Vandivers pursue lifetime hobbies
By Staff
Kim West
SPRUCE PINE – Judy Vandiver and her daughter Tracy Vandiver share more than a home and a familial bond.
They also share a love for hobbies – Judy, 65, weaves multi-colored potholders, while Tracy, 34, has an extensive doll collection.
"I started making potholders when I was 13 years old," Judy said. "My neighbor was making one while I was sitting by her, and I just took it up. I had always wanted to do it, and it's been my hobby ever since."
Judy has lived in Spruce Pine for 41 years and has lost count of how many potholders she has made. She usually spends about an hour each night weaving loops of cloth in a rainbow of colors through a 10-inch loom at her kitchen table after finishing the day's chores.
"You've got to have patience when making them," said Judy, a member of Mt. Hebron Church Baptist who enjoys reading Christian novels and the Bible. "The more colors you use, the more prettier they look. I do buy potholders because I don't want to use the ones I make."
In the past she would make 100 potholders and then sell two of them for a $1, but now she gives them away to friends and family and keeps the surplus in a trunk at home.
"I used to sell them years ago and people had a fit over them," Judy said. "My daughter Tracy would go with me, and I would sell them in Frog Pond. I even had two school teachers from Phil Campbell who would buy potholders from me."
Despite helping her mother sell potholders, Tracy wasn't drawn to the same hobby. Instead, she has focused on collecting a wide variety of dolls.
"I've been collecting dolls for the past 15 years," said Tracy, who also attends Mt. Hebron and loves singing so much that she owns a portable karaoke machine. "My friends usually give them to me, andmy favorite is probably the doll Patty Breedlove gave me. "
Her collection includes childhood standards such as Cabbage Patch babies and full-size dolls with porcelain faces to antique dolls and delicate knicknacks.
"I just really enjoy dressing them up and putting accessories on them," Tracy said. "They look like my own kids."
