Buttermolds/Karen Kasprowicz

Buttermolds CS522-A, 14" 
diameter, #5-cut wool on linen. Designed by Jane McGown Flynn and Pearl McGown; hooked by Karen Kasprowicz, Dearborn Heights, Michigan, 2018.

Karen began her love for needle arts when she was about 10 years old. Her Great-Aunt Florence taught her how to embroider and weave.

Later, she learned to knit, crochet, do crewel, cross stitch, and then counted cross stitch, which became her passion. She completed projects for her daughters and made birthday gifts and wedding gifts for relatives and friends.

A few months after Karen’s husband died, her friend, Jan Frank, a Certified McGown Instructor of rug hooking, invited Karen to come to her rug-hooking class. Jan was a very patient teacher and Karen found rug hooking to be therapeutic. She learned to choose expressive colors, learned the techniques, explored different foundation fabrics, and listened to the stories of the many women in her class. It became one of the highlights in her life.

This chair pad took about a year to complete, but in finishing it, she felt empowered to move forward. It felt good to see something beautiful arise from her sorrow.

She currently has three projects in various stages of completion and has attended classes taught by various teachers in order to expand her skills. These classes have been an inspiration and a comfort to her as fellow students shared their hooking skills and life stories.