.

Unexpected Journeys- A Little Like Life

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ScannedImageThe interesting thing about ideas is that you never know when they are needed, or used. My latest released design, Holiday Sequins Sweater, reminds me of that, its journey was an awkward one, but now it sits on the cover of the Winter 2015 issue of Love of Crochet. I may not have even known that it graced the pages, let alone the cover had it not been brought to my attention by a very compassionate and supportive designer, Marly Bird. She had noticed it, took a picture of the cover and tag me in a Facebook post.

IMG_20151201_172418778The idea for this sweater came to me nearly four years ago as I was swatching with a yarn, which I believe has been since discontinued. I was inspired by a top that my sister had given me that had this cowl type neck, but I was never happy with how it only came to my waist line, it felt to short. I created a sketch to accompany the swatch of a simple texture, and sent it to various publishers, none of which were interested. As the seasons changed I would send it to a couple of other publishers, but it never found the right fit, until I answered a call for designs for a new book that Lorna Miser was putting together.

At the time, I had never met Lorna, yet I had heard about her as a local legend. She is the original founder of Lorna’s Lace Yarn, and actually began the business just a couple of miles from me as I was growing up. Of course I had no knowledge of this at the time, or frankly the interest, but as I grew older and even began working in the crochet/yarn industry, people would notice my street address and ask if I knew Lorna. That is just how small the world can be, she began the business and grew it for several years literally just down the street from me.

She has since sold the business and is focused on designing, and was putting together a new crochet book, one in which this sweater made to cut for, so the sample was made and the pattern written. The book never made it to fruition, but the design found its way to Love of Crochet, where unbeknown to me it landed on the cover. When the design was conceived I really thought that it was great, but then it was constantly rejected, then I thought it had found its way into an actual hard copy book, to learn that things had shifted once again. It was then possible that it may make it to the light of day, only to then dance upon the cover.

This seemingly long journey, which had a couple of twists and turns, just to have a pattern for a sweater, reminds me a little of how things ultimately go in life. You think you are on one path then all of the sudden you are on another and you end up in places that you may not have expected. So as I begin the time of year that has me usually reflecting on the past, looking at where things were a year or two earlier this design will remind me that you never know where the journey might take you.