My little family moved from Texas to the City of Sheffield, England, in 1996, and back to Texas in 2003. This past May, we finally returned to Sheffield for a visit. It was a sweet homecoming. We walked and walked around the Sheffield neighborhoods and surrounding countryside, enjoying the cool days. I wondered why we ever left!
We visited friends, the old neighborhood, the Peak District, the seaside, and the charity shops. Ah the charity shops! I have missed them. They are thrift shops, with the proceeds going to certain causes. They are usually named after the whatever charity they support, like St. Luke’s Charity Shop, which benefits St. Luke’s Hospice. Our house in Sheffield was near the St. Luke’s Charity Shop on Abbeydale Road. We visited pretty often, back then. Once, I brought a good many mother-of-pearl buttons up to the register at St. Luke’s. The cashier told me they would be more expensive, because they were not just your run of the mill buttons. I braced myself. She quoted a price. I paid it gladly, because even at the mother-of-pearl price, the buttons were very affordable.
This year I found crocheted treasures at the Sheffield Cats Shelter Charity Shop. The first one had flower and leaf designs, associated in my mind with Irish Crochet. It was so unusual, I had to take it home. I’m calling it the Irish-ish Table Mat.
Further down in the stack of handmade items, was a rare crochet piece. The pattern was geometric, crocheted in long rows, some of which had short fringe on the ends.
It was rare, because it had a maker’s label on it. Even more interesting, the initials “E. F.” are both my daughters’ initials! Yes, that one came home with me, too.
Later that day we drove to the town of Tideswell in the Peak District to visit Peak District Yarns, for a little shopping. Browsing through their hand-dyed yarns was a pleasure.
It was a short walk from the yarn store to Peak Volumes, a used book store in an old bank building with a pleasing mosaic floor in the entryway. I headed for the craft section. There was a book about 9 inches tall with a raggedy spine. It looked promising. I pulled it off the shelf for a look. My heart filled with joy when I saw that it was an original copy of Artistic Crochet, edited by Flora Klickmann. She was a prolific writer and editor of books about home arts and more. It came back with me to Texas in my carry-on bag.
Luckily, we can view, download, or print the complete Artistic Crochet, edited by Flora Klickmann, starting with the overview page at Antique Pattern Library: Artistic Crochet. To download or print, click the PDF option in the title box near the top of the page.
Highlights from our trip are posted on Instagram, @suzannthompson, May 16 – July 5, 2026.
