About Me & My Artistic Expression (or Thread Obsession)

When I was a small girl, every Sunday afternoon my mother took us kids to visit my Grandparents. While my mother and grandmother chatted at the kitchen table over coffee, I wandered through the company rooms of the house admiring all the fancy workings that adorned the furniture. Every table top was covered with at least one fancy working. Towels were trimmed in lace, as was every hand cloth, pillowcase and tablecloth. And every week this fascinating display changed!

In my Grandparents home my Grandmothers "private" area was in the basement right next to the cloths washer and across from a very large stove. While my grandmother sat waiting for the cloths to wash and the oven to bake, she would create her fancy workings. As a little girl I would sit on the floor at my Grandmothers feet and watch her knit or crochet. This is how I learned . . . . by watching. To this day I still knit backwards.

What fascinated me as a child remains a passion of mine today - some 40 years later. I naturally gravitate towards century old patterns and have a fondness for Victorian and Celtic designs. I draw a great deal of my inspiration from nature, which is probably why I'm so hooked on Irish Crochet. I also recently I began creating some of my own designs and will some day put them to patterns. I work with a variety of fibers in creating my work such as cotton, bamboo, wool & linen - and lots of color!

In this blog I'll talk about things like fiber, crochet tips and techniques, and share my knowledge in the crafts history. Resources are immense with the internet, but I'll list my favorites here too.

My greatest passion is crochet, but I do still knit from time to time.

You can browse through an array of my creations at:

Artistic Needlework: www.etsy.com/shop/ArtisticNeedlework

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Artistic-Needlework/101214780007413

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/ArtisticNeedleW/

Venetian Doily Crochet

https://www.etsy.com/listing/165482831/venetian-doilycenterpiecedecor?ref=shop_home_active_13
Venetian Doily By Artistic NeedleWork
 This doily is made of #30 linen thread.

Venetian crochet was created as an alternative to Venetian needle lace from Italy in 17th & 18th century. Although it began as an imitation of Venetian Lace, eventually it became an art form in itself, and in many ways just as beautiful, but far more durable and adaptable. Venetian designs are complex and intricate making them ideal for trimming wedding and christening gowns. Venetian designs most always contain arches or scallops with alternating solid rows rather than open meshes.




Venetian Doily Crochet
This design (Doily No. 574b) is from Corticelli Lessons in Crochet, Book No. 7by The Corticelli Silk Mills.  It is out of print but the link to the pattern can be found on Ravelry




Go here to see more doilies: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ArtisticNeedleWork?section_id=10714259&ref=shopsection_leftnav_3

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