Door Wreath

I started a wreath last century. It was to have crocheted grapes and an array of flowers... and now that I think about it, it was from a now out of print and highly treasured publication -- a calendar of crocheted wreaths from Annie's. My plan included some of  August's components and a bit of May and June.

I've learned a lot since then - a lot more about dimensional creations. That wreath was before I knew about amigurimi, or felting, or the wide array of flowers that I would meet and come to design.

With the return of spring this year, there has been the desire to declare myself
to myself and to stretch. So crochet will be made visible outside my home as well as within it -- and what lovelier more home affirming way than a wreath on the door.

Freeform Fall Flower and Leaf Lariats, Neckwarmers, Garlands

What to call these adornments?
Arranged alliteratively these are Freeform Fall Fiber Flower and Leaf Lariats or scarflettes, neckwarmers, garlands.

I returned again to leaves and decided my flower necklaces could lengthen and loosen and whoa! What fun and excitement!
I was gifted yarn that I made hats and squares for charity( through All Crafts for Charity on yahoo) and realized
that the fall colors worked together.

Ahhh Many Stitches Later...

Well the knitted leaves lead to a knitting for a LMAO. Wow! that was some wild stepping out for me.

And then I knitted a hat.

Well, half knitted it... I knitted the leaves and the crocheted the top.

It is one of my favorite hats.


Then I started another hat and the Column of Leaves scarf.... Those are still languishing by the side of the bed. But I fell in love with knitting and crocheting and so for the holiidays, my Christmas gifts included leaf bookmarks, which enabed me to explore again chainmaking and at the end of the crocheted chain I would knit leaves..

Now my new 20008 exploration is KOOLAID DYEING. Iused up the last of the wonderful handspun I was gifted
felting and dyeing and wow! how vivid and intense the Koolaid dyeing is...

glad i won a couple of auctions of various handspun undyed for a grrrrreat price on ebay so i can gift and explore some more.

Flower Necklaces

It might as well be spring. But the snow floating through the screen here on the 12th floor says otherwise. April April
no showers, crystla water.

Yet i felt it arrive before this retreat and I've been making lots of flowers, teaching designing. Had a furhter thought on my
leaves and I am still enamored of felting/fulling.

I finally finished and mailed two necklaces to two wonderful women who have aided me in this dire time.
The red charm necklace is on its way to Jacqui who loves red.


The flower necklace is on its way to the mandala maven, Claude Aimee.

Spring Hat Again

I wanted it, but know I need to make product and so made it again, but this time for myself.... which freed me. I made thee crown roomier and the band a little smaller and added several of my leaves. I think I will add more, over time.

Springing Ahead More Light Less Night

I'm trying hard to hold on. Making is a way to put part of the nattering nagging nervousness on hold. What would I do if I could do it? Much more. which says make more, somehow. So I am so happy to have this second hat completed.

An inspired young woman inspired me-- Mini-Dee created a gorgeous cluster shell stitich, which I've attached as an ornament to the hat.
http://journals.aol.com/crochetwithdee/CrochetWithDee/entries/2007/03/07/a-crochet-lesson-by-mini-dee/2044
Her mother made a video demo of this lovely motif/stitch!

As this is a hat for sale, I've restrained myself, I like it and will make another version a bit more embellished pour moi.

Leis

I love flowers, flower forms and now, the epiphanic form of LEIS!
wow! So insightful and so so lovely,
So 3D, so many applications. for me--- having had cord joy, the lei as a pierced cord makes me want to think of other rearticulated/pierced/amended cord forms....

I will make some for the Tree of Life challenge in FF Crocrochet group.
I made some leis bracelets-- they are so precious!!!! i see connecting different forms with cabone rings, if i ever get some lol!

http://www.amazon.com/Hawaiian-Lei-Crochet-Roberta-Wong/dp/089610334X/sr=8-1/qid=1170716281/ref=sr_1_1/002-2550471-2745665?ie=UTF8&s=books

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1597000159/ref=sib_dp_pt/002-2550471-2745665#

There are other lei crochet books, but I read on another site that Roberta Wong's are the best--- which I suspected.love it when they let you sneak a look at the books on Amazon! ... the yarn is a pinky purple--- so much nicer than the pink, to me and a yellowy green.....

I did buy the book as they had one for $6.77, but now i regret it, because money is so tight.... i lost control...

Creating the Flower Scarf 1

It's taking me forever to post this journey. Maybe someone out there like me will be aided by this listing. First I was looking to look, to learn, to sort out my ideas. Then, when I found what I wanted, I couldn't afford it and then, realizing that indeed, I wanted to sell what I made, realized the constraints on using someone else's patterns. The meandering link list will explain that I grew to reject the sewing together at the end approach, because it is seems so labor intensive (although one could collect the odd flower for a year, sort through them and then jsut stitch them together).

I wanted a flower scarf. then I wanted a leaf scarf because the flower scarves I saw had more colors than I could fulfill and I wanted something winter.

Scale--- I couldn't find the right scale
Calla lilly Scarf
http://www.catirinabonetdesigns.com/index_files/image362.jpg
I like this idea but not the scale.
Fabulous flower Boa
http://www.catirinabonetdesigns.com/index_files/image348.gif

Trail of Blossoms Scarf in Lion Brand Romance
http://cache.lionbrand.com/patterns/60209A.html?noImages=

The scale is too big. 1 motif = 4" and the scarf is 2 motifs wide and tehn some. The picuture makes it look.... cumbersome...
though as i was writing this i found
http://www.flickr.com/photos/projectgallery/298432556/

and she works it but it still looks a bit big and cumbersome. I love purple, though and this lady will be mentioned again.

This is just boring and .... klugy.
http://cache.lionbrand.com/patterns/60027.html


SAme with this knitted Eskimo scarf, lovely to look at again it looks large around the neck with flowers dangling from the end.

http://www.roosteryarns.com/knittingkits.asp?id=01&b=1


Another commercial site with flowers as not intergral, tacked on at the end, made in Bolivia
Amano Crochet Flower Scarf

http://thestripeysheep.co.uk/index.php?itemID=161&jump=navbar#navbar


http://www.garnstudio.com/lang/en/visoppskrift.php?d_nr=93&d_id=39&lang=en
flower scarf
Fun but another kind of of would wearing it be comfortable?

Caron ( a yarn seller) has a black mesh scarf over which posies are strewn, the posies , 8 spoked wheels in two layers of clusters shells are among my least favorite interpretations of a flower in crochet.
http://www.caron.com/projects/br/BR10_posy_mesh_sc.html and they don't bother to tell you how to make them, just the black mesh scarf.
www.dinaladina.blogspot.com/ portugese freeformer i dig her exuberance--- Jan 2 shows a scarf approach that i feel more for my necklaces...


Then there's the crochet.flower scarf pattern that says make sixteen flowers and then sew them together that seemed more the width and weight , but sewing 32 points at the end did not excite me

http://needlebook.blogspot.com/2005/12/crochet-flower-scarf-how-to.html
http://needlebook.blogspot.com/2005/11/crochet-flower-scarf.html

100 flowers? Lovely but again all that sewing at the end!
http://applehead.typepad.com/applehead/2006/05/100_flower_scar.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gipsybazar/280747095/in/pool-fabrictextile_art/
once again, lots of sewing!

http://moonstitches.typepad.com/moonstitches/2006/11/post.html http://www.flickr.com/photos/greenkitchen/87440526/
another set of sewn together flowers


ahhh! China http://chinascarf.en.alibaba.com/product/50114745/50521738/Scarves_and_Shawls/Acrylic_Crocheted_Flower_Shawl.html

another verision of sewn at the end
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=386704
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=278156
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=304357


Here's another commercial version
http://www.debenhams.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_10001_10001_59735_279418_-1
http://www.debenhams.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_10001_10001_18800_279384_-1

then I saw this lovely scarf flower give away and thought: That's the ticket!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/projectgallery/278648339/
This is the "Garden Scarf" from SNB: The Happy Hooker
But the pattern is in a book and I'm poor and disabled and gee-- I want to make a scarf that I can sell and so be less poor and enable myself.

This design presents the flower more graphically, which gives the scarf a loft and air, though i find it a bit too square.

So my design: edited. I decided to enter it into a contest or two, so I can't describe them here. If they -- o the one became two-- don't win, place or show, I'll share their images here.

Cords, Necklaces

I've found the stitch patterns to serve as necklace cords, vines and backdrops for my flowers.
My online search yielded the lobster stitch. Fab and fun once I realigned my stitch perception.
Then I asked and it was answered on the FreeForm Crochet Group on Yahoo, my crochet home away from home. Bonnie P. has amassed a treasure trove of stitches and motifs.
I'm cord happy!The
cluster braid looks like little triangles or pennants, the doublecrochet chainless spiral also filled the bill for me as did the bobble braid. So now I have 4 necklaces in progress, and more flowers to make.

Help Me Wtih This Bag

Bag with Amber Resin Button

Bag with Amber Resin Button

Flowers on Handle






Back of Bag

Back Detail

Round Button

Bag with other Amber Resin Button


Help me design my bag. I love flowers, but as this bag is not for me, I don’t know whetherto have any and if I do, how many? This bag is not yet felted, all the fibers are wool. The flower is brand new to me, I realized that while I wanted to add a splash of color, I didn’t want it to be another stuck on the front of the bag, circle of fiber. So this is my not quite fuschia not quite lily form. So what iteration works for you?