Crochet and Knitting: Do you have a favorite?

I love both crochet and knitting. I can't choose one over the other! Making your own fiber fabric with mere needles and hooks fascinates me.

Knitting has been a life long passion, since my attempt at age twelve at a single mitten. Many years later and no more mittens, my closet is over-flowing with my knitted sweaters from Icelandic Lopi to multi-cabled designs.

I love the drape of knitted fabric as it falls below your needles and turns into a woven fabric.

Right now, I have a sweater that is still on my needles begging to be finished. It was started last fall, but it took a back seat to a busy life and felting!

I discovered felting about a year ago. My washing machine has never been the same since. I get excited by the magic of felting knitted pieces. Transforming their size, shape, texture and colour through the unthinkable harsh treatment of the wool tossed around in the hottest water. Of course, it's just another excuse to knit.

I have a collection of knit felted bags of various sizes and shapes. I use one for my needle felting supplies. Another one protects my cherished digital camera. Yet another totes around wool and needles. Shamefully, one hangs at my back door empty and unused. I made so many I started giving them away!

I started crocheting around the same time I took up knitting and thus discovered another passion. Granny squares were an early specialty. Amigurumi is not new to me. I was making crocheted frogs, mice, kangaroos and the whole animal kingdom in the 1970s!

I like the structural dimension to crochet as your hook can create pieces with form and dimension. It is such a versatile art.

My crochet fiber jewelry is fun to design and wear. Necklaces, bracelets and rings use the best of crochet's ability to give pieces structure.

My crocheting has not escaped my felting craze. I love felted crochet flowers. I pin them on bags, me and others!

My mother's 1950's crochet pattern books are a gold mine of ideas and inspiration. Crocheting purses from these vintage patterns gives me an opportunity to explore fashions of the past as I learn old techniques of design.

Don't ask me to choose a favorite, because I can't. Can you?

Express your passion for your favorite fiber art in a comment to this post.

Happy fiber arting!

Ecofriendly Yarns: Buyer Beware

As the name implies, ecofriendly yarn is good for mother earth. Unlike synthetic fiber, ecofriendly yarn is made from natural fibers like wool, cotton, bamboo or soy. Synthetic fiber, like most acrylic yarn, is derived from by-products of the petroleum industry. If you think you are being green by using natural fibers for your knitting or crocheting, think again. Natural fibers are not necessarily ecofriendly. To be ecofriendly, your yarn must come from a sustainable source and be grown or harvested in a way that does not damage the earth.

Organic yarns are ecofriendly as they are produced according to industry standards which require sustainable green practices in their production.

Organic wool must be harvested from animals that are hormone free and fed on organic feed. These animals must not be dipped in insecticides to rid them of pests or be crowded on over-grazed pastures.

In 2005, Canada and the United States produced 19, 152 pounds of organic wool. Think of all the sweaters you could knit!

Organic cotton is grown without the use of earth damaging chemicals, pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers. These growing practices leave the soil nutrient rich and water resources uncontaminated. India produces about half of the world's organic cotton. Syria, Turkey and China are also large producers.

Bamboo and soy yarns are the newer entrants into the world of ecofriendly fibers. The bamboo plant is known for its rapid growth after harvest which lessens the need for fertilizers and pesticides. However, the harvesting of bamboo is not regulated and the process of turning it into fiber uses harsh chemicals.

Soy yarn is produced from the waste products of tofu making which is why it is seen as an ecofriendly yarn. However, there are environmental issues with the production of soybeans.

Then there is the issue of the dyes used to color these yarns. Buy yarns in the color naturally produced by the the animal or the plant. You may also buy yarns dyed with environmentally friendly dyes.

Yes, these ecofriendly yarns are more expensive and may be seen as a luxury. But, choosing wisely for your yarn stash helps mother earth. Happy yarn shopping.

Embrace Your Inner Fiber Artist

Me, a fiber artist? Not having thought of myself in those terms before, I once had a difficult time seeing myself as an "artist". To me, artist implied some formal training in design and technique. My road to becoming a weaver of fiber with hooks and needles did not bespeak "artiste".

First learning how to knit as a girl at my mother's hands and a teach yourself to knit book, I managed one sad lonely mitten. I went through my Phentex slipper phase marvelling at the ingenious design that made those checkered ribbed wonders. Bravely moving on to sweaters and foolishly ignoring the concept of gauge, I knitted a sweater slightly too small. Have you ever tried knitting from the cast on edge of the cuff to lengthen a sleeve? Don't.

Not easily deterred, I went on to explore the world of crochet and experimented with granny squares I could never make the same size. Try sewing those together into some sort of regular sided shape. The wonders of Phentex never escaped my crochet hook either, as I made lovely pillow shams with huge red roses adorning the center. Crochet a bikini. Why not! Of course, using double crochet was not a good design strategy.

I see those early years as paying my dues. I was learning from poor design decisions and baffling color combinations. Mastering gauge and discovering the wonders of blocking, I have since become an accomplished knitter and crocheter expanding my repertoire with felting. I now confidently create my own pattterns and take inspiration from my fellow fiberites.

Using my skill with fiber and my creativity, I craft objects that are appreciated and bring pleasure to others. Isn't that artistry?

I am a fiber artist.

So, whether you knit ponchos from Phentex or crochet shawls from alpaca, hookers and needlers embrace your inner fiber artist!