Entitled to her Violin Purse and Guitar Purse
Why is Gwyneth Knolls in the Violettes by Becky Hall of Fame? She supports the arts - specifically, my arts!! When I was just playing with my violin purse pattern and didn't have a company name, a common friend of ours took me to Gwyneth's house with the purpose of helping Gwyneth unburden herself of stacks of beautiful fabric. 100 pounds of fabric to be exact!
Gwyneth says: "It excites me to see them and know I had a small part in helping you start. I am so proud of you every time I read of another success, another artist endorsement, another page of models, another amazing hand painted guitar bag."Gwyneth had her fabrics neatly organized by color and pattern in separate boxes. It was amazing that she let me pick out fabrics. Guess who received one of Violettes' early original handmade Violin Gifts? By request, Gwenyth also owns the very first guitar purse that I made. I later asked her how hard it was to watch that fabric walk out the door. I have stacks of left over fabric from my own sewing, and I would have trouble giving it away because I can see so many (sew many) new projects with the scraps. She said she had to get out a bottle of wine when I left with all that fabric! I would have too Gwyneth. In fact I'm drinking to you right now. Thanks for your Support the Arts generosity!
1. Violettes: How did you know Darlene (our mutual friend who was my Mother's best friend and my good friend too. She died of cancer soon after my mother moved to Tennessee).
Gwyneth: Darlene was a friend of my Mother's. They met at a “Current Events class” at the San Leandro Library and went on to take other classes together. At the time Darlene was living with Harold and his mother in an apartment in the Mulford Gardens area of San Leandro (near the Marina) which is where my mother’s house was. They used to walk the parcourse at the Marina together. When my mother decided to sell her house and move into an apartment, Harold and Darlene had moved up to Dutton Ave. Harold’s mother had passed away and they recommended to their landlord that my mother would like to move in to the next door apartment. She lived there for 8 years with Harold and Darlene living next door and that’s when I met them and their family & friends who came to visit.
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2. Violettes: You are an incredible quilter. When did you first learn? What are the favorite quilts that you have made? Do you hand stitch the quilting or machine stitch. Some quilters are sticklers for the hand stuff!
Gwyneth: I don’t know how you figure I’m an “incredible” quilter…I tried making a quilt in 1968
for a friend who had a baby, but I had no idea how to do it so I sewed it on three sides and turned it inside out -like a pillowcase- and sewed the end shut and started quilting on it. It was an ungodly mess, so I figured I’d better read about how it was supposed to be done and I was hooked. The next baby that came along was my cousin's baby in England so I made this one properly but didn’t quilt it nearly enough (mostly because I didn’t know enough about the reasons for the quilting stitch). Then I tried quilted garments. I made three vests for my daughter and two of her friends. This was my Katie at 3 years old with a kitty vest. I made a bunny vest and a puppy vest for her friends.
Then another cousin in England had a baby and this time I delivered the quilt by hand. This one I was quite proud of. The design wasn’t original but it was nice and colorful and the baby loved it (as did her mom). I quilted this by machine.
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3. Violettes: Do you have other hobbies?
Gwyneth: I have other hobbies, mostly crafts, just now I’m making clothes pin and peg dolls. I’m having a bit of difficulty though, as the electricity his gone out in the garage (where my desk is) and so I can’t see to work on anything, plus my vision is failing (due to cataracts). ---------------------------------------------
4. Violettes: Do you have just one sister? I know you help take care of her with downs syndrome?
Gwyneth: I have one baby sister (with Down Syndrome) who is 54, but I can no longer look after her as she needs 24 hr care and has severe dementia, so I have put her in a care home nearby. She no longer knows who I am, which breaks my heart, but it also means she doesn’t miss me as much as I miss her. I have a brother too who is 62; I am the oldest. He is married and lives in Oroville, CA and is a retired cable installer (and biker dude). Harley, of course.
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It’s a pleasure to know you and to say I know the owner of Violettes by Becky.
The pleasure is mine of course. Thank you for your part to Support the Arts! By supporting Violettes, you support both visual and music arts. Welcome to the Violettes Hall of Fame.
