Well today I am going to be walking around with that 1960’s tune Plastic Jesus playing in my head.
Somehow its lyrics seem the appropriate background to Mike’s news tidbit in todays Creative Leisure News about the USA today Report of Wal-Marts plan to offer “faith-based” toys in 425 stores – stores that have strong sales of Bibles. One toy will be a 12″ talking Jesus doll

I freely admit to a variety of emotional reactions, not the prettiest of which is the idea of a 11.5 inch Barbie hearing the 12inch Talking Jesus lecture her on her less than modest dress and demeanor,

And I equally freely admit to expressing my annoyance with the Boys in Bentonville with the use of one of those proofs of a terminally Catholic upbringing,

Truly, I have little to no problem with Wal-Mart dumping products that do not sell like books even if they are something teaching Needle Arts & other fiber crafts, or the products support the things I enjoy (fabric, now NeedleArt, likely yarns days are numbered as well) –

These decisions are “just business”, it is 2007…

Pretty much anything I want can be found thru the independent retailers on line or in person.

I had more or less come to terms with Wal-Mart turning its back on how it built it fortunes, offering American Made goods, seems to have been just the beginning… and had almost gotten over the way the new store layouts are increasingly discriminatory for those requiring mobility assistance.

But MMOG, Talk about past time to toss the money changers out of the temple.

Wal-Mart has just taken yet another step to the Dark Side (in my opinion at least) … now targeting the small independents who have offered faith based products and worked to build up their small businesses in our communities.

The list of reasons for not shopping at Wal-Mart (to my great inconvenience) has now reached the level where I will vote with my wallet.

Sometimes “just business” can go to far, surely this event has the makings of a major quake triggered by the spinning in the Walton’s (Mr & Mrs) graves.

Wheat

I am always interested in seemingly esoteric needle arts tools. Naturally, when a reference to Grant’s One Needle Looper came up in a Yahoo group; of course I had to go google. Nothing except an old eBay Auction.

Okay, on to the usual second source for “IT”, aka/ eBAY and nothing except some closed auctions and one picture, at least not for several months, then POOF, suddenly results in my automatic searches. Here is what it looks like:

However, in the last few weeks, quite a few have turned up and as importantly some instructions and patterns. (Happily original not copies)

All of the patterns and such give only the following company Information

The Copyrights are mostly dated between 1969 to 1970, so they must have been at that address for at least ten years, but the location is apparently now a building which has been converted to Condos.

The US Patent No is 3,228,212 and was issued in 1966 to Angela Huber of Germany. There is a later patent, 3,979,929 for what seems to be for the technique, issued to Angeline Lapi of Sprakers NY; assignee The Raymond Lee Organization

TH  tells me that he learned a very similiar techniques from a book on Knotting (but has not yet found the book to show me )

Although obviously the patent protections may have expired, my “project” for The Grant’s Looper is to track down whomever currently holds the Copyright to the patterns with a goal to obtaining permission to place them in the public domain.

When time allows, I will add some details about the Pattern Leaflets found so far.

I would welcome any information you care to add as comments or by email to:

Wheat

Without the “grandmothers” how will Everyday Arts be continued?