About Lilac & Lace

Hello, I'm Lilia

I design filet crochet shawls full of beetles, bats, dragons and other creatures most people never look at twice.

I learned to crochet from my grandmother, when I lived with her in the countryside. She always had a piece of work in her hands, and I picked up the habit, along with the calm that comes with it.

I love old patterns, the Middle Ages and the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Sometimes I miss them as if I had lived there once. Filet crochet feels close to those times: it is quiet and repetitive, it rests my mind, and a beautiful motif slowly appears as the reward for all the work.

I'm a daydreamer who loves fantasy and folklore. I try to notice the animals nobody sees, and to find beauty where others see only ugliness and darkness. That's where the creatures in my shawls come from.

I design with a cup of tea, on our catio overgrown with ivy and grapevine, or in the forest whenever I can. At home we have five cats and a dog, all rescued; we like to say we run a little sanctuary. I often feel closer to animals than to people.

Thank you for being here,Lilia