The crafting phenomena of the Montgomery County Fair

September 19, 2017 1:13 AM

The Vietnam veterans who became the crafting kings of the county fair "The first time Rod won a blue ribbon at the Montgomery County Fair, in 2010, it was Nathan who had secretly submitted Rod’s handmade blanket. After that, Rod submitted entries on his own every year. He had never mentioned anything about entering his final project at the fair. But seven months after he died, Nathan decided to do it anyway."
posted by halcyonday (33 comments total)

thank you.
posted by mwhybark at 2:14 AM on September 19, 2017 [1 favorite]

This is so lovely.
posted by theseldomseenkid at 3:31 AM on September 19, 2017

That's really sweet, thanks.
posted by msbubbaclees at 4:20 AM on September 19, 2017

.
Their story gives me hope.
posted by domo at 4:29 AM on September 19, 2017 [1 favorite]

oh goodness gracious
posted by Hermione Granger at 4:46 AM on September 19, 2017

That is a really sweet story.
posted by Dip Flash at 4:57 AM on September 19, 2017

Touching story.
posted by Miko at 5:46 AM on September 19, 2017

So touching!
posted by Calzephyr at 5:59 AM on September 19, 2017

Not crying at work. Not crying at work.

Shit.

Crying at work.
posted by jacquilynne at 6:34 AM on September 19, 2017 [11 favorites]

Well that was awesome and tragic and unique but mostly awesome.
posted by RolandOfEld at 7:02 AM on September 19, 2017 [1 favorite]

got something in my eye here too
posted by scruss at 7:03 AM on September 19, 2017

Aw, geez. How lovely. (And that blanket is beautiful.)
posted by minsies at 7:07 AM on September 19, 2017

So when winter comes, his husband’s last work of art will keep him warm

As a husband myself, there is literally no better way I can think of to go.

.
posted by Rock Steady at 7:14 AM on September 19, 2017 [1 favorite]

i teared up a little at this. thank you.
posted by cendawanita at 7:40 AM on September 19, 2017

That was so beautiful I don't know why my allergies are acting up like this sniffle sniffle
posted by TwoStride at 7:40 AM on September 19, 2017

I love this story.
posted by Sophie1 at 7:45 AM on September 19, 2017

There has to be some kind of warning on stories like this. I need to not cry at my desk at work.
posted by lumpenprole at 8:05 AM on September 19, 2017

Can you even begin to imagine their struggles together - gay and interracial in the 70's? Man. What really comes through though is the love and the quiet "normalcy" of their life together. I wish more than anything that people would remember that what these two men had together - peace, love and support of their family is all 99% of the world wants.
posted by drewbage1847 at 8:17 AM on September 19, 2017 [13 favorites]

Yes, I'm not even going to call this sad, except in the way that time is a murderer of us all. They had 45 years of rich, joyous lives together starting in a time when everything about society was designed to push them apart. May they be remembered long.
posted by tavella at 8:28 AM on September 19, 2017 [11 favorites]

I find the combination of their adventures and travel, with the comfort of their quiet domestic crafts very moving.

I have found knitting to be a real solace over the years, and right now my husband and I have separate hobbies with areas of overlap, and I enjoy our time spent at home working on our hobbies and discussing tools and techniques.
posted by Squeak Attack at 9:04 AM on September 19, 2017 [2 favorites]

I saw this yesterday. Beautiful and genuinely touching story of love, strength, and loss. Also the power of yarn.

But I really wish that they had put in a detail shot of the rainbow blanket as well as the granny square and brick grouped spike stitch (that probably has a specific pattern name in that configuration even if I can't find it).
posted by monopas at 9:11 AM on September 19, 2017 [4 favorites]

This is wonderful. Thanks for sharing it.
posted by MexicanYenta at 9:25 AM on September 19, 2017

Lovely.
posted by camyram at 11:17 AM on September 19, 2017

Came for the crafting, stayed for the touching story.

I do still wish there were more close-ups of the crafting. I think the afghan is crocheted but I'm not 100% positive. And media keep mixing up crochet and knitting which is ridiculous. They are so totally different. /craft geekery
posted by jb at 1:15 PM on September 19, 2017 [3 favorites]

Sweet. My dad did some quilting about a decade+ ago. His health/vision made it so he can't anymore, but it fulfilled his OCD need for organization, in both design/patterning and in having a place for every fabric strip/square/sample.

He's slightly older than Vietnam Vet age, but it sure makes me think of him.
posted by symbioid at 1:21 PM on September 19, 2017

Totally made me tear up. Thank you so much for posting this--I would probably not have seen it otherwise. And man, that entrelac blanket in the top photo is beautiful and amazing.

(jb, I think you're right and it is crocheted. I took a closer look and although I know you can knit entrelac squares, it makes sense you can also crochet them.)
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 1:46 PM on September 19, 2017

Oh! This was beautiful. Thank you for the post, and thank you to Rod and Nathan for sharing their lights <3
posted by stillmoving at 2:00 PM on September 19, 2017

If you read the comments – seriously, THESE comments are okay – the reporter and a friend of the couple both confirm that the blanket was knit on one side and crocheted on the other, such that both the Knitting and Crocheting categories were fighting over which one got to claim it.
posted by St. Hubbins at 2:22 PM on September 19, 2017 [12 favorites]

.

What a heartwarming story, and the Montgomery County Fair is the county fair I grew up on! I went to it every year, thanks to the free day for Montgomery County students.
posted by honey badger at 5:07 PM on September 19, 2017

Great post.

So dusty in here...
posted by SonInLawOfSam at 9:07 PM on September 19, 2017

This is just lovely, thanks for posting.
posted by WalkerWestridge at 9:25 PM on September 19, 2017

*sigh*

We lost my father-in-law this spring, and it's hard to lift yourself out of grieving and see the good and the positive. When Nathan plans to give away Rod's blankets to the people they had been close to, and already has plans to take some of Rod's ashes back to Italy -- that's beautiful.
posted by wenestvedt at 11:32 AM on September 20, 2017

I wonder how much of this quiet grace goes on in the world, as opposed to the loud ugly that we are inundated with. My heart of hearts hopes that there is enough of it and that it triumphs in the end. Thank you to everyone who gives it voice.
posted by eggkeeper at 1:53 PM on September 22, 2017