Mom's altered book - part 3

My Mom always encouraged me to create things.  I can't remember a time when there wasn't a project in the works - latch hook, embroidery, crewel, or crochet.  I did my own projects, and one of the things I really liked was potholder weaving with loops.  We had a huge problem finding the loops, so I kept taking apart potholders I made to make new ones.  I have kept some of them, including a few where I really liked the patterns.

About a month ago I mentioned to my Mom that I still had a few, and she was surprised.  At that moment I decided to include one in the altered book.

I took a large chunk of pages and cut a hole large enough for the potholder, then I used eyelets to attach all of the pages together along the edges and in each corner of the hole.  I used ribbon to tie the potholder into the hole:

In retrospect I wouldn't have used so many eyelets.  Steve asked why I did, and I had no good reason.  After punching all of the holes (twice - I decided I needed more pages so the potholder wouldn't stick out too much) and using my Cropadile to set the eyelets, my hands were exhausted!  I could have taken out about half of the eyelets on the top and bottom edges, and it would have been just fine.

The left side of this page has more examples of crafts I did as a kid:

The irises in a vase embroidery is a picture, but the "Thinking of you" and little flower are actual cross-stitch projects I did in my youth.  I think it's important to include actual pieces (the cross-stitch, the potholder, and the postcards I talked about yesterday) in a book like this whenever possible to give the book actual meaning.  The "Thinking of you" was a card that I made for my grandmother, and she put it in a little stand on her TV or a shelving unit (it moved around from time to time).  When she passed, I put it on my shelf.  This is a much better use for it.

Here's the flip side of the potholder page, starting to list the myriad of crafts I currently do:

I did have to note that I no longer make loopy potholders.

Here's the final page of this crafty set:

The picture at the top of this page is me with my Omi (my mother's mother).  Funny story about this - I made both my Mom and Omi a wrap that is meant to go around your shoulders and arms to keep them warm while reading or watching TV.  Well, every time I saw Omi use it, she was lying on the couch with the wrap balancing precariously on top of her.  I told her countless times to put it around her shoulders, but she said she liked it better this way.  I should have made her a whole afghan!

Speaking of crocheting, I finished a sweater today that has been in the works for quite some time.  A post will be coming soon (and all the fiber artists say Wahoo!!).