Sitting in her living room, Toosje Melenhorst is surrounded by her creations. Dolls, knitting, crochet rugs, floral arrangements and more.
Each year she enters these crafts into the homecraft competitions at the annual fall fair held each fall at the Great Northern Exhibition Fairgrounds.
And she has a wad of ribbons to show for it. She has a stack of ribbons, an impressive collection after entering in various categories for so many years, but as it happens that particular stack is last year’s alone. Melenhorst had more than 100 entries and brought home almost 100 prizes.
When asked to run down the list of what crafts she does, Melenhorst says it would be easier to list what she doesn’t do and that’s quilting, photography and anything to do with livestock.
Canning and baking? She makes pickles, relish and preserves fruit. Vegetables? Yes, she has an impressive vegetable garden at the family farm on Airport Road, south of Stayner where she has had much success growing potatoes. Arts and crafts? She is a rock star at knitting and crochet and makes all kinds of things, from clothing to large rugs.
Melenhorst, who was born in the Netherlands, said she learned these homecraft skills from her mother and in school.
“My mother was quite crafty,” she said. “If you don’t have much money you try to use things that don’t cost much to make something. Like they say, necessity is the mother of invention.”
She said she made most of the clothing for her four children, in addition to blankets and winterwear. She also took her knitting and crochet with her during the years when she visited her husband Ben Melenhorst in the nursing home.
Melenhorst said she prefers to use all natural materials and is inspired by nature. On her walks behind the house, she finds little treasures like interesting wood, vegetation, cornhusks and seed pods that she turns into ornaments and arrangements.
Melenhorst enters so many competitions each year for the prize money, which she uses to sponsor two children in developing countries through Chalice, a Catholic international aid charity. The prize money of $10 or so per entry, depending on the category, adds up to hundreds of dollars to provide an education for young people in need.
Although Melenhorst is still an active member of the hobbies and crafts committee that organizes the intake, display and judging of the entries, she is not entering anything this year. Some health issues have made it difficult for her to sew, knit and crochet. She said she hasn’t really missed it because she is filling her time with books and continues to garden.
“I’ll give someone else a chance,” she says jokingly.
“I would like to see more people take part in it,” said Melenhorst. “People like the outdoor stuff but it is good to do something with your hands.”