Crochet a dress - creative stamina required!

When Claire and I finish a beginners' or intermediate crochet class for makedomend I often wonder what our happy, smiley crocheters are going to make when they get home with their new-found skill! When we ask people why they are particularly interested in learning how to crochet they might say that they want to be able crochet flowers or motifs (granny squares, of course!) or they would love to make trims for well-loved garments that need an update.
I always hope that there will be some maverick who will pipe up that they want to make clothes. It sounds ambitious, I know, but it's not outside the realms of possibility. Problems arise when you realise how few really good commercial patterns there are. In desperation you can resort to the world of vintage. Crochet pattern central is a good place to start if that's your chosen route.I'm quite excited at the moment as I've been asked to design an evening top for an online pattern company (I'll keep you posted when the deal's sealed!!) but on the whole there is a very large and gaping hole.
Inspiration is all over the catwalks and has been for some time. I'm happy to draw your attention to all the wonderful crochet from Chanel, Dolce and Gabbana and Yamamoto. I love fashion and I want to encourage all crochet-addicts to get stuck in and design their own clothes.
Here's some more inspiration from a new kid on the fash block. Mark Fast, a Canadian based in London, has caused quite a stir by using what I would call normal looking models. Women of shape!! Why I appreciate him for in particular is his use of crochet styling in his very fitted garments. It might not be very 'high street' but it certainly is inspiring. Talking of high street, his collection for Top Shop goes on stream in June and there's a wonderful crochet skirt that will have you puzzling how it's made and feeling rather pleased with yourself when you know! The examples I've shown are all from his spring/summer 2010 collection.

Jo Hamilton - artist and crocheter

Well, I must have been dozing on duty because I missed this Portland, Oregon-based artist. Although trained in Fine Art at Glasgow School of Art, Jo Hamilton has branched out into using crochet as a medium of expression. I'm going to link you to some of the bloggers who have already featured her as her work has been noticed by more observant people than me!!!I'm going to just say that her cityscapes are what attracted me and I'm going to use this introduction to Jo Hamilton's work as a springboard for featuring some other 'landscape' crochet in the future. So - watch this space...crocheted of course.

The BibliophileWeblog

Dangerous Minds

Emma Lamb

If you go down to the woods - Amelia's Magazine

Some love it, some hate it. Twitter. Been in the news a bit this week, what with the spat over Stephen Fry and so on. Aside from that, I like it for the occasional little pearl for chaincreative.
Today's little gem is courtesy of lovely Claire at Monty (you need to go there to see her new A/W designs anyway) and her tweet about Amelia's Magazine. As an online resource it's wonderful for paths less visited. As their editor says, ' Amelia’s Magazine online is now the place to come for exclusive articles on the best underground creative projects in the worlds of art, fashion, music, illustration, photography, craft and design.' The issue I was particularly struck by was the fashion designs of knitwear designer, Marie-Louise Vogt. I cannot perfect further on the article at Amelia's so a visit there is essential. Suffice to say, I'll give you some picture tasters to set you on your way. As you probably know by now, here at chaincreative we love crochet and fashion and to see Marie-Louise use it so effectively gives us a reason to smile. Next time you hear someone say they don't know where to go next with their crochet, tell them to visit Amelia's and Marie-Louise Vogt.

Wonders never cease

Whilst on my wonderful trip to California we visited the fabulous Joshua Tree National Park. I really didn't know what to expect but what we found was beyond marvellous. I'm a bit of a fan as far as 'high' deserts go - I love the nature! Joshua Tree did not disappoint and we stayed in the most delicious guest house, The Desert Lily, owned and run by Carrie and her husband.

Surrounded by mountains and, of course, joshua trees and watched over by red tail hawk, coyotes and mountain lion, this is the place to be to get away from it all.
Over a bottle of wine on our arrival, Carrie asked what I get up to and I had to confess to the crochet. Well, you've got to go to the World Famous Crochet Museum, she said. That stopped me in my tracks. But not for long.
Next day, it was down to Joshua Tree town and the extraordinary creation of Shari Elf. Despite being closed I was able to snoop about and take some pictures but couldn't delve into it's dusty depths!



I'll have to tip a nod of thanks to Cathy of California (another adorable blog) for the interior shot with poodles. The 'building' itself is a former photomat booth neatly recycled into this petite homage to all things crochet.


Shari Elf (above with her museum) is interesting in her own right and her website, Good and Sturdy Art reveals a creator of art through found things, a singer and traveller. Take time to listen to her songs which some how sum up my time in that wonderful and surprising part of the world.

Not a granny

There's been some tedious words written about Cate Blanchett's red carpet moment this week. I can't be bothered to repeat where such nonsense has been published or said. Suffice to say, anything the gal wore would look fabulous and this is such an interesting choice. It certainly puts crochet at centre stage and brought it out from under the blanket. For too long it's languished as the choice for people using up scraps and dismissed as knitting's sad sister.
Now it's got a pair of killer heels and an attitude. Hurrah.
The designers, Romance Was Born, are an Australian duo and they're wonderfully boosted by the criticism of the dress being too reminiscent of something made by a senior, "That's exactly what it is," said Luke Sales, one half of Sydney design duo, Romance Was Born.
"We cut it up and it was hand-crocheted by my mother, so how could we be offended?" he laughed.'
'Sales said Blanchett specifically requested the dress herself and took the star's new moniker, "Cate Blanket", as a compliment. "There is no one else I would rather see wear it than Cate, I just knew it would be amazing on her," he said.

"There's a sense of humour to everything we do, so no one can really offend us.

"At the end of the day Cate Blanchett is wearing our dress and she is who she is."

Ha!

Shauna Richardson - the exhibition

I overheard last week on the radio a feature about art and the Olympics. There was a mention of a series of installations planned in the East Midlands and among them was to be three crochet lions. That stopped me in my tracks and I vowed that once the dust of last week had settled I would investigate.

The artist involved is Shauna Richardson and she has very kindly agreed to submit herself to a chaincreative interview in the near future. However, before that I'll give you a little sneak preview of her work and an open invitation to her latest exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London. "Taking inspiration from Victorian taxidermy and travelling menageries in order to create life-size animal sculptures - crochet pieces using directional stitches to highlight anatomical features." Brown Bear is a powerful presence (at nearly 2 metres high, that's powerful) and still manages to retain the almost animal quality of his pelt and at the same time representing the movement of muscle and bone.

The exhibition is from the 2-19 September 2009 and is part of the Threadneedle Prize for painting and sculpture, so best wishes and good luck go to Shauna.

For the competition for 2012 run by the Arts Council, Shauna has designed three 30 ft tall lions. 'If successful her work would be visible for miles around from its as-yet unspecified East Midlands location with the three lions, reminiscent of Richard the Lionheart's heraldic crest, housed inside a purpose built glass structure.

Shauna, 41, who first learned to crochet at school before going on to study fine art at De Montfort University, said the inspiration for her enormous artwork came after months of research.
She said: "I was researching symbolism that would represent the area, the nation and the Olympics.
"The medium itself will reflect the textile industry of Leicestershire.
"This is a unique opportunity to create something extraordinary here in the East Midlands and if selected, I aim to leave a lasting legacy."' (Leicester Mercury)

Chaincreative is very honoured to be featuring a UK artist of such quality taking a domestic skill and using it in such a public forum.

A lot has happened

Last week was so buzzy with creative stuff that I'm not quite prepared to not go steaming off with a bag packed full of patterns and crochet hooks instead of boring old shopping!
It all kicked off by Tower Bridge on Sunday with Claire Montgomerie at Kioskiosk. It wasn't the best weather that Doctor London could have ordered but we tied down the table and stopped a few crochet hooks from blowing away on the breeze!! It began to warm up pretty soon with some lovely familiar faces from our classes who started to crochet up a storm that quickly brought out the sunshine.
This began to tempt a few of the curious to try their turn with hook and yarn and by early afternoon we'd managed to inspire quite a number novices and others who had fun showing us how to knit Romania style.

This guy was certainly loving the attention his skill with the needles created! Hmmm.Next step was over to west London for a lovely day of sewing (I'll have some pics soon to post on Sewing Bee). I'm absolutely loving these workshops and really look forward to developing them

through Make & Bake. I'll be featuring contact pages for all the different workshops on offer and would love to see any of you there!!

The week finished with the Felt Workshop held here in Kent.

I tried to bring in some crochet by using the ever reliable felting yarn of Cascade 220. There are so many fab shades but we were going to use a neat little pattern from knotsewcute for a pear doorstop. After that, things got a bit messy in a fun kind of way. Out came the yarn rovings and a bottle of warm water and dish wash liquid! Wet felting is such a magical thing. One minute you have some very sheepy looking wool and then next minute it's fabric!

We certainly had a very amusing time with it, despite some slight mishaps as you can see above, and everyone was able to tuck some nicely felted fabric away to take home.

The big success of the day was the needle-felting as we were able to satisfy our inner child by making some cute little critters.

I'd supplied some lovely goodie bags of needles and holders from Blooming Felt and foam pads so the team was able to create to their heart's content.

Workshops are continuing with a beaded crochet course in London and more sewing tuition. It's such a pleasure to settle into a day of really productive teaching and helping people get to grips with their creativity. If you're keen to brush up your skills then do contact me through the blog.

Designer interview - Sarah London

I think it's time for another visit with a crochet icon. I know from my travels over the networld that Sarah London really does generate alot of respect and interest from crocheters for the shots of colour she injects into her work. On another level she also turns the 'granny' into something joyous and bold. For all you square dancers here's the interview. I have to thank Sarah who is very busy person and kindly answered the questions amidst much other work.

Chain Creative Interview
Questions of creativity and inspiration Your name
Sarah London

Where you’re from
I live in the country with my husband and three children in Australia.

Blog address (if you have one)
http://www.sarahlondon.wordpress.com/ Describe your various creative skills.
I love working with colour in various applications, whether it be crochet, knitting or patchwork.

When did you start to crochet and who taught you?
My grandmother taught me to crochet at an early age, and I immediately became hooked, drawn to the colourful wool and I was amazed that a ball of wool could be transformed into many things.

What was the inspiration behind developing your interest in crochet?
To crochet, is just part of my make up I’m sure of that.

What influences your style and output? What are your inspirations?
Women from past generations who amazingly made something from nothing as such. Transforming scraps of wool into unique items of necessity, resulting in unusual combinations of colour and composition. What are the most important aspects of your work to you?
Exploring different colour combinations is important to me, inspiring others to experiment with colour. I love it when colours just click.

Which project or piece of work are you most proud of?
Most often or not it’s usually the latest piece to come off my hook.

Describe your favourite working space.
Surrounded by many balls of colourful wool, sitting on the sofa is were I usually do most of my crochet.

Thank you for chatting!

Love Bee
The last picture is a free pattern from Sarah called Wool-Eater Afghan.

Fryd + Design

Just back from Jeanette's beautiful blog and she's done it again. Another beautiful image AND crochet. Double hurray. Just had to share it with you!!!

My kind of town - London is

I cannot believe how difficult it is to find a picture that doesn't stereotype London but I felt there was enough 'reality' here in this picture from Flikr. A little old, a little new (even the buses!) and, hey, some sunshine. Well, maybe not everything is that real all the time!!

Yes, chaincreative is back in the country and with a bag jam-packed full of ideas and pictures of this brilliant place to tell you about.

As promised, I've gathered a glittering assortment of delectable yarny places to tantalise you into visiting. I truly believe they represent the spirit of the place - colourful, lively, different, edgy and just down-right interesting. I haven't covered the complete waterfront on this; there are many, many others but these are my super faves at the moment. I could go on and on but I'll leave that to later when I go on and on about my new discoveries. Spitting Yarn gives a comprehensive list for you to browse.

You can really spend a day criss-crossing the city to find probably the widest variety of yarns on offer anywhere on the globe. Of course, there's cross-over but each of the shops I've chosen offer unique samples of wools of the world for you to choose. In addition, there is expert advise on offer and a comfortable atmosphere that's really conducive to creating. All of them organise classes in every aspect of the yarn process and in one case (more later!!!) even venturing into the world of corsetry!!!! Eeeek, I've so wanted to try that one out.

Off on the Tube to East Putney station where I found such delightful touches like the flowery platform and the station's art deco entrance ways. The flower theme was beautifully picked up in the flower shop just at the entrance to the ticket hall. Then it was the start of the hunt.

First to visit is Stash on Upper Richmond Road in leafy South West London. Michelle Lieberson wrote to say, 'I have always wanted to own a yarn shop since I was a teenager, when I used to go to a shop where the ladies sat around the table and knit together. They would even write patterns for you. I loved that place, and hope that Stash is sort of like that, we encourage people to stay and knit with us, making it a sort of hang out as well as retail shop. After I started the knitting group, Nathalie and I (I had known her as a mom at school, but not that well) became very good friends, and spent many hours knitting together. Two plus years on in business, we still love the shop, and wouldn't have it any other way. Nathalie loves reading blogs and trying to find the next great yarn, and then I hunt it down and deal with the ordering. We have found many fantastic yarns that way as we are both really passionate about fiber and colour, and of course, knitting. '

They have a carefully chosen palette of yarns that beautifully compliment the shop and are so helpful with colour and texture queries that we all seem to have...even after years and rooms full of yarn. Will we never learn!!! I bet these wonderful emporiums hope not! Sadly my picture of the shop was made when Michelle was out and was just not up to my usual standards. Suffice to say, the street is busy but with pretty corners and shops - and this one really caught my eye.

Off next to the other side of the city and a world away from the open airs of South-West London. Now the mood is busier and more intense. I couldn't resist a walk around and I absolutely loved it all. Bethnal Green and Stepney. I don't think alot of people would immediately choose those two as a destination for a visit to London. But that's where they're wrong; there's sooo much to see and do. I'm not going to list on and on but there are shops, restaurants, galleries, boutiques and all in the East London vibe of variety and creativity. Love it. Here are my brief impressions.

Hidden squares and perfectly kept homes around Carlton Square were such a find but none of that prepared me for my next destination in Globe Road - Prick your Finger.

A whole new post is needed for that one!!!