Tracey Lord has been knitting and crocheting since she was a small child. Her grandparents were Lancashire cotton weavers and her mother an art teacher, so her career took a direction that combined all her roots. After graduating in constructed textiles, Tracey began her first business designing and retailing knitted accessories in London’s trendy Camden, then went on to create a range of children’s knitwear that she sold in her own boutique. Since then, she has gained a post-graduate teaching qualification and has taught knitting, crochet, textiles and art and design at a variety of levels, from beginner to undergraduate. She remains addicted to crochet and knitting and now divides her time between teaching, writing books and creating bespoke pieces under her own label. Tracey describes herself as a ‘born fiddler’, who always has to be making something. She lives in London with her patient partner and a somewhat surly tortoise in a colourful nest of yarn.
Lucy Adam joined the world of crocheting a few years ago and was immediately hooked. She honed her skills between raising two young children and her skill quickly became apparent. Lucy discovered that she particularly loves working in the linear technique and applying this to granny squares gave a unique flavour to her repertoire. Her contribution to this book is testament to her skill and dexterity. Lucy would like to thank her patient and tolerant family.
Katie Clammer first encountered crochet as a child, when her mother made granny squares for her doll’s house. Since her BA(Hons) degree in pottery and ceramic sculpture, she has acquired further qualifications in dressmaking and pattern cutting. More recently, she has begun to use her creativity to explore the potential of ‘sculpting’ with yarn. Katie’s customized commissioned work and unique children’s garments gave her the inspiration to create many of the original patterns that she has contributed to this book.
Lindsay Obermeyer has been sharing her passion for the textile arts since 1988. Her writing has appeared in Reinventing Textiles, Fiberarts, Knit.1 and Craft ‘n Things. She holds a post-graduate degree in textiles. Her patterns are featured in seven books and she is a regular crochet contributor to eHow.com. She owned a yarn shop and through it taught several thousand adults and children how to knit and crochet. She is currently an arts instructor at Chicago State University.
Pauline Richards graduated in woven and knitted textiles from Manchester Polytechnic in 1988. She lives in Manchester with her husband, two children and her cat, and has been knitting and crocheting for as long as she can remember. Pauline would like to thank her mother, Kathleen, for patiently passing on her creative skills and knowledge and teaching her to knit and crochet when she was young.
Deborah Smethurst has loved crocheting since 1998, having been an avid knitter since the age of six. She taught herself to crochet from a small children’s book at the local library. Deborah’s love for crochet was ignited by the fact that any project undertaken grew quickly, and mistakes were simple to rectify. Deborah maintains that the easiest way to learn to crochet is through learning motifs (in the round) … the same way that granny squares are constructed.
Lindey Tydeman is a knitted textile designer/maker for fashion and interiors, based in North London. After studying an interior design course, she completed a BA(Hons) in textile and surface design, specializing in knitted textiles. Lindey enjoys using colour and texture within her work and mixing different weights and techniques to create her pieces. Specializing in hand and machine knitting, crochet, macramé and Tenerife lace, she is constantly amazed at how such simple resources can create truly beautiful things.
acknowledgements
We would like to thank Cascade Yarns (www.cascadeyarns.com) and Colinette Yarns (www.colinette.com) for their generous help with resources for this book, and The-Stitchery (www.the-stitchery.co.uk) for their assistance with the photoshoot.
Tracey would like to thank Sophie, Tom and James at Ivy Press for guiding a newbie so kindly through this epic production, Marie Clayton for her patient and meticulous copy-editing and all our contributors for their outstanding hard work and imaginative designs and for being such all-round good eggs. She would also like to thank Catherine Hirst for her encouragement and support, Monica Stanshall for kindly lending some of her inspiring archive, and her family for starting her off on her lifelong love of art, design and textiles. Finally, and most of all she would like to thank her extraordinarily patient, supportive and lovely partner Brendan for his endless supply of tasty dinners, reassurances and hugs in times of need, and for never complaining about living in a nest of yarn: he’s a very good man indeed.