Crochet Queen: Royal Ramblings

Linda Lehman hails from Silver Spring, Maryland and retired from a career in finance many years ago. Since that time, she has focused on her love of crafts. She has had a successful shop on Etsy  for 4 years where she sells not only the finished bracelets and necklaces but also patterns for crocheters to make their own jewelry. She is also the author of Bead Crochet Jewelry (Schiffer Publishing). Linda Lehaman, author of Bead Crochet I am a member of her Ravelry group  and was the lucky recipient of her annual drawing where I have won challenging patterns as well as jewelry and beads from her co-moderator, KnotChaCha . Linda also has a store on Ravelry. I am so inspired by her skills when it comes to designing that I wanted to get to know her better. "Dots & Spirals": I won this pattern and it is a delight to wear! Crochetkween: What got you interested in crochet? Did you learn crochet or bead-crochet first? Do you do other beading techniques? Linda:...

Monday, September 23, 2013 Have you ever crocheted with cabochons? Do you know what a cabochon is? Well, it's a french word meaning,  a gem or bead cut in convex form and highly polished but not faceted. Because I am on a mission to "cover my world in crochet," I've been intrigued by cabochons for quite a while.  Today my favorite cabochons come from Tanya McGuire Lampwork & Jewelry. We met a few years ago at a fiber show and Tanya is a gem of a person who creates fabulous "gems" with her lampwork. I fell in love with her pieces and this past summer I bought my first cabochon from her. Here's what I created... Tanya McGuire Lampwork-cabochon bead-crochet brooch Tanya gave me a shout-out this week on her blog Following is a little history of how I got started making brooches from cabochons. I love the colors, designs and the possibilities. Some of the first cabochon brooches I made were done with cabochons I made myself from postcard...

I was awakening to the world of crochet in 1972,a time of immense artistic expression through fiber arts; and crochet was not the “ugly stepchild” at the time. In fact, Ferne Cone Gellar who I admire as a successful fiber artist said in “Knitting: The Stepchild of the Fiber Arts?” ( Fibercraft Newsletter 1978), “Has knitting been slighted among the areas of the fiber arts? The very word ‘knitting’ evokes images of the little old lady in tennis shoes. Over the years, I’ve learned to ignore all those jokes.” Cone Gellar went on to publish Crazy Crocheting in 1981 and encouraged her readers to create more than bedspreads, providing ideas such as “things to play with or to display on a shelf or hang on a wall.” A photo of single crochet from bread wrappers served as inspiration.  In 1972 in her book, Creating Art from Fibers & Fabrics , Dona Meilach wrote: “Why are fibers and fabrics becoming increasingly appealing to artists? Most artists ag...

Monday, November 19, 2012 I had so much to say last week that I left out the part about our visit to the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Unitarian Meeting House in Madison, WI . I love Frank Lloyd Wright: his architecture, Prairie-style decor, his designs, his story. Living in Chicago, I have a sort of nostalgia about him and have designed some FLW-inspired jewelry pieces. Brooch and Earring Set Brooch with Vintage Bar Inspired Brooch 2 Last week while in Madison,I thoroughly enjoyed walking through this design of his and have some interesting photos to share. Back Side of Unitarian Meeting House This is how the first picture looks on the inside. A bell designed by FLW for the meeting house but taken down because it swung so wildly it almost caused structural damage! An interesting wooden cabinet; origin unknown.