Artwork by Charles H. McCarroll

Brother Mac worked in commercial art for his entire vocational career.  He got his artistic bent from our mother.

Mac is also a Viet Nam veteran, a Marine, a husband and father.  Here is his brief service synopsis, as he relays in this collage:

And here are a couple of his recent paintings displayed in his and his sweet wife's home in Texas:

 Acrylic: 24" x 47" (CH McCarroll)

Acrylic: 16" x 16" (CH McCarroll)

Thanks, Mac, for letting me show these two pictures. Now go paint some more!

Learn Something New - Skill + 1UP - 2KCBWDAY2

Join in!

One of my "blog buddies" on Ravelry is promoting an effort for bloggers to post daily about something along the same lines of creativity related to fiber arts.  Each day during this week, we can then look at others' blogs to see what they are doing related to the daily theme. 

Today's topic is LEARN SOMETHING NEW.

On Eskimi's blog she says::

Announcing the 2nd Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week.

Knitting and Crochet Blog Week 2011 will run from 28th March to 3rd April 2011 in a week of fibre-arts related posts and events which will see many members of the knitting and crochet community worldwide blog daily together on the same subjects and topics.

Look back over your last year of projects and compare where you are in terms of skill and knowledge of your craft to this time last year. Have you learned any new skills or forms of knitting/crochet (can you crochet cable stitches now where you didn’t even know such things existed last year? Have you recently put a foot in the tiled world of entrelac? Had you even picked up a pair of needles or crochet hook this time last year?

Tips: Don’t be abashed at admitting your own skill and progress. If possible, include pictures of projects that you gained new skills from.

I'll bite.  What I have learned over the past month is to READ DIRECTIONS carefully, and ask friends for clarification!

Remember this pathetic thing?

Obviously, it was just wrong.

So it was ripped out twice, and here it is looking better:

The key was that you must three sets of directions simultaneously (a chart you devise yourself is helpful).  Duh.  Now I get it!  See the free pattern here.  And learn to read the directions!

Go on over to Eskimi's blog to join in with the blog-along.

"To read more posts on the topic ‘Skill + 1UP’ from bloggers around the world, all blogging today, enter the code 2KCBWDAY2 into Google or your search engine of choice. Happy reading, and happy blogging."

Milagro Necklaces or Treasure Necklaces

Let's blog about milagro necklaces.  Stop here if this topic doesn't interest you.  (BTW, the word "milagro" means "miracle" in Spanish.)

In the 80's, and independent jeweler in Denver LoDo had a necklace in a store front display with gold attached charms.  The charms looked vintage, so after inquiries, the story was that the necklace was custom made for a client from her small mementos of previous years.  And the jeweler said the necklace was called either a milagro necklace or a treasure necklace.

Knowing my mother had always worn a charm bracelet from the 1950's and still had those charms, using them in a necklace would make a great surprise for her. That jeweler put me in touch with the woman who had made that necklace in the display, and she was the one who made my mother's piece.  A gift was born.  Mother was thrilled her charms were no longer tucked away in a box, and wore that necklace for many years.

More about milagro necklaces from ShopVilllager:

Milagros, Spanish for miracles, are small metal charms that represent the concerns of our hearts. Milagros are used in making and fulfilling vows or promises and are tangible symbols of such a promise. The boat is a symbol for a journey, the dove symbolizes peace, the eye is for insight, the heart to be aflame, the rabbit represents a leap of faith, the cup is fulfillment. The milagro cross also reminds us that each day is a miracle.

Here is a picture of my mom's fresh water pearl milagro necklace using most of her old charm bracelet dangles, with a few added pieces:

The gold oak leaf shown above is from my dad's naval service in WWII.  He is still living and is 92 years old.

Another of my favorite charms on my mother's bracelet was that of a pin that was my maternal grandmother's from Simmons College, now Hardin Simmons University in Abilene, Texas.  My grandmother, Beulah Burkett Howard, (we called her "MOM" Howard) graduated from Hardin Simmons in 1912, no mean feat for a woman of that generation!  She began college at the age of 16, and graduated at the age of 19, majoring in music and voice.  Mom Howard wrote the fight song for Hardin Simmons back in her day - a claim to fame! She used her educational background for the rest of her life, singing in choirs, as a solo vocalist, and as both pianist and organist for the churches where she and my grandfather were members.  In latter years, I remember her rocking the balcony with organ music from The Messiah at Christmas times.  Handel would have been proud of her.

But I digress.  This is the pin from 1912:

Two charms from my brother John's pins: one from A & M University and one from the Cattlemen's Assn.:

And this is my beaded pink wrist hospital birth identification bracelet (complete with misspelled name):

Oldest brother Mac's corporal insignia collar pin from Viet Nam will be added:

Because Mother liked her necklace so well, I then had a treasure necklace made from my old charms, along with turquoise nuggets.  Now my daughter Juliet has that one.

This is the turquoise milagro necklace that now belongs to Julie.  Her husband Jack took the pictures of it, along with some of the charms.  He did a great job of the pictures, especially the close-up shots.

Close-up of some of the charms:

(Sharon G., if you are looking at this, remember our old high school rings with that center blue stone?)

Just a little stroll down memory lane while looking at the milagro necklaces.