Welcome to MBR Crochet!

MBR's Story

I come from an unusually long line of craftspeople, men and women who used their hands as tools of both income and recreation. And for all of us, our lives intersected at the spot where the Muscatatuck and Blue Rivers greet each other from near banks, in Washington County, Indiana.

Excerpted from Indiana Road Map
by Ezilon Maps

Family memories record that it began with my maternal great-grandmother, who was a crocheter and taught my mother the skill when Mom was 8; for the rest of her life, Mom insisted that 8 was the best age at which to begin teaching an art that requires patience, perseverance, and a dollop of innate perfectionism.

My paternal grandmother was a seamstress and quilter, taking in piecework to support her family both before and after she was unexpectedly widowed. My grandfather was a shoe repairman who apprenticed each of his three sons in the shop he owned in our hometown; it remained the longest-operating business owned by just one family in our county until my father--the youngest of the three boys--was forced to retire due to ill health.

My other grandmother was a florist, whose understated silk arrangements were a staple at local weddings, funerals, and get-well wishes around Washington county long after she had officially retired and closed the cozy little store that once sat on the northwest edge of our town.

In his rare and precious spare time, my father had one great passion--HO-scale model railroading. Dad always dreamed of designing his own, full-sized model layout which would depict a fictional railroad of his own creation, the "Muscatatuck & Blue River," and though he never had the space or resources to realize that goal, he did leave behind an enduring legacy for model railroad enthusiasts. When our town decided to build a railroad museum, a replica of its own former depot, and fill the basement with a model of the rail networks that still criss-cross our county, Dad and several other dedicated volunteers spent countless hours lovingly crafting the miniature landscape, while my brother installed the electronics that bring all the moving pieces to life. Years after Dad's death, young visitors still get their first taste of the railroading obsession at Salem's resurrected Depot.


Not only did my father's shoe repairs keep several cities in well-maintained footwear for decades, he also left behind some beautiful, handmade leather items that I cherish. One of these was the original MBR logo which I have updated and still use. Among the many things I inherited from my mother were several handmade afghans, a gorgeous lace table cloth she labored over to serve as my wedding gift, a couple of unfinished projects to complete on her passing, and an abiding joy in the peace crochet can bring.


MBR crochet is the realization of two of my parents' most cherished dreams and deepest passions, which they passed on to me and through which I am proud to remember and honor them. I hope you enjoy the creations you find here, and the knowledge that generations of work went into to making them. My own daughter will soon be starting her crochet lessons, as she has played with my yarn scraps throughout her early life, just as I did before her.

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