So, that beautiful young lady over there on the left might look familiar to some of you. Perhaps she’s taught your daughter or son how to belt out Hallelujah, or maybe you saw her in Cardinal Stage’s Les Mis last year. Maybe you see her walking around town with her beautiful family in town, Maxwell talking talking talking, baby Miles on her side, and her partner Kim being the ying to her yang. Maybe you know her as Amanda Biggs, the opera singer, or Amanda Biggs, the teacher. I know her as Amanda Biggs – the girl that came to my house and sang Karaoke Revolution and I never looked at the X-Box the same again!! I’m excited to share with you Amanda’s favorite handmade item! I’ve known Amanda for years, simply as Amanda. And I’ve watched her grow into an amazing singer, going on tour with the likes of Krista Detor (both cd’s available in the shoppe by the way), a beautiful wife, and a doting mother. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Welcome, Amanda!
Thank you, Talia for asking me to write about my love for handmade items because I am now aware of the fact that I’ve been surrounded by makers my whole life. These people have influenced everything I know about the value of one’s time, the sacredness of heart placed within a handmade item, and the responsibility we have to help sustain our fellow makers.
From very early on, I remember my mother crocheting doilies, blankets, etc. for her family and friends. It was almost meditative for me to watch her weave the yarn in and out with the needles. I can draw a perfect mental picture of exactly the way her hands look while gripping the yarn; her fingernails coming together to count the loops, and her familiar furrowing brow when she realized she had left out a certain pattern or loop. I’m sure it has been a meditative and soothing craft for her. She tried teaching me to do it, and, while I learned the technique, the eagerness to crochet never took hold.
I have, however, always been interested in making things with my own two hands. I actually made a wooden ring box with which I proposed to my wife. The story of that box was made into an absolutely exquisite song penned by my dear friend Krista Detor as a wedding present to us. See? Makers have surrounded me my whole life!! I believe in, support, and nurture the creators in my life because my environment would be so very, very ordinary without them. What you see here are 2 photos of some of my most treasured handmade items in my home: a blanket crocheted by my mom for our two boys, and the ring box I made alongside the song written for us by Krista.
Gather 