Sunday, September 30, 2007

Found Treasure

I was doing an online search and stumbled across a treasure on Project Gutenberg. (caves and caves of treasure there!)
I now have a free downloaded ebook of The Encyclopedia of Needlework by Thérèse De Dillmont, published in the latter half of the 1800s'

Three more books you may find of interest:
Spool Knitting by Mary A McCormack

Exercises in Knitting by Cornelia Mee

and The Ladies' Work-Book
Containing Instructions In Knitting, Crochet, Point-Lace, etc., author unknown


I find I have a warm affection for older needlework books. There are exciting things happening now, but I am amazed how often I find a 'new' technique or pattern hidden in books of the past.
I also find myself incredibly inspired by the old books' content. An old technique or pattern sometimes seems tailor-made for a contemporary design.

Anyway, if you go visit the Gutenberg site, happy browsing!

Here are some samples of the hundreds of illustrations from the Encyclopedia of Needlework:

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Wow, I was a volunteer editor in that program, but I didn't even think to check for knitting or crafting publications.