Crochet Queen: Royal Ramblings

I will get right to the point: run , don’t walk to buy this book! If you want to understand the thoughts, emotions, and excitement that brought me to this unusual book review introduction, carry on! I could hardly wait to get started reading about the famous and incredibly capable female aviatrixes from whom Denise derived the inspiration for her new book, Leather, Lace, Grit & Grace ! As I began, my first instinct was to search among all the pilots' portraits for a photograph of Denise herself! She is, indeed, a very capable woman, standing tall among the women she has written about. Denise has set the bar very high for anyone who is contemplating a self-publishing journey for their crochet designs! Combining her artistic talent and extreme creativity, Denise has brought us seventeen delightful crochet and knit designs, as well as a good read about twelve women pilots who lived during the timeframes between 1831 through 1975. Some are well-known like Amelia Ear...

Monday, December 9, 2013 Paper Yarn by Uta Donath, Eva Hauch, Petra Hoffman, and Claudia Huboi In recent years it has become a common practice for crochet designers to “hook up” with a yarn company to design with their latest yarns. The designer’s expertise in addition to lots of swatching brings out the best in the yarn, provides upscale designs that crocheters hunger for and brings notice to the versatility of crochet. Recently, I unintentionally came upon an exciting book while passing by the “Hobbies” cart at my local library. Paper Yarn is a unique and exciting book which brings a wealth of knowledge about style and technique to the niche of using paper yarn. The five authors bring an impressive resume of experience in the fiber field to their presentation of this book: textile and fashion design, creative design at magazines and publishers to name a few! They have teamed up with Habu Textiles, BJ’s Craft Supplies and Papershed who provided the materials which a...

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...