One wonderful thing about being an author is that I get to meet so many terrific people! They not only bless my life in a relational way, but also teach me things that may even end up in one of my novels someday. I met Amada via the Painter Place Saga, and it’s been a joy to get to know her better. Not only is she an avid reader, but she and her mother, Linda, are Functional Artists. They like beautiful and eye-catching things that are useful. She says, “Our mediums consist of textiles, yarn, thread, paints, dyes, and anything else The Lord inspires us to use!” I was intrigued by the way Amada crochets because she creates her own patterns. I commissioned some undersea animal toys by her for my grandson, and her work is excellent! Those who have read the Painter Place Saga will understand why my next commission from her was for some sunflower motif bookmarks. Then, I asked if I could post the intriguing story about her most recent project, which she calls a “Hallelujah Shawl.”
Like many Christian artisans and crafters, Amada continually prays for inspiration for projects and ideas. One of these came to her when she awakened one morning with a lovely crocheted lace shawl on her mind. She envisioned it with a gradient color scheme in a ethereal teal/turquoise. When a long-time friend from church got engaged at their County Fair, she learned in a conversation with her friend’s mother that the teal-turquoise color was the color chosen for the wedding. She'd planned to shop for a gift for her friend from the bridal registry, but suddenly she knew that the shawl was the right wedding gift! She picked up her crochet hook, her crochet thread, and continued to pray for the success of the idea while working out a plan for the stitch pattern. Those who crochet and are reading this will understand that Amada was doing a lot of “frogging” along the way toward accomplishing a design, but for the benefit of those who don't know what this means - she pulled out a lot of her efforts! Artists know the value of patience, and hers paid off. The stitch pattern took shape and she took off with it, then washed the nearly-completed shawl. This was only part of the process, and what happened next would determine if the gift she’d envisioned was a success. Amada selected the color she wanted, then started at the tip with the most intense application. As she went up the shawl, she worked to lighten the effect. She admits that the dye got away from her and she looked like a Smurfett. She said, “My palms were blue, my feet were blue, my legs in little rivulets down to my feet were blue, but happily, the shawl was also blue!”
Amada is excited about the one-of-a-kind Hallelujah Shawl that she lovingly crafted for her friend, and now she wants to make more of them. If you’d like to commission something unique from her, she can be reached through her Etsy Shop and facebook page, Country Artistry by Me&Mama.
(To download the FREE coloring page map illustration of Painter Place shown above, see the Gallery on Southern Sky Publishing's website).
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