My favorite thing about visiting Santa Rosa is the thrifting. There’s tons of thrift shops here – even the old-school “bins” type where you get to dig around in massive piles of unsorted, unwashed clothes. Ahh…heaven. So meditative.
This week, I scored two amazing vintage macrame magazines. Macrame is one of those dying art forms that our moms barely remember doing through the haze of the 70′s. Did you know you could macrame a table or a chair? Me neither. Check it out….
I think of two women when I think of macrame:
First, my good friend, Lara, who is not only cool enough to have found a macrame owl necklace but also wear it regularly.
Second, my grandma. She had a huge macrame hanging pot-holder thing. It holds a big raku urn/pot that she made (she was a full-time potter). It hangs big, dark and low to the ground and the macrame part is all kinds of chunky jute. Even though she’s gone now, her giant macrame thing is still hanging there in her Eikler’s atrium, visible from all angles because like a lot of Eiklers, the atrium was in the center of the house and the glass walls go right through to the family room…that’s a seriously classy piece of macrame, grandma!
I’ve macramed a sampler or two in my day but never something giant. Maybe it’s time for a macrame come-back? And no….I don’t mean macramed iPods cozies.
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Love it, nice work! When you gotta grow, you gotta grow. Best of luck with the new layout!
Sweet! Can you post pictures of your grandma’s Macrame? I love the super low idea! Best of luck!
I love the look of the new blog!
Great score on the magazines!
I macramade some curtains and a large wallhanging featuring a beautiful twisted willow branch…wish I had a photo of it still.
Kelly – Thanks!! It was definitely time.
Anne – Unfortunately, I don’t have any pics of that macrame. Like I said, it’s still there though. I really want to go in there and do a photoessay of the whole house – macrame included. Next time I’m in Walnut Creek, for sure!
The whole house is a special kind of 50′s/60′s/70′s hybrid. The architect was a 50′s/60′s mid-century modern kinda guy but my grandma clearly did most of her decorating in the 70s. She was super-classy with an arty flair so she managed to make it an awesome combination. Believe it or not, it still looks cool by today’s book. Quite a feat for a lady who would be like 80+ by now.
Beadbabe – Oooooo macrame curtains remind me of the beach. I bet both of those pieces were stunning. No pics? You sure?? I hate it when something I’ve made gets away from me before I can take a picture of it. At least you can remember it! Oftentimes if I don’t have a picture I can’t even remember making something in the first place. Grrrr.
Oh, man … how old are you? I totally remember doing macrame in the 70s. Great, now I feel like a grandma.
Anyhoo, you should check out the mini owl I made: http://www.futuregirl.com/craft_blog/2008/8/under-the-sway-of-macrame-owls.aspx Macrame is best for owls, I think.
(thanks for stopping by my blog!)
OMG…adorable macrame owl, futuregirl! I love it in that miniature scale. I agree that macrame is it for owls.
As for grandmahood – I *wish* I was doing macrame in the 70′s but alas, I am 24 so I barely remember the 80′s. Still though, it’s never good to makes assumptions about who’s reading what. My bad.
Awesome! I inherited a really lovely macrame table that my friend’s stepmom made, it’s a very open base with a center pedestal like a fishing net, and a circular glass top. I’m saving it for my future studio/den that I will decorate like a Victorian greenhouse. Knots!
Glad you found the magz… however, with all due respect, macrame is far from a dying art. There is an immense amount of macrame made by people all over the world.
If you wish, take a peek at my web gallery on deviantart… My very best wishes, Peter. (Devon, UK)
Hi from Ireland, good post, deserves a Digg.
I’m interested in the book Make a Table in Macrame. I have a “wishing well” light, table unit that I purhased 32 years ago in the Philippines. It really has a lot of sentamental value but I’ve hung onto it til it is falling apart. I have done macrame in the past. How can I get that book or the directions for the hanging table on the cover? Thanks.