Needlework

Kathryn H. Fink, a homemaker who enjoyed crocheting afghans and crosses, died of heart failure Friday at Stella Maris Hospice in Timonium. She was 88. Born Kathryn Hellen in Baltimore, and raised on Broadway in East Baltimore, she was a 1932 graduate of Eastern High School, which was then on East North Avenue. She was married that year to Charles H. Fink who was a streetcar motorman and Baltimore Transit Co. supervisor. Mr. Fink died in 1982. Mrs. Fink, who had lived in Northeast Baltimore, was an accomplished needleworker who liked crocheting afghans and crosses used for infant baptisms at Fallston United Methodist Church.

Olga A. Fasold,a retired registered nurse and accomplished needleworker, died Monday of heart failure at Good Samaritan Hospital. She was 85 and lived in the Ramblewood section of Northeast Baltimore. Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Olga A. Incas attended high school there. She married James S. Moulton, a merchant seaman, in 1936 and settled in Baltimore. After his death in 1954, she earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland School of Nursing in 1956 and began her career.

WESTTOWN, Pa. - The first year, teacher Shannon Almquist thought she had just lucked out with a spectacular class. But when success repeated itself the second year, then the third, she quit worrying. Fourth-graders really did enjoy needlework, boys included. Recently, when Almquist stood before her 19 girls and boys, she smiled. "You are going to make an heirloom," she announced. "One day, when you're very old, someone will go through the attic and find it and say, `What's this?'" For the second time in more than 200 years, stitching samplers is becoming a tradition at the Westtown School.

Wondering why the winter blues are hitting you especially hard this year? Well, first of all, rather than enjoying the relatively mild weather we've have so far, you're probably worrying about when the snow and ice will finally hit here. Plus, you're dealing with the usual post-holiday letdown. Oh, and then there was that puny little buildup (only lasted a year or so) to a certain Millennium Moment that was supposed to hit like gangbusters and change all our lives . . . but didn't. That, of course, wouldn't have anything to do with why you're down in the dumps, would it?

Rita L. Hawkins, 59, needlework artistRita Lenkin Hawkins, an accomplished needlework artist, died of cancer last Sunday at the Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care in Towson. She was 59.A native of Washington, Mrs. Hawkins attended Coppin State College as an undergraduate and later earned her master's degree there in education.Mrs. Hawkins worked as a dental technician, taught Head Start classes on an Indian reservation, led an alternatives-to-violence program at local prisons and acted in local drama groups.

"HONEY, I'M home!" says Michele Arsenault, owner of Stitching Pretty, the needle-crafts shop on Main Street in Laurel.But unlike the millions of people who announce their arrival to spouse or child with those words, Arsenault is referring to the warm welcome she receives from the Friends of Montpelier Mansion for the needle-crafts show that she produces each year.The Laurel mansion is a historic site -- a plantation dating from the 1780s.The Friends group conducts tours and helps furnish the mansion.

Constance Gilchrist Edwards, 99, a retired art needlework instructor, died Thursday in her sleep at Keswick Multi-Care Center.Mrs. Edwards, who lived all her life in Baltimore, was a knitter who made hundreds of sweaters and afghans for family and friends. In the 1950s, she taught the craft in the art needlework department of Hutzler's store in Towson.She grew up on Mount Royal Terrace north of North Avenue and attended the Bryn Mawr School before graduating from the New School in Baltimore.

Historic Sotterley Plantation in Hollywood will be the site of the eighth annual Southern Maryland Quilt & Needlework Show this coming weekend. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Sotterley volunteers will be offering plants for sale, and lunch and snacks will be available. Admission is $5 for adults; free for children under 12. Events benefit the Sotterley Foundation Inc. and Historic Sotterley. Some of the other features are:* A display of judged quilts and needlework pieces in Sotterley's manor house and outbuildings.

Washington Antiques ShowBTCAn exquisite needlework exhibit and a diverse selection of antiques that appeals to the new and experienced collector highlight the 43rd Washington Antiques Show today through Sunday at the Omni Shoreham Hotel.With the theme "A Celebration of Needlework: Patterns of Our Lives," the show offers rarely seen examples of fine applied needlework, many with a presidential provenance. And 44 prestigious antiques dealers offer their wares. Also featured are educational seminars, lectures and docent-guided show tours.

Growing up, Maureen Price of Eldersburg watched a bit disdainfully as her mother and grandmother transformed small scraps of fabric into beautiful quilts."