Being 'knotty' is fun: When APT is dark, Turpin creates her own joy

Editor's Note: Inspired by the creation of a YouTube cooking show by two area actors, this summer series of stories has looked at hobbies people have undertaken -- or continued to work at -- while quarantined at home by covid-19. We've biked, bird watched, learned about keeping bees, adopted pets and learned how to train them. In our final installment, another familiar face from a local theater company shares what she does when the stage is dark.

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Right now, Lisa Hergert Turpin is waiting -- and dreaming of the day the doors of Arkansas Public Theatre open again for a live show. Turpin is house manager for the community theater in Rogers, and it's been dark due to covid-19 concerns since "Newsies" closed at the end of February.

"I get tears in my eyes when I imagine opening night," she says. "The crazy hustle and bustle minutes before we open the doors. Someone hollers, 'Doors in 12 minutes.' And in chorus, our volunteers chime, 'Thank you, 12!' Final touches. Places, everyone. Check with the directors to see if we can open the house when the main doors open. Coffee is hot, wine is on ice, bathrooms sparkle, the volunteers are chatty, and name badges are on.

"Quick gather with everyone to remind them of anything pertinent to inform our patrons during seating. Manifest is printed and ready. Box office intern is ready at the window. 'Doors in 5." "Thank you, 5!' One minute. Someone turns on the marquee lights, unlocks the doors as I finally get to say again, 'We are open!' I know there will be clapping. Now the flow of rosy cheeked patrons coming in the doors with hugs and huge smiles. And I am crying now."

But the time spent at home hasn't been wasted. Turpin is also an artist in several mediums, and she's been making masks, painting and crocheting -- a lot of crocheting.

"I love to make for others," she says. "My nieces and nephews are the light of my life, and I love to make soft, cute critters for them. The ones I had growing up were so precious to me, and I want them to have that special friend that will keep all their secrets safe and soak up little tears. I'm also always happy to make little treasures for my dear friends, too. That's my serotonin fix."

Born in Silver Spring, Md., Turpin grew up in Southern California, but her dad's mother, "Grammy" Earline Hergert, managed to influence her, even from Rockville, Md.

"She always made sure I had lots of books and crafts," Turpin remembers. "She and Gramps sent packages regularly with books, looms, science kits, etc. I would go visit them during the summer, and she exposed my mind to all kinds of cooking, baking, sewing and bird and squirrel watching. Her basement was full of books from her Mystery Book Club, so I read and crocheted for hours and hours and hours. Most of the women in our family crochet."

Turpin says she started with a tiny round knitting loom and "outfitted all my Barbies with elegant dresses. The second-hand Barbie house I had was the most decorated in all the land! When I learned to crochet, there were blankets, bedspreads, toilet seat covers, doilies, towels, rugs, antimacassars -- you name it, I made it for my Barbie house.

"Of course, my whole family had so many dish cloths and tiny blankets! All my stuffed animals had crocheted flower headbands and appliques. Grammy did teach me to read patterns, and now I often glance at them, get a feel for them and then go."

Over the years, Turpin has created everything from baby booties to "yarn bombing" the trees in front of her house.

"They were essentially multicolor sleeves along the trunks," she describes. "My yard looked so fun, like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. Why did I do it? Because I could. I love my craft and to share it. What better way to share than that?

"When our family was growing still, and there were nieces, nephews and grandbabies in abundance, I dedicated myself to making small blankets, booties, hand mitts, head bands and lots of soft toys. Also, scarves, beanies and purses I have made in countless numbers.

"These days I am rather obsessed with Amigurumi -- the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small, stuffed yarn creatures -- and my favorite thing to make is a platypus," she says. "I am sure come fall and winter, I will shift to wraps, boleros and blankets again."

As the final subject in a summer series of stories about hobbies taken up or continued during the covid-19 quarantine, Turpin has advice for others who might want to try the relatively new -- 19th century -- art of crochet.

"For a beginner, I would always recommend, start small," she says. "Something like a lap blanket or scarf are great because you will finish it, and you can make it look great with just the most basic of skills. Finishing a project is the best encouragement to keep going, so have a reasonable goal. Don't start with a king-size bedspread in lace-making yarn. You will never finish and get frustrated and waste money!

"Another good tip for a beginner: don't start with black or super dark yarn. When you are learning to count stitches, it is easier to see a medium or light color.

"Keep it simple with yarn type, too. Save the fancy weird stuff for the next project. All those frilly and fuzzy yarns are unforgiving and hard to count stitches. Find a nice worsted weight by Red Heart or I Love This Yarn and an H size hook."

Although Turpin doesn't always use a pattern, she recommends a beginner read through the entire thing before starting.

"European patterns can read a bit different with variations of what certain stitches are called," she explains. "Also, individuals that write their own patterns I find will often skip a bit here and there or 'assume' you will know to do a certain step, and I think it should always be spelled out 100%. You never know who is reading your pattern. Of course, I did not grow up with the internet and YouTube, but now there are lots of great tutorials to understand the basics.

"Here's the biggest things that I bet 90% of beginners get stuck on:

"Tension: They either make their stitches too loose or too tight or a funky combination of both. That is literally just a practice thing. Best advice is to make gauge squares. Those are listed as to what size they should be for almost all patterns, based on the weight of yarn and hook size.

"People learn to 'chain' the most basic crochet stitch. Turning that chain seems to go well under instruction, but then beginners get home to practice and go blank.

"Mastering those two things is a major part of the battle. If you can get those two things, then you got it."

Turpin says she used to imagine opening an online store for her work, but her husband, Dudley, fell ill and died, and it just never happened. She is, however, open to selling her work or teaching through her email, [email protected]. She also directs people to Facebook, where they can see a photo album of her work.

"Crochet is about math, texture, weight, tension and love. That makes it sound way more complicated than it is, but all those factors do come into play," she says. "You know how some people just 'get' math or can play music by ear? Crochet is my thing."