Melissa Ann

Crochet = Love

January 20, 2022 Leave a Comment

I enjoy making things. I always have. Whether it was playing with my Light Bright set or coloring my Fashion Plates, I have always been a crafty girl. But it was when I learned to crochet that my creative juices really started to flow.

Learning to Crochet

I learned to crochet through an online course almost 16 years ago. It was actually around the same time that I started craft blogging. I had tried to learn to crochet several times before, but I just couldn’t get it. For some reason, that crazy slip knot was so tricky. But one day I stumbled across a blog that had just started a 6-week crochet course. Unfortunately, the blog is no longer around as are many of the blogs I have grown to love. I joined in, followed along with all of the steps, and practiced. And at the end of the 6 weeks, I was crocheting.

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Love Across the USA Project: Nina Simone Mural

January 13, 2022 Leave a Comment

In September 2017, I had the opportunity to be part of one of my most artistic craft projects to date. Over 100 crocheters from the Raleigh/Durham area crocheted a panel for the Nina Simone Mural that was displayed in front of the Raleigh Convention Center October 2017-June 2018, and I was so fortunate to have been one of them.

The Nina Simone Project

The project came about at a time when I was very down about, well everything. I had lost both my beloved kitty of 13 years and my job of 12 years just a few months earlier. It was a period of sadness and self doubt, and then I came across a post on Facebook asking for crafty volunteers to be a part of a large crochet project.

I was thrilled!

I later found out it was a crocheted mural featuring North Carolina’s own, Nina Simone.

The Nina Simone Mural was part of Olek’s “Love Across the USA” project, celebrating the accomplishments of women. Nina Simone was the third mural after Susan B. Anthony and Harriet Tubman.

Not only did I have the time, actually all the time in the world since being laid off, but it was a crochet project. In the crafty community, crochet always takes a backseat to knitting. So, I was so excited to be able to contribute my time and my crochet talent to such an awesome project.

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Melissa Ann makes. . . from crafter to fiber artist

January 6, 2022 Leave a Comment

Who am I?

Hey there! I’m Melissa Ann, and I make things.

I began my crafting journey in 1984, when, for Christmas, my grandmother gave me my first hand embroidery kit: a pastel ice cream cone. While I absolutely loved it, I never really mastered the art of embroidery. I’m not sure why. But a few months later, I received my first cross stitch kit, and I was totally hooked!

Cross stitch has always been my favorite fiber art. Possibly because it reminds me of the good old days when I didn’t have a care in the world. It is also very soothing for me and doesn’t require too much concentration.

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