Meet the designer & crocheter...

Bonjour! My name is Claudine and I am French, originally from South of France, from Sanary-sur-Mer a small town located in coastal Provence on the Mediterranean Sea. It is absolutely gorgeous. I came to the US in the 80's, studied, married, have 3 wonderful children, divorced, married again, this time to the perfect man for me and made my life here in Sunny Florida. I love gardening and tending to my hens, my cat & my dog. I am now retired as of May 2023!

Crocheting... it all began ... with my Grandma Gisèle (black & white photo), forever ago. She taught me my first chain stitch. I was only 8 years old! Quickly a passion was born! My very first crochet works were endless chain stitches turned into necklaces. Then there were scarves... vests... sweaters... and doilies!

So one day, in 2004, I received a special request from an eBay customer to crochet several name doilies for all her grandchildren. This is what started the idea for this website and turned my passion for the Art of Crochet into this small venture. I started this website in 2004. It has changed a lot over the years. If you want to travel back in time and see how it looked like, check it out on the Wayback Machine! I sell name doilies on my website, PDF patterns on Ravelry and on Gumroad. Some of my Freebies (free crochet patterns) are listed on Ravelry. I sell pretty flower doilies, mandala doilies & textured doilies and pre-owned Vera Bradley purses and other interesting finds on eBay, check these listings out! I also sell plants locally on Facebook Market (I have a registered backyard nursery in Florida). I do keep busy!

There is something magical about crocheting... your tools are just a spool of cotton thread, a little metal hook and your hands... yet you can create stunning pieces. It is fascinating!

My favorite crochet designers are:
Elizabeth Hiddleson (Dec. 24, 1901 - January 31, 2003). She was a creative and prolific crochet designer who published till she was in her 90's!
Patricia Kristoffersen is an amazing crocheter who demonstrates her ability to create textured, intricate and even spiral crochet doilies. I believe I own all of her doily books! She also sells patterns on Ravelry.
Zoya Matyushenko is my most favorite designer. She goes above and beyond in the domain of textured doilies. Her patterns are gorgeous and challenging. She sells patterns on Ravelry.

My goals are to keep up with my garden, my hens and crochet my heart away and embrace all the crafts I can do!