The art of macrame

With summer over, and winter quickly approaching, the Golden Hour Senior Center is seeing an increase in its activities.

The art of making macrame chairs class has also seen an increase in activity.

Verna Trujillo, who teaches the Western Wyoming Community College class, said she was excited to have new and returning participants join the class.

"I took a class 20 plus years ago," Trujillo said.

After she learned the art of making macrame chairs, she decided to pass on what she learned to others. The class has been a success.

Trujillo has numerous patterns and various colors of cord for participants to choose from. Trujillo also orders chairs for these projects, however, some attendees bring in their old lawn chairs and replace the worn pieces with macrame.

Last week, several patterns were being worked on, including a Wyoming Cowboys logo, a fish, an eagle, a sunflower and a zig zag.

Trujillo said she has to order all of the supplies from Massachusetts.

One of Trujillo's returning class members, Peggy Kizzire, has made about 200 chairs. She either gives them to her family and friends or she sells them. Sometimes she has people make special pattern requests. She said she enjoys the class; and was currently working on a chair she had already made. Kizzire decided that she didn't like the eagle on it, so she took it off and was going to put a fish on it instead.

Another student, 90-year-old Evelyn Martin of Rock Springs, said she has been attending the class since Trujillo started teaching them. Martin used to attend the ones in Rock Springs, but then started driving over to Green River to attend.

"If Verna doesn't know how long I've been coming, then I don't know," Martin said.

Martin was busy working on a Wyoming Cowboys logo chair, but she said it wasn't because she was a Cowboys fan.

"I was a rancher before I started doing chairs," Martin explained.

She said she simply liked the horse and that's why she picked that pattern. Like Kizzire, Martin also gives most of her chairs away to family and friends, but she doesn't sell them.

She said it is more fun to give, than to receive money for them.

Trujillo said anyone can attend the class, and she even has three men in this year's. Those who are interested in the class can ask the GHSC about it.