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The answer is a resounding yes!
Cross Stitch or Punto Croce or Punto in Croce as it's known in Italy is alive and well. There are many Cross Stitch designers that perhaps you already have seen their work and not realized that they were Italian.
Giulia Manfredini of Giulia Punti Antichi is the first name that comes to mind. Giulia is a wonderfully talented lady who designs the most delicious Cross Stitch patterns!
Giulia's friend Simona Bussiglieri of Mani di Donna designs Cross Stitch patterns with a decidedly antique flavour.
Simona often collaborates with Maria Teresa Vitali of MTV Designs.
Then there is Niky's Creations and the Cross Stitch designs by Nicoletta Farrauto.
Alessandra Adélaïde's designs are by now well-known in North America, as are those of Renato Parolin (link for Renato Parolin is to a fan-site of his finished designs).
Mariateresa Capo Berti has single designs or even two book collections of Cross Stitch designs. I have her book Tante Idee in un po' di Filo which has lots of lovely monochrome antique-french-style designs.
Laura Gabutti Lattuada of Passione Ricamo makes elegant Cross Stitch designs.
There are many, many others. Follow the "links" sections on any and all of the above mentioned sites for others that I have not mentioned!
There are two associations that I know of:
The Associazione Italiana del Punto Croce
Il Club del Punto in Croce
... and this Italian NING group, AmoRicamo which covers all kinds of embroidery including Cross Stitch.
If you're looking for some old Italian Cross Stitch Patterns, on used book websites, you can sometimes find a copy of Old Italian Patterns for Linen Embroidery by Frieda Lipperheide reprinted, translated and edited by Kathleen Epstein:
It is a lovely collection of folios tied up in a folder and secured with a black ribbon. There is much more than Cross Stitch patterns inside, but the Cross Stitch patterns that are there are decidedly Italian.
Molto interessante, il punto a croce un tempo (ai miei tempi!) si insegnava alle bambine a scuola e per certe donne era l'unico lavoro di cucito che sapevano fare.
ReplyDeleteThey surely do cross-stitch. It's much harder to find them working at needlepoint, and when they do it's with the 12- or 10-point canvas and DMC yarns...so big that it's hard to get detail. I have to stock up on 18-point and Paternayan yarn when I can because it's not available over here. Just one of those "little" things that I took for granted, which aren't little anymore now that I don't have easy access.
ReplyDeleteMolte ricamatrici professioniste snobbano fortemente il punto croce, alcune ne parlano con disprezzo, a mio giudizio è un errore perchè non va assolutamente considerato come qualcosa di banale, in primo luogo permette a molte persone di avvicinarsi al ricamo e inoltre esistono dei lavori stupendi che nulla hanno da invidiare al ricamo classico. Va semplicemente considerato come una delle tante forme di ricamo
ReplyDeleteEmi