This is a story of two sisters creating Double Crochets:
March 2010
"Our story starts way back. when one of us wanted to create a scarf for a boyfriend, and saw two old grannies as Super heroes! And the other was in love with arts and crafts, drawing at her little room in Porto.
long story....
After our different first encounters with the yarns,the hooks, the needles, -that was it- we fell in love with all of it..! Many years have passed, many project have been done. We both now share the love for handmade, unique and special things that each and everyone has the power to create. And daDA we are the "double crochets"!! We really want to "spread the thread" of crocheting, knitting and craftmaking but mostly we want to share the love of creating and appreciating things that are made with love..
that's who we are..
let's meet!
or....
let's knit and crochet!
Marietta+Panagiota"
Marietta+Panagiota"
Q&A
Can you give me your name, profession and which types of needle work you indulge in?
We are a team, we are called Double Crochets, and we are two sisters, Marietta Fameli is a photographer and Panagiota Fameli is a teacher. We mostly crochet but we equally love knitting and embroidery.
When did you first get interested in needle work (crochet, knitting etc)?
Marietta: Since very young, mostly because of the older women in the family. But later, around 2006 we started doing it more seriously.
Panagiota: The first time I got interested in needle working is blurry in my mind. It seems like forever I've been in love with needles and hooks, yarn etc In my family there's always been someone creating.
How did you learn?
Marietta:I remember myself being taught by my mom how to hold the crochet hook since i was a little girl and doing simple "paint by number" style embroidery during the summer vacations. Panagiota is mostly self-taught and the one that talked me into crocheting and taught me more stuff.
Panagiota: The first time I sat down and finally started learning how to knit was when I wanted to make a scarf for my boyfriend at the time. I asked my mother and grandmother, who both showed me how to start, the basics so to speak. The rest I found on the internet. There are too many sites and tutorial videos on how to knit. After learning how to knit, crochet was next! Internet was again my tutor. And crocheting hooked my heart!
When did you decide to start coming together as a group?
Marietta: I always considered Panagiota and myself a creative duo and literally a team since we were toddlers. Some time before 2008 I started reading lots of crafting and vintage related blogs! And the whole movement inspired me! I kept trying to talk my sister into creating a serious crochet group and have a more serious attitude to it. A year later I also persuaded two friends of ours to be in the crochet club and then it was reality! Panagiota was our leader and teacher, me, Eleni and Tonia were the students/members!
What benefits are there in working as a group?
Panagiota: Well when you are in a group like ours the benefits are more than one can imagine, the most important for me is that one inspires the other and together we are moving forward and stay motivated! more ideas are coming on the table and also we are having fun at the same time.
Do you feel comfortable to take your needle work out when with other friends or visiting someone?
Panagiota: We feel totally comfortable with that, but we don't like getting too antisocial, that means that when with friends that don't knit or crochet we prefer having fun with them!
What have people's reactions been like if you have taken your work out?
Marietta: There are really surprising reactions from people watching us crocheting! They ask us what is it that that we do, if they can buy something from us,even if we can teach them! Old ladies usually get too excited, they say that we are going to make super good brides and how lucky the men that will marry us will be... They also give us advice about what yarns to use, how to finish our project, then they ask our names and say goodbye! It's so cool! In the cafeterias, where we do our crochet club meetings, the waitresses will every time comment on our projects, and also happened sometimes that they ask us to teach them how to crochet in their lunch break! We also have taught two or three complete strangers how to crochet, we are still friends with some of them!
What are your thoughts of this seemingly new resurface of interest in needle work?
Marietta: I love anything handmade and i like how this new trend spreads, and that is also the goal of our team! I think the Internet has a lot to do with this and with the rise of interest.You can now simply upload your "artefacts", you can sell them much easier than before and talk about them with like-minded individuals from across the globe! There is also a more general interest for DIY, and i think the current economic crisis is partly responsible, as people don't have money to buy something they attempt and succeed in doing it themselves. However, i think it is mostly the fact that people are tired of being standardized and need to stand out, be unique and different and so they turn to handmade stuff, although handmade is not necessarily always cheaper. Another important reason why needle work has spread so much is because of its effect on people and their relaxation and psychology, there is a sense of accomplishment when you finally complete your project, even if it is a small one, and it's so strong that it puts needle work in the feelgood hobbies list! My aunt used to say that because of needlework she can avoid psychotherapy during the hard phases of her life!
if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask!!! we will try to answer ... :P
