Waste not!! - 'Handemadeness is an antidepressant'

I love yarn. Texture, weight (or lack of it as I love fine yarns more than chunky), colour and all it's wonderful variety. I've got a confession though. I've never really been attracted to the possibilities of undoing long-lost garments. Well-worn and well-loved jumpers and sweaters just get more well-worn until they're a rather threadbare wisp of a garment. There are alternatives and I stumbled on them thanks to a new friend on Twitter (I know, it's got it's critics but there are little gems there), Joyce Crochets, and she passes on some great little crochet links and I've followed many a tip-off from her tweets.This week's trail was to the methods of undoing woollen fabric and I never realised what an art there was to it. There are two really informative resources from two favourites of chaincreative, crafty stylish and craftzine. Different seams pose different problems and then there's prepping involved before you can wind up and get working. It's all worth it in the name of wasting not a precious resource and that's a big deal right now. While you're feeling virtuous hanging your freshly laundered yarn on the line (hmm) just think what a saving you've made. Enough to maybe treat yourself with some gorgeous little gem from Loop!
Once you've finished all the processes to turn that sad sack to crochet gold then you need some inspiration and I followed some more trails to a recycling diva called Cecile whose philosophy is very much of the moment and is the quote in the title of this post. Calling her business Recycled by Hyena and quoting her from her Etsy profile, 'My work is infused with my ethic and each of my creations is the result of passion and dedication. My clothes are made from scratch but not from new materials. They are made with fabric from clothes I purchased in Goodwill stores and non-profit thrift stores.

I "believe" in the craft revolution and I think it is our future. The handmade and eco-friendly life is the only alternative to the consumerism destroying our planet and the living beings surrounding us.'I must say I love her designs and the twist she puts on them. Of course, the fact that they're made from the sad, lost and forgotten makes them even more precious. Above is an example of how she encorporates crochet into many of her designs called Empire and below is the patchwork of fine fabrics that she combines in her work which she calls Comie.

As a little postscript, I've been frantically preparing for makedomend's first outing to Stoke Newington's Tea Rooms for our granny squares workshop. I've been making up samples and patterns for the event and I'm very excited with Sarah London's Wooleater Blanket which is worked as a square and which uses as much scrips and scraps of yarn as you would wish to see the back of!!! It's not quite recycling but is certainly not waste!!!
Here's my humble offering of the pattern but I would suggest you go to Sarah's blog for the definitive example.

Designer interview - Knotsewcute Kim and Tara

I'm a big fan of many things. You know that!!! I'm a big fan of talent with crochet. Promoting it, using it to develop and inspire. Just being downright enterprising. That's alot to be fantastic with!!! The names behind Knotsewcute are pretty fantastic and they've been so kind as to give some of their time to a fantastic interview for chaincreative. They even let you have a piece of their cleverness through their PDF patterns available in their Etsy shop. I know you'll want to visit there when you've read their revealing interview. Enjoy!

Your names?

Crochet designers - Kim Miller and Tara Schreyer.

Where are you from?

The interior of beautiful British Columbia, Canada.

Describe your various creative skills

Kim: As a mom of 4 I am always looking for ways to cut corners without sacrificing quality and style. As such I have done a bit of everything from sewing to furniture refinishing, but my passion is crocheting and designing.

Tara: My grandmothers were very creative women and they would often share their newest interest with me, so I think I've tried my hand at almost every craft out there. I can't say that I've been great at all of them but it was fun creating just the same. I was completely obsessed with cross-stitch for quite some time, but soon realized that I could never complete all the patterns that I had accumulated. While I do bring it out from time to time, I have found that crocheting fits the best with my busy life as a mother of two little ones and satisfies my creative side.

I love the name. What's the story behind it?

When we researched names on the internet we were overwhelmed by the volume of Etsy shops. All of the nice whimsical names we thought up were already taken. In order to come up with something original we jokingly said that we will have to call our shop “NOT SO CUTE”. We changed up the spelling and it just seemed to stick.

When did you start to crochet and who taught you?

Kim: About 14 years ago, I was going through a divorce and I wanted something positive to focus on so I asked my aunt to teach me to crochet.

Tara: My grandmother taught me to crochet as a young girl. My very first completed project was a afghan that I did in grade school.

What was the inspiration behind developing your interest in crocheting?

Kim: I have always had a lot of creative energy, but it wasn't until I learned to crochet that I found my medium.

Tara: When I first saw felted items and learned that they were created by knitting or crocheting with wool, I was inspired and realized as I started creating that the possibilities were endless. Felting added a whole new dimension to an already favorite hobby. Crocheting with other materials also has me intrigued and I just might try my hand at it in the future.

What influences your style and our output, and what are your inspirations?

For both of us our family has been our biggest inspiration and support. We found that our kids are 100% honest about our creations : )

There's two of you! Do you divide the work or is it joint inspiration?

We both love having a partnership as it is someone to share the load with and bounce ideas off of, yet at the same time we are still able to express our own individuality. We both have different talents and experiences that we bring to the shop, and we've shared many good laughs over mistakes that are best left unsaid.

What are the most important aspects of your work?

To create practical designs that fit into our modern, busy lives. Also, by creating patterns, we are able to give people the opportunity to continually create for their loved ones without much expense.

Which project or piece of work are you most proud of?

Kim: For me it is always the ones that I struggled the most with. I've learned that mistakes are not disasters but rather they are opportunities for new ideas and growth. With that said, the projects that I'm most proud of are my Elegant Evening Shawl and the Simply Felted Ladies Slippers. With both of these patterns I went through a lot of trials before I came up with a fabric and design that captured my vision.

Tara: I've always been drawn to simple things. By that I mean, simple lines, color, and design. So I would have to say the Felted Baby Slip-ons are my favorite creation.
Describe your favourite working space.

The studio that we saw in Fiber Trends Magazine :) We can dream!

Thanks again, Bee, for this opportunity!

Your friends,Kim and Tara

Aren't they lovely!!! Now, go and find a friend and start designing!!!

While you're waiting

As a postscript to yesterday's post that I might be less evident in the next few days, why not trawl the chaincreative back catalogue? Although I might be in danger of blowing my own trumpet, there really is an awful lot of crochet material in the posts from last year and the year before. I must say I've accumulated many favourite posts and crochet material that I revisit from time to time for inspiration and information. Often I have the feeling that like a library, there are unvisited shelves that people may have forgotten about.

With this in mind, how about picking a post-from-the-past? May I recommend this one from the Voyages strand about Portugal with a great designer interview with Maria from Kjoo.

Treasures

Thank you to lovely Yael of Yoola jewellery on Etsy who included me in her Treasury. These lists of carefully chosen collections are very highly sought after by Etsyers and shoppers alike as they are wonderful showcases for the very talented people on Etsy. They can be collated by colour or theme and I love to browse the hundreds (yes, that is really true) of fabulous treasurys on offer. I've always lusted after curating my own but they are incredibly difficult to obtain and you have almost to sit up all day and all night to get one! So congratulations to Yael.

Posting at the moment is a bit of a luxury for me as I'm up to my ears (and everything else, it feels like) in preparing for my jewellery workshop in June. I know it sounds pathetic. It's still 5 weeks away, but the amount of preparation is quite alot. It's better to be away from the computer and go and sit with a crochet hook, beads and wire.

Sorry but I will be back later in the week.

Nice touches

It's happened again! I've been purchasing Japanese craft books again!! This time the offending book is a lovely felting book with lots of ideas for my felt workshops in the summer.

Etsy is wonderful for the number of businesses in Japan who supply books, fabric and notions that all have that wonderful delicacy that is so typical of many Japanese products. I find that the delivery is fantastic from Japan to the UK. That's a long way and anything I order seems to arrive super-quick.

This week, however, came with an extra, and really beautiful surprise! Everything I've received so far from different suppliers comes beautifully wrapped with lovely little thoughtful touches. A ribbon here, a special bag there but the book I ordered this week came with a very special present. My own orgami swan. Neatly tucked in a wee envelope with Miss Bee on the front. Fabulous. I was completely charmed. Could we start a trend? Surely it could certainly cheer the world up as much as it did me.

Here's a list of my favourite sellers on Etsy for Japanese products -

The orgami bird and felt book came from Rocobee

Pompadour's Craft Cafe

My Etsy Shop

CottonBlue

Matatabi

A Little Goodness

Saucy Louise

Now you can see why it's a bit of an obsession of mine. Have fun browsing!

Secret Spring

Happy Spring to all of us in the Northern Hemisphere. The light is brighter, the birds are singing and the flowers are blooming.

Here is a beautiful spray of cherry blossom from Suili. The secret is...they're crocheted!!!!!

Designer interview - Fringe

As promised in the preceding post, I am happy to introduce (but then, you might know her work already) to a very talented crochet designer whose work features extensively through the markets of the internet sphere. I know from my teaching and working experience that most crocheters love to create something wearable and Fringe is a perfect example of someone who also makes a business of her skill. I hope that hers and other designer interviews might give you the inspiration to start your own business.

The pictures I've chosen I think give a real flavour of her work on Etsy.
Your name
Fringe (aka Dennice)
Where you’re from?
San Diego, California
Website
http://www.fringe.etsy.com/
Blog address
http://www.dennicemankarious.blogspot.com/
Now we have the preliminaries out the way can you describe your various creative skills!
I knit, crochet, embroider, sew, and design the items I make. I love doing all kinds of creative things, but for my business it’s the previous skills I mentioned.
When did you start to crochet and who taught you?
My babysitter taught me to crochet when I was the ripe old age of 4. Her name was Lucy and she was the sweetest, gentlest woman. I remember very clearly asking her to teach me.
The name of the business is interesting. What was the inspiration behind it?
A dear friend of mine came up with the name Fringe when she and I were brainstorming for a name for my business. She thought of it because so many of my pieces have fringe on them. (I hope the picture I've chosen gives a nice visual for your name choice!)
What influences your style and output? What are your inspirations?
My inspirations are music, nature; many, many things inspire me. Ideas come to me while I’m sleeping, or driving down the road, or cooking. I can be in the middle of a conversation with someone and an idea will hit me. I always carry a pad of paper and pencil with me. Classic movies are a big influence to me as well. What are the most important aspects of your work to you? The designs themselves are important. Also, the quality of each piece. I spend a great deal of time and effort with each piece. I take pride in my work. For me, it’s very important to that I love my designs. I have a passion for them.
Which project or piece of work are you most proud of?
That is really hard for me to answer. I’m proud of all my pieces. I don’t mean that in a bragging sort of way. I mean I love all of them. They are all a piece of me. It’s been an honor for me to have one of my items chosen to represent Etsy on the Martha Stewart Show. Also, I was given the grand opportunity to be featured in Knitscene Magazine’s Fall ’08 issue. Wow!!!!
When are you most happy when you’re working?
I’m most happy during the design process and then when that design comes to fruition. There is such a sense of accomplishment. I guess I love the entire process! I’m always so thrilled too when a client writes to me to say how much she or he loves their Fringe original. It’s what makes my work so rewarding.I’d like to say thank you for your interest in my work. It’s an honor to be featured on your blog. I hope everyone who reads this will be inspired to create with their own original style.
Thank you so much, Dennice, I'm sure it will spark alot of interest in business-minded and just plan envious crocheters alike!!!
Bee

Designer interview - Cheri Sanders (mother) and Tracey Galloway (daughter) from Cosy up

Yes, I know I said that I would post this interview yesterday but suddenly there were orders to get out and I wanted to finish everything in the Bee@Home inbox. This got me to thinking and it leads neatly into our Designer Interview. Working from home is a wonderful way to earn a little money but, more importantly, fulfill a skill and dream you may have. It's made even better if you can share some of that with another member of the family and our interviewees today, Tracey and Cheri of cosyup, are perfect examples of that family spirit of co-operation and mutual respect. Tracey shows how wonderful it is to learn a skill from her talented mom and I'm sure alot of us have mothers to thank for their crochet abilities. I think the Camille Capelet at the top of the post is beautiful.

Describe your various creative skills.

Tracey: My mother and I have always been creative in one way or another. Our home growing up was filled with mom’s lovely creations, from handmade tables and stools, to dolls and doilies. She was always making something to make our house a cosy home. In addition to crochet, I enjoy painting and scrapbooking and taking photographs of my adorable baby nephew.

When did you start to crochet and who taught you?

Cheri: For me it would be when we lived in El Paso and I was pregnant with Danielle and had no car in the beginning to get around. I couldn't cook because I was always sick so decided to teach myself macramé, knitting and crochet. I kept it up when we moved to Georgia and was making mostly doilies for the house and doll clothes for Barbie and Cabbage Patch dolls.

Darby Cowl

Tracey: Most of the items in our shop are made by my mom, but shortly after we started selling her creations on Etsy I asked her to show me how to crochet. Since then I’ve been addicted and have added a few pieces here and there to the shop. It is such a wonderful (and therapeutic) hobby that has been a special craft my mom and I can share.

The name of the business is interesting. What was the inspiration behind it?Tracey: I was trying to help my mom start up her business on Etsy, I knew if she could get her work seen by more than just friends and family that the public would love her work as much as we did. I was brainstorming for some name ideas and had been reading an article about ways to cosy up your home, and the idea of “cosy up” just stuck with me. It seemed like the perfect way to describe mom’s scarves, handmade goodies to cosy up your closet!

Carly Mini-scarf and flower

What influences your style and output? What are your inspirations?

Tracey: I think the biggest inspiration for our shop is the yarn itself, we both could spend all the money we make on all of the different and beautiful yarns out there! The gorgeous colors and textures just beg to be made into something lovely.

What are the most important aspects of your work to you?

Cheri: I guess that would be the end result. I'm always amazed at the beauty of each piece and that I was able to accomplish that.

Darlene Capelet

Which project or piece of work are you most proud of?

Cheri: I think each new piece is always my favorite and I can't wait to begin the next one.

When are you most happy when you’re working?

Tracey: I think I can speak for us both in saying that we are happiest right in the middle of a project, sitting quietly and feeling the softness of the yarn between our fingers, knowing we are creating something comfy and cosy that will hopefully find a perfect home with someone special. xo,

Tracey and Cheri

Vintage performance

Apologies if this reads a little like an advert but I wanted to let anyone interested know that I've started filling my wee shop, Bee@Home, on Etsy with PDF patterns of my own crochet designs and selections of my extensive vintage pattern collections. So if any of you are interested in creating something typical of the 1940's or 50's then there's a pattern for you!!! This number will increase throughout this and the following weeks so keep checking. The majority of the commercial patterns are from the States as they were pretty 'out there' on knitwear design in those decades. As I said on Monday, the challenge of these patterns is in the extensive use of stitches that are now rarely used so it's our duty to keep these things alive.

Please take off your shoes

I was horrified this week when I realised how many unfinished projects I've got on the back burner. I'm starting to work my way through them but then I find some gorgeous pattern or yarn and then I run off in the wrong direction again!!!

This kind of disorganisation means I've got so much yarn and I've even got it colour-sorted in an effort to kick start some action. This got me thinking how I could use it all up and still love what I've made. I've also got alot of short measures of fabric and then I really had a light-bulb moment. Rugs!!!
This got me exploring the virtual stratosphere and I found the familiar and the inspiring.

Let's start with inspiration and Paola Lenti in collaboration with Patricia Urquiola and Eliana Gerotto as collaborators she uses crochet as a design inspiration for a number of beautiful rugs. As described on bonluxat 'Crochet, produced with a wool rope, becomes a refined rug for indoor environments. Flowers and leaves are hand crocheted, assembled and sewn by hand to a support net.' and further on architonic, 'Crochet is a precious hand crocheted floral rug for indoor and outdoor. The flowers and leaves that form the rug are hand crocheted and then sewn by hand to a synthetic net backing which allows them to hold their shape and position on the floor. Crochet is produced with a wool braid for indoor use and with a Rope braid for the outdoors. Rope is a Paola Lenti’s signature material, conceived and developed to offer high performances in outdoor environments, in terms of endurance and resistance to atmospheric agents.'

I find these designs really exciting and imaginative. Their origins are very much in the craft area and this got me thinking about the homespun rather than manufactured. There's lots of inspiration to draw from and the free pattern from Blue Sky Alpacas still holds the strong simple colour palette of the designers.
To get a more log cabin feel then you can't go wrong with a bit of a tear-up and make a rag rug. There's alot of info out there and I knew that craftystylish would come to the rescue with a tutorial and I also found a really helpful resource with Vintage Chica. So grab that gigantic hook and a pair of scissors!!

If you're looking for patterns, I can only recommend the Vogue on the Go series and Felted Crochet with this beautiful rug by Simona Merchant-Dest.

Finally the Circle Motif Rug from Crochet Me: Designs to Fuel the Crochet Revolution by Kim Werker from Interweave. I'll finish here but I think this subject is going to need some expansion so put your feet up and relax till I'm back!

New Year's plans

We're so excited at chaincreative with lots of new plans for the blog this year and the most exciting project at the moment is planning the Designer Interviews for the next few months. They're a positive flock of talented contenders lined-up for your delight and I know you'll not be surprised to learn that they're all just the nicest people. Let me give you just a sample of their kind and generous replies to my interview request.

'Oh yes we've seen you're blog, it's fantastic. We would love to answer some questions. Anything that helps spread the love of crochet.Cheers,Brigitte and Janine'

'What a lovely message you have sent me. I would be delighted to answer some questions for your wonderful blog. I'm honored that you asked. Dennice.'

'Thank you so much for your beautiful message. We are thrilled by your interview request. You have the most amazing crochet blog we have seen on the net. We can not thank you enough for this lovely opportunity. Asyegul'

To whet your appetite for this exciting event let me just let you into a sneak preview of the proposed list of crochet heroes with their beautiful creations that I've pictured (from the top of the post down)with their creations in brackets:

IrregularExpressions (fabulous Lavendula necklace)

Gitte (cute Boo pendant)

LeilaandBen (Earflap hat pattern)

Hedda Vatter (decorative felt stone necklace)

Fringe (Out-of-the-Past Capelet)

Cosy up (Camille Capelet)

Is that enough to get the creative juices flowing? I think it's going to be a very happy crochet new year!

Isn't Etsy great

I've been buying Christmas presents on Etsy - I think it's great if you can source really unique gifts and support designer-producers at the same time. There so much talent out there and Etsy is a wonderful home for many of them. I'd be dishonest if I didn't say that it's all wonderful, but at least there is the choice and a home for everything. I love browsing the 'Handpicked' range every day which is a personal choice of an Etsier and it certainly opens the treasure-chest!

As you can see, I've set up my own shop there, Bee@Home, and it's been a wonderfully simple process. So...if you are a designer and haven't taken a peek at the process of establishing yourself there, then hurry, hurry and get over there!!!

My fave raves at the moment are -

Little Black Rabbit (Vintage Tin Charm)

Oktak (mini-frame pouch)

Quixotic Cards (Winter Wonderland Reindeer)

Decorating the holidays

I must be feeling a bit Christmasy as today's post is all about decoration. The reason probably is that I'm busy sewing and knitting and crocheting orders and, as this doesn't allow so much time for the blog, I want to catch the mood while I can.

The posts are a short but sweet and this one is for all those who want to keep it 'real' and create their own decorations. I'm increasingly meeting people who are being really creative this Christmas and making many of their presents. I'm sure it's because of our new economic situation but I hope the feeling will last long after the bankers have left the building.
First off are the autumn leaves from Craftystylish which may have a November feel about them but with a little adaption could be made to suit Noel. I love Craftystylish for all it's ideas so pop over and see what creativity you could get up to.More in the spirit is fablehandmade and her bunting. Of course, Jenn is an old friend of chaincreative and she catches the vibe of folk Christmas' so nicely with this pattern.
Little creatures and figures are such a feature of many decorations and you only have to go to Etsy and tap in crochet christmas decoration patterns to find a wealth of them. Rudolphs, angels and Christmasy cartoon people. Anyhow, let's keep it simple with this little pattern from Owlishly which keeps it simple and not too sweet.

Truly feeling a bit of the tinsel tingle now so let's finish with a dusting of snow with these snowflake patterns from Australia, not a country I immediately associate with snow!! These are starched.

If you go to Flikr and go to starch crochet you'll find tons of examples of decorations that have been stiffened to attention!!

The picture at the top of the post is from my favourite blog, Fryd+design and the lovely Jeanette. The images are constantly inspiring.