Wednesday
Thursday
From One Image ATC's
For this swap-bot swap the hostess sent out an image to every participant to use in three different cards. I printed the image onto both transparency & card stock for different effects.
Wednesday
Sunday
Knit/Crochet Inspiration: Jean Paul Gaultier
What an amazing dress. Corkscrews for sleeves. Part of some Granny's bedspread on the sides, the detail of arches on the shoulder, and then what looks like a bow on the booty...How does someone come up with this?
Paisley Crochet Motif Patterns
CROCHET MOTIF PATTERN: APOSTROPHE (first step of a paisley)Begin with a sliding loop. Chain 9. 1 sc in 2nd chain from hook. 1 sc in next chain. 1 hdc in each of next 2 chains. 1 dc in each of next 2 chains. 1htr in next chain. 10 tr in next chain (the sliding loop). Now, going back up on the other side: 1 htr, then 2 dc, the 2 hdc, then 1 sc, then ss in the top stitch. Tie off.
The motifs above were made with a variety of yarns, all using an "F" hook. Sizes vary from 3 1/2 x 1 7/8 (variegated chenille - the really dark one at the top) to 2 3/4 x 1 1/2 (smallest blue one). Click on the image - I've uploaded them in a giant format so you can see all the details.
This a great motif to incorporate in freeform pieces because it is very flexible & conforms to different shapes. It can also form the basis of a paisley shape by adding additional rounds and decreasing on one side to pull the top around.
Friday
Freeform Crochet Round Robin: Round 12
Scrumble for Kerri Lincoln. All her note said in her preferences field was "Give me FIRE". Hope this is hot enough...
Wednesday
4 new scrumbles for the Freeform Crochet Round Robin
the latest pieces finished for the Freeform Crochet Round Robin. 11 finished. 10 to go.
Tuesday
ATC's for the 'Wide Parameters' swap
ATC's made with objects I've received from different swaps. The card on the right features a watercolor painting and quote of J. Kornfield that I received from Marian Sinn. The card on the left includes a photo, ATC back & lace trim swatch from various swaps.
Completely different - the card on the right is inspired by a Jung quote. The card on the right is on a beautiful back sent to me in a swap.
Sunday
New inspiration - Clare Tough
From LondonFashionWeek.com: "She uses knit in a thoroughly innovative and modern way. Natural and synthetic yarns are often combined to create unusual textures. Metallic rings or snippets of leather and suede are worked into a patchwork of different surfaces. Her shapes and colour blends are surprising. Inevitably the majority of Tough’s designs are hand-knitted."
Saturday
Crocheted Hats for 'Knit One, Save One' campaign
I made these 3 crocheted hats using cotton yarn I hand-dyed. I didn't use a pattern - just made it up as I went along, something I really love about crocheting. It was a great project to keep in the car & pick up where ever I was and work without having to keep track of what I had done or where I was in the pattern.Save the Children is sponsoring a 'Knit One, Save One' campaign where you can knit or crochet a newborn infant hat which will be sent to babies in developing countries and a note to the President-elect of the US indicating the importance of this issue.
Info from them:
Due to the overwhelming success of this campaign, Save the Children and Warm Up America are re-launching this effort in a campaign called KNIT ONE, SAVE ONE (www.savethechildren.org/knitonesaveone). This campaign is a grassroots initiative asking knitters and crocheters to make a cap to help warm newborn babies around the world. In 2008, we are hoping to double our previous impact by engaging 50,000 knitters and crocheters to make 500,000 caps!
Each year 2 million children die the day they are born. In total, over 9 million children — one every three seconds — die annually from preventable causes. Ninety-nine percent of these deaths take place in the developing world. One in every six children in sub-Saharan Africa still fails to reach his or her fifth birthday. Many parents even resist naming a baby during the first six weeks of life because they fear the child will not survive a reality utterly unthinkable in the United States.
Knit One, Save One offers an opportunity for crafters to use their time and creativity to make a difference in the lives of a newborn and family. In addition, anyone can take action beyond making a cap to take part in the larger effort to reduce newborn and child mortality.
- You can write a letter to the President-elect calling for increased support and resources for child health initiatives. You can host an event to raise awareness of the challenges that babies face and to make caps with friends, family and community members.
- You can also donate to You can also donate to the Better Beginnings for Babies Kit which contains items to improve hygiene at delivery and promote proper care of newborns. This kit will be paired with a hand-made cap, knitted or crocheted by one of our caring participants in the Knit One, Save One campaign.
Mothers shouldn’t face the uncertainty of a baby’s survival when known, readily available, costefficient solutions exist.
Please join us in this exciting campaign.
Your cap can save a life, your voice can help us save millions more!
Thursday
Wednesday
Friday
Saturday
Freeform Crochet Round Robin: Round 5
Fifth piece is finished - for Rita Summers - who asked for shades of the forest floor - plants, leaf litter, earth, dew. This one stymied me - I spend very little time in forests....
Made for Jenny Brown, who requested blue, jade, purple, aqua, fuschia pionk, burnt orange, etc. Freeform Crochet Round Robin: Round 3
Third freeform made for Lnda Hartzig - all the greens that are out there...
Thursday
Freeform Crochet Round Robin: Round 2
Second piece is finished for Sophia Roberts who requested shades of Pink, but reds too if appropriate.
Freeform Crochet Round Robin: Round 1
My first scrumble is done for the Yahoo Groups Freeform Crochet Round Robin. Twenty-two creative souls have agreed to each create an approximately 10" square piece for each of the other members. My first not-so-square piece is going to Cheryl Mansfield. Her request was for tropical colors. I chose tropical water colors.
Saturday
Thursday
Friday
Thursday
Friday
Sock Wars III
Whew. My socks are in the mail to my "victim". Now all I can do is wait to see of I'm killed before my socks reach their target. My sock skills definitely improved over the 7 days I worked on them. Now I wait to see what happens next. Will I get a lovely new pair of sock to wear from my killer - or a lovely new pair to finish for my next target. An excellent reminder of how many things are completely out of our control.... But I finished one pair start to finish! There's at least 154 people at this moment who can't say that!
Thursday
New ATC's - Green Challenge
Created for the swap-bot challenge to make ATC's using the color green predominately. I came up withe some new (to me at least) textural techniques for the backgrounds that I was really happy with. I'm sure it's nothing new - but it was lots of fun & brought in interesting layers of color. (Which you can't see at all in the photos. A constant problem when I try to photo artwork with texture, shine or anything that's not high contrast flat color.) But back to the technique - I used dryer sheets and layered watercolors, acrylics & gloss medium which I hit with the heat gun to melt in places then attached to contrasting colored card stock & pressed in a book press. I discovered used dryer sheets look (& smell!) completely differently. I'm going to keep playing with it -seems like there's lots more ways to manipulate it. I also printed images on transparency & layered them on. Lots more to experiment with there too....
Tuesday
Math for Knitting
I've never been particularly strong at math, and it does seem to be a requirement in knitting. I'm constantly looking up mathematical formulas and equivalents when I'm designing.
Knitting circles:
circumference of a circle = pi (3.1416) x diameter (which is radius x 2)
area of a circle = 3.1416 (pi) x radius squared.
(If radius=2.5 formula would be 3.1416 x (2.5 x 2.5)= 3.1416 x 6.25 = 19.635
Knitting circles:
circumference of a circle = pi (3.1416) x diameter (which is radius x 2)
area of a circle = 3.1416 (pi) x radius squared.
(If radius=2.5 formula would be 3.1416 x (2.5 x 2.5)= 3.1416 x 6.25 = 19.635
Saturday
Knitting in ATCs
I've just finished my first ATC's (Artist Trading Cards.) I signed up for Swap-bot after reading about it somewhere & signed onto a swap for ATC's featuring vintage photos. Had no idea what I was going to do because I'm really not very inspired in a vintage-y way. Came across an envelope of photos of my grandmother as an infant and girl. The same grandmother who taught me to knit & crochet. Then, while cleaning my "studio" (known to my family as the junk room where everything gets thrown) I came across a little knitted swatch I had done using yarn from one of the suits my grandmother had knit for herself in the 50's. It's hard to see here - but it became the background for the ATC. The baby in the picture is my grandmother - no idea who the elegant lady is - but she's got the nose that says "family member"! I feel like the art itself is pretty unskillful - expect it will improve as I become more accustomed to the process. I sometimes feel that knitting & crocheting gets a bit tight & structured & limited to just the one media - so this was a kind of freeing way to play around with color and texture and design elements.
I finished three others using photos from the same envelope. Am going to try to continue using the same photos in other ATCs and see what emerges. Just saw a swap for cow ATC's - this one will qualify there.
I love this photo. My grandmother's smile is the same here as the one I knew when she was much, much older.
The girl's baseball team from my grandmother's high school, Grossmont of San Diego, CA in 1926. Again, I used a bit of knitting using leftover yarn from one of her handknit suits.
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