wood and wool stool

As you know, I love to bring you little precious gems from the world of crochet and this is a particularly lovely one that I discovered - well, I just don't know how - it was like discovering treasure. Ingrid Jansen is a designer from the Netherlands and she is a very modest person! Her blog profile is so understated but I'll let you draw your own conclusions! I love the inspiring images on both the blog and her website and she has many fans worldwide for her 'little company'! Hope you like it too! And you who love granny squares, it's summertime, so be inspired by Ingrid's bunting garland. The wonderful colours are one of the particular attractions of Ingrid's work and her images perfectly capture this. I really loved the colour punch of the Ionie hanger, you can almost hear the Mediterranean at your open window!!Hej, I'm Ingrid Jansen and I run a little company called WOOD & WOOL STOOL in the Netherlands. A few years ago I designed my first (recycled) wooden stool with a crocheted cover for my home. Since then I've made a lot of stools and other interior objects.'

Loop Knitting Lounge

Some excellent news for all yarn crazy folk is breaking!! Stop the press - Loop Knitting is moving!!
As many of you already know, Loop is a mecca for all knitters and crocheters both in the UK and from very (we're talking global) far afield. Susan Cropper, who owns this wonder of the London craft scene, has created a unique destination shop for everything you could possibly want to create your own beautiful piece of knitwear. From classes to 4-ply, haberdashery to silken thread, it's all there and now it's expanding and moving lock, stock up the road to 15 Camden Passage, conveniently located a mere stone's throw from Angel tube station and any number of buses to whisk you there and back again barely lifting your groaning bag of goodies.
In addition to all of this there is now more ways than one to get into the Loop vibe from Twitter, Facebook and Loop's very own blog, LoopKnitLounge! Chaincreative welcomes Loop to the world of blogging and will definitely be rushing hot-foot to the new store, opening on Saturday 12 June.

Projects galore

I've been away from the chaincreative desk these days for a variety of reasons, the most important being that I've been doing some designing for two publications that might be of interest to you. The Art of Crochet is an subscribe-online publication that mixes patterns with tips and techniques so is a big mix of all that you might need to get started with crochet without having to leave your home. I've been welcomed on board with a pattern for an evening top which will be coming out during the summer so if you're interested then mosey on over to them.The other publication I've been contributing to is Inside Crochet which is the sister publication of Yarn Forward and is available through newsagents. It has a good mix of patterns and interviews (look out for my Q & A with Jo Hamilton who've I've featured here at chaincreative!) and has some nicely up-to-the-minute designs which are sorely needed. Keep your eyes peeled for designs by yours truly and I'm really enjoying putting my crochet talents (!) to good use. Hope you agree!!

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

Simple mesh

Over at makedomend you might have noticed that I've gone crazy for mesh. My intermediate class on Sunday were happy to indulge me and they happily crocheted mesh as if their lives depended on it, amongst other things!
The reason why I'm happy to return to the simple things of life is that often they are the most effective. My scarflettes were so easy and allowed me to buy more yarn in order to make them. Hmm, excellent reason!!

Then I saw these fabulous examples in the latest Y-3 collection from Yohji Yamamoto so that's going to be another yarn hunt and then the cute vest from rag and bone. I really like their philosophy of production. See what you think...
'Beginning in Kentucky, rag & bone surrounded themselves with people who had been making patterns, cutting fabric and sewing their whole lives. Working with these kinds of craftsmen taught them the importance of quality, craftsmanship and attention to detail early on.'
To that end, we all want to perfect our craftmanship through workshops, classes and just plain practice.

Simple samples

When life is a bit too busy to even draw breath it's even more important to have my crochet with me. Lots of train journeys give me plenty of time to get to grips with the project mountain. My latest was using some of my favourite yarns in some simple mesh scarflettes. I had some Habu yarn on a cone which was more beautiful in it's raw state than worked up so I left it. Then I couldn't stand it any longer and out came the 1.75mm hook and away I went with a really simple mesh pattern. I was so pleased with the result that I made another muffler out of Berroco Alpaca Light in the divinest shade of marine blue. I love both of them and was so pleased with the pattern. It's drawn comments but is so basic that it taught me a lesson. Keep it simple for maximum impact.

I like these other examples too.There are still a couple of places left on the Intermediate Crochet at Kingly Court, W1 on Sunday for anyone interested. Contact makedomend@live.co.uk for details.