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/

Posted by Artistic NeedleWork

Cast Off The Cold


     Most yarnoholics are borderline hoarders, if ya know what I mean. We collect every variety, color, texture and weight of yarn, 'cause ya never know when you might need that perfect shade of blue wool! Our closets are filled with scans and balls - some new and some older than the hills! It is true, we who create with yarn never throw away a single strand. I personally save the cut loose ends for a fly fishing friend who uses the short ends to tie flies. Whatever floats your fly!

     Needless to say, my extensive yarn collection will only continue to grow.  So, to keep my inventory in check, (and to keep from being labeled a hoarder), a project of large proportion is necessary to consume some of my inventory. Each year my goal is to create and donate at least twenty scarves and gloves for a local organization called "Cast Off the Cold"'  Cast Off The Cold is a West Michigan community service initiative launched in June of 2007 by then fifteen year old Ashley Gremel. To date, Gremel and other like-minded supporters have donated more than 2000 hand-knit scarves, hats, and mittens to the homeless in West Michigan. 

What will you do with your yarn stash??  

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