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Hands Occupied

Colorful knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame from craft book author & designer Heidi Gustad.

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My Family’s Crafts: Bo Peep Napkin Holder

August 24, 2011 1 Comment

Welcome to the first installment of My Family’s Crafts. I come from a family that includes woodworkers, wine-makers, knitters, crocheters, quilters, embroiderers, cooks, farmers, gardeners, bakers and I’m sure more. None of them crafted for a living. They always used these talents as a creative outlet, a way to pass the time, or most importantly, a way to save money. Today, I wanted to share one of my paternal grandfather’s wood pieces. This is a scroll-sawed napkin holder featuring a Little Bo Peep design.

In the course of his lifetime, my grandfather built or helped build four separate log cabins. Like, no contractors involved. The oldest son in a Norwegian farming family of 10, my grandpa wasn’t able to go to high school. He was very brilliant, and growing up, I learned a lot from him about working very hard and being practical. I may have even picked up a few jokes, stories, pranks, and a drill press lesson or two.

Ten years ago last week, my grandpa passed away, but my family is very lucky. Every one of us (and much of the extend family) has a few of his pieces in our homes. Plus, we can go visit his cabins when we’re up in that neck of the woods. I have more of his woodwork to share in this My Family’s Crafts series, and next time, I’ll have to include one of his jokes.

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Final questions for you, readers:

Was this post overly sentimental? I’m still trying to decide whether or not to give you guys context about the family member from which the featured craft came. Does your family have crafts to share? If you’ve got an interesting craft, recipe, or skill you learned or received from a family member, I’d love to feature it here. Just email me at handsoccupied[at]gmail[dot]com and let me know what you’ve got to share!

Filed Under: Inspiration, Vintage Crafts Tagged With: my family's crafts, napkin holder, woodworking

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is a craft book author & content creator in love with primary colors & vintage vibes. She specializes in knitting, crochet, latch hook and macramé, and her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now!

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), a craft book author & pattern designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. Really anything with yarn! ❤️  My work combines vintage and modern design elements, featuring bold colors and graphic motifs.

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handsoccupied

Yarn craft designer & author. Into intarsia knits, latch hook, color & vintage-modern style.
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Sneaking in a few stitches in the shade. 😎 Sneaking in a few stitches in the shade. 😎
Another morning of filming! One of the knitting vi Another morning of filming! One of the knitting videos I’d like to release soon is a big overview of how to swatch and why - if you have any questions or favorite tips, let me know. 
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To be honest, I want to be able to link to this video as a resource when I get angry gauge questions, so please don’t hesitate to share your best tips. Together, we can tame the knitting Karens. 😆
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#stopswatchandblockit #handsoccupied #knitting #knittersofinstagram
A big issue I've had in the last year is putting t A big issue I've had in the last year is putting together new design work but not doing any independent releases of them. Chalk it up to anxiety, burn out, or whatever but here we are. 
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Last week I turned 35, so in honor of that here’s 3 things: 
❤️ a picture of me at my most stylish 
💛 a little glimpse at some of the design things I've recently been working on
💙a promise that I will be releasing some of the pictured designs this year. Getting back in the swing of things after taking it easy is hard 😆 - wish me luck!
Like a riding a bike! June guarded the neighborhoo Like a riding a bike! June guarded the neighborhood while I shot a new crochet tutorial today. With any luck, editing will go smoothly & I’ll be posting new videos to YouTube regularly soon! Got any requests for tutorial topics? 
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#handsoccupied #crochet #studiodog #crochettutorial
This yoke deserved a mid-blocking closeup, don’t This yoke deserved a mid-blocking closeup, don’t you think? ❤️💛💙
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Pattern: modified #soldotnacrop sweater / yarn: various from my stash
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