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| Cover: Art Blankets Inspired by the Weaving of Maryanne Moodie |
No matter whether you have an opinion about crocheted blankets (afghans) or not, Rachele's book published in 2018 by Interweave will certainly give you a new approach to tradition.
Her subtitle tells the story: her 18 projects are "inspired by modern makers."
I have often said, "There is nothing new under the sun;;" and Rachele says she was beginning to think that herself. Beginning to crave inspiration from outside the crochet community, her artistic journey began and resulted in this book. I found her explanation of "any artists journey" to be eye-opening: "Phase 1: Imitation; Phase 2: Ambition; Phase 3: Ascension."
Now focused on the idea of Ascension, Rachele's blankets receive much acclaim from artists outside the crochet community who have inspired her. Each chapter explores inspiration from artists who are influential in their various fields: weaving, digital art, fabric design, paper cutting, cement tile, and quilting.
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| Cozy Corner: Inspired by the Digital Art of Francisco Valle |
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| Wanderlust: Inspired by the Fabric Design of April Rhodes |
Rachel does a fabulous job of leading her readers to "find new ways to spot shapes, textures and colors in other beautiful art forms while transforming them into crochet" through the 3 unique designs in each chapter. She familiarizes us with the featured artist in each chapter with photos and text; and I felt like I knew them better. I am most impressed with the great detail given by the author as she expresses how she was inspired by the "outside" artists' techniques. She goes on to explain her thought process while fusing each design with the artist's technique in mind.
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| Layered Waves: Inspired by the Paper Cutting Art of Maud Vantours |
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| Stone Path: Inspired by the Cement Tile Work of Caitlin Dowe-Sandes |
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| Sweet Spring: Inspired by the Quilting of Tula Pink |
I heartily recommend
The Art of Crochet Blankets; and
it is available from
Interweave and retails for $24.99.
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