Beginnings

The start of this new blog for me is coming directly out of my desire to fill a troublesome hole in my creative life. I have always been a person who values handcraft, needlework especially. My mother taught me to sew when I was young and after college I picked up crochet, then knitting. Now, well into my thirties, I dabble in a number of different textile arts and I get a great deal of satisfaction from making things by hand. But no matter what medium I choose, my conundrum is usually the same...

When I go on the hunt for a new knitting or sewing pattern I find very little that suits my taste; which tends toward the simple, minimal, and relatively modern. Most patterns I look at call for stitch patterns or color combinations that, while technically stunning and challenging to create, do little for my personal sense of aesthetics. But give me a cashmere/wool blend sweater in a plain moss stitch or an A-line shift dress made from fine black linen and I'm as happy as a clam!

I've trolled the internet, and paged through endless books looking for projects that I love and I usually end up having to change elements in a chosen pattern or create my own patterns from scratch. Sometimes this works out well, other times its a disaster, every time its a process. I am starting Lakeside Needleworks as a way of sharing my search for a modern, minimal take on Handmade; to share my inspirations, my challenges, my projects and my progress. Cheers!  -EBS