Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Last Drop

On August 3rd, 2011, I received this email:


Renato attached these photos of his mom's beautiful crochet work:



I gratefully replied, and Renato sent me another email:


I accepted his kind invitation, and suggested we meet at the garden where the Raining Cats and Dogs were installed 1.5 years ago. One raindrop remained:

Susan the Bull Terrier

Renato's girlfriend, Weiping, took photos while MJ recorded this video of our meet:


August 17, 2011

And here are the intricately-crocheted gifts that Renato's mom, Anita, made in Brazil...

An angel:

A pouch with rosary beads:


Thank you, Renato, for arranging our first meeting, which also became a fitting farewell for the last raindrop. And thank you, Anita, for reaching out and sharing your divine yarn creations!

Photos by Weiping, taken at Davie Village Community Garden 
in Vancouver on August 17, 2011

And so—on this sunny summer day—a raindrop fell and the distance between two continents (& two crocheters) was bridged by a few feet of yarn!


UPDATE - Sept 12, 2011:

Renato just sent me this email, after viewing the latest blog entry:


Here are photos of Anita with her fun family, two raindrops (Shorty & Susan), and some WooWork trinkets (including an early ice cream cone):


And here are new photos of Anita's creations, including the vinyl record she crocheted for her musical son, Nedu:


All my gratitude and good wishes to Anita's kind-hearted and creative family!

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21 comments. Read/Add comments.:

  1. Yay! I love this.

    I also can't believe your raindrop stayed up so long! Impressive restraint from the citizens who walked by it each day. :)

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  2. I'm surprised they lasted so long too! The drops that weren't reinforced by fishing wire were the first to go, I think. MJ's dad thought they'd all be nabbed in the first week, so I was happy they survived longer than that, at least :D

    By the way, I hear there's a terrific new book that just came out, highlighting the adventures of the best yarnstorming group ever ;)

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  3. I may have just emailed you about that. :)

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  4. Awww, this just further proves what a wonderful person you are! (And MJ, of course). What a lovely story, thanks for sharing & thanks for sharing Renato's Mom's work, it is stunning:)

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  5. That's an amazing story! It's great how the internet and crochet can make the world a little smaller.

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  6. That's so sweet! Very cool too.

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  7. What an amazing story. Thanks for telling it.

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  8. you are a great man,here in Portugal a man who does crochet is very discriminated,still with your wonderfull work.

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  9. such a sweet and cool story! i love that crafting can bring people from all over the world together. people that would never have met otherwise :)

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  10. Awwww! What a sweet story.

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  11. What a wonderful story!! Love to see how crochet joins people together. Beautiful works!! :)

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  12. What a fantastic story! Although now I feel bad for the one remaining raindrop...

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  13. connections like these are just so amazing! thank you for sharing!

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  14. Howie, wow that was an amazing story. Her pictures looked so fantastic (what a smile)! You are a good guy and you and your great attitude bring happiness to many. Thank you.

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  15. Oww!! That’s was a interesting story!! It is so Amazing how two different countries, culture and people can join themselves for such a delicate an beautiful art! My name is Vinícius, I`m Renato´s cousin, well, I have also some to share: my gramma, (Anitas´s sister) is an artists as Hoeiw and Anita as well, her name is Rosária and she and Anita used to share the news about crochet, I feel proud to have two artist on my family, and happy to know that are incredible works like MJ’s in Canada! Thaks Renato anda Howie for this story! ;)

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  16. Wow this is a very sweet and touching story of how awesome cute crochet connects people! What a memorable and heart-warming experience! Thanks for sharing this with us ^_^

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  17. @Alexandriaweb: Yes, Anita's work is beautiful and oh-so-nice! :) Renato told me that the angel holds its shape because it was painted over with glue, then let to dry (probably over a cone shape?). The purse is so delicately made!

    @MissJulep: hehe Thanks! Anita & Renato are the wonderful ones, who gave the last raindrop(s) a warm new home :)

    @Jillie the Great: That's so true about the world being smaller when we see how the passion-for-creating is something universal!

    @JelliDonut & @CHD & @Myra: Thanks! I'm happy the story was enjoyable :) It was a sweet summer surprise.

    @Anonymous: You're right, there's still a long way to go for societal perceptions about what activities are "allowed" for each gender. I almost didn't crochet because of those limitations, but that would've been pure personal defeat. Imagine how much potential joy we rob from ourselves (and others) when we limit ourselves to those stale rules-of-behaviour!

    @youngmi & @Little Green Doll & @Missus D: Yes, it's such a treat when individuals are joined together by something constructive and creative!

    @Kitty Ballistic: True, that lonely last raindrop was looking blue (and a lil grimy) for awhile! I bet she's enjoying her new home in Brazil now :)

    @Knit Hot Guy: Thanks for your kind words! I wish each new project arrived sooner for everyone. The next blog entry (with video) was made over a 3 month period, and I hope it's worth the wait :D

    @ Vinícius: Thank you for sharing the story about how Anita and her sister Rosária (your gramma) also have crochet in common! They must similarly be proud to have you—and additional family members—to appreciate their artistry! :) My grandma learned to crochet after she retired, and it was precious when we had that in common. Thanks again, Vinícius!

    @Rita: Thanks for reading the story :) It's astounding when real-life connections can be made from the bits&bytes of a blog!

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  18. Aweee! Soo sweet of you to meet up and exchange gifts :)
    This is the sweetest blog post i have read all day :)

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  19. This is a wonderful touching story! Love it! Woo, you are my favorite crocheter ever! Not only because of your amazing creativiness, you are fun, amazing, friendly, warm. Thanks for sharing this story. Woo and Anita rock!

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  20. What a fantastic story! Although now I feel bad for the one remaining raindrop...

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