Fiber Arts Friday: Scarves Anticipating a Change in Seasons

It's Fiber Arts Friday at Alpaca Farm Girl's blog. After a summer hiatus, I am back in action for the soon coming fall season. I've been busy knitting and crocheting scarves using a wool soy blend yarn. The yarn is soft and silky. I especially like how this yarn crochets into a thick and soft scarf.

I designed this blue variegated diamond lace scarf using one of my favorite crochet motifs. I love the flow of blues throughout this yarn. I'll soon be listing this scarf for sale in my Etsy shop.

My knit scarf is worked in simple garter stitch on large needles which gives a lightness to the soft wool soy yarn. This variegated yarn of plum, pink red and brown makes for a richly colored scarf to warm your neck.

So, my hands are busy creating scarves at the moment. Happy fiber arting!

Inspired by the Past: Vintage Patterns

I love vintage crochet and knitting patterns. Perusing a stack of vintage pattern books while drinking copious cups of tea is a great way to pass the time. I love flipping through the pages looking for unique designs and techniques that cannot be found in newer pattern books.

My latest creation for my Etsy shop is inspired by this crocheted green Jewelled Collar Necklace. It is a pattern from 1954 Coats & Clark's pattern book of knitting and crochet projects. It is worked in crochet thread and embellished with sequins and beads.

I like the idea of these collars. They are great for dressing up white t-shirts, cardigans or collarless dresses. Of course, they are also quite pretty worn on bare shoulders. They are so versatile.


My Jewelled Collar Necklace is crocheted in soft organic cotton yarn. You can see how I was inspired by the shape and embellishment of the 1954 version.

I modified the pattern to take into consideration the gauge of my yarn which was larger than the crochet thread of the original version. I kept the pattern the same for the first two rows, so I would have spaces between the double crochets to weave my white satin ribbon. The remainder of the pattern I modified to suit my yarn and myself. My thicker cotton yarn could not achieve the same detailing like the delicate picots on the 1954 collar which were easily made with finer crochet thread.

As for the embellishments, I thought sequins would be too over the top for my pastel blue yarn and feminine ribbon. But faux pearl vintage beads from the 1960s complimented the feminine feel. I'm very happy with the outcome of this project.

Vintage patterns can be a great source of inspiration for your crochet or knit designs. So, give those old pattern books a second look. You never know what will inspire you.

Happy vintage pattern hunting!

My Mother's Vintage Buttons

My vintage buttons are special. From the 1960s into the early 70's, my mom sat at her Kenmore sewing machine often making clothes or doing alterations for others. But, she also found the time to make me clothes. My vintage buttons are those buttons she never used or had leftover from her many sewing projects.

Rummaging through her old cardboard button box often gives me the feeling of deja vu, as if I've met certain buttons before. I'm certain many of the buttons were used by my mom on dresses and coats she tailored for me when I was a child. Much to my frustration, I can never bring to my mind the full memory of what childhood clothes the most familiar of the buttons were lovingly sewn on.

One old card of Lady Fashion buttons bought for 39 cents, with two of the once four buttons missing, gave me the strongest feeling of deja vu. Where had I met these brushed gold tone shank buttons before? Staring at these buttons, navy blue was all I could think of while foolishly willing them to speak to me of their past.

Then I remembered, my navy blue jacket that my mom had sewn for me in the 1970s! My navy blue Nehru style jacket that I could remember wearing to school. Didn't I have a photograph of myself in that jacket? Sure enough, after flipping through my old photo albums, I found the black and white photo of me posing in the mall photo booth wearing my navy blue Nehru jacket with the brushed gold tone shank buttons. My buttons on the Lady Fashion card were still just as shiny as those buttons in the photo.

My jacket with all of its buttons is now long gone. The ability of that old card of buttons to draw out such an old memory from the very back of my mind is amazing.

None of the other old familiar buttons have been able to bring back any such memories of the clothes my mother made for me. I pass them on to others sewn onto my fiber art creations. Old buttons have stories to tell and mine continue on to gather the stories of other lives.

I said that there were two buttons left on that Lady Fashion button card. There is only one in the photo above. The other brushed gold tone button I used as the closure for a small felted pouch which I designed and made for myself. Now, I can literally carry that memory with me.

As for the other button left on the card, it will not be put back into the button box. It sits on my desk waiting to be sewn onto a special project just for me.

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!