Eye Candy in honor of Valentine's Weekend

Readers, I ask you, what do you think of as  Crochet?  Is crochet a fabric that looks like it was crocheted with a hook, or is it a fabric that was created with a crochet hook?  Or is it both?

Today's "Eye Candy" should clearly (or perhaps not?) make one ponder this!  First, I'd like for you to visit Joan Dulla's website (www.JoanDulla.com) and check out her beautiful works!  I took a three-day class with her about two years ago or so and learned that her technique is using a crochet hook to manipulate wire that technically looks (is?) knitted.  Her technique caused so much controversy that her work was pulled from a crochet exhibit that was traveling around the United States.  What do you think?  Is her work crocheted or knitted?  Should her work have been pulled from the crochet exhibit?  Is her work really knit even if it was created with a crochet hook?

Next, I'd like for you to visit www.guild.com and do a search for Randi Chervitz (or do a simple search for "Crochet").  [Note: You can also opt to sign up for their newsletter if you're interested in the Arts.]  There you'll see a lot of beautiful works that reportedly were created with a crochet hook.  Upon zooming in as much as they allow, it looks almost like Joan Dulla's technique -- but it's hard to tell.  When you work with wire the stitches do tend to distort making it difficult to make that determination.

On the "about the artist" page it states that once Randi is done with the metal working of the piece (soldering, filing & such), she then "finishes by crocheting stitch patterns that determine whether the piece has a soft or linear character."

Now that I have you pondering ... go check out the work of Michael David Sturlin.  Yeah, wear a bib -- this is  the creme de la creme!  (...and in case you can't get enough of Michael, then go here.)  After all, what is Valentine's Day without looking at some serious bling bling, right? 

What makes all these works uniquely beautiful is that they're all created with a crochet hook.  ;)

Crochet + Contests = Fun

You got to love contests, especially those that involve crochet.  They're a great way to introduce new people to the art, and to inspire those already enjoying it.  With this being today's topic, I thought I'd share a few thoughts.

First, I want to thank everyone for their support for the Best of the Blogs Awards. Although I won the "Popular Vote," I did not place in the "Winner's Circle."  (For those that are emailing me inquiring why, I don't know that answer -- it had something to do with a point system.)  However, I am thrilled to have been listed as a finalist during the voting; the opportunity to share crochet was wonderful, and your support warms my heart! Thank you! I'd also like to take a moment and send Congratulations to the BOB Winners! (Click Here to see the Winners in the Knit/Craft category.)


Second, I want to thank those that entered into my 2nd Anniversary Blog-aversary/Birthday Celebration.  The winner is Gail with this submission (sang in the Oscar Mayer hot dog jingle):

I am a true yarn junky, that's J U N K Y
And I love to pet my yarn skeins, yes, D A I L Y
Oh, I'm so addicted to my craft,
That if you saw me you would laugh,
For all I do for all the day is C R O C H E T.

Congratulations Gail!!

Next, with today being the start of the Olympics, for those of you who do not know yet, there is Crochet Olympics taking place. To learn more, visit the Crochet Olympics webpage. Hurry though! It starts at 2:00 PM (Eastern Time) today! 

Finally, I'd like to extend a big Blog-aversary greeting over to Amy who is celebrating her first year of cro-blogging! Give her a visit at "Cats in my Craft Basket", and don't forget to enter into her contest where she's giving away a goodie basket!   Happy Blog-aversary Amy!! J 

And, Happy Blog-averary to Jocelyn who is also celebrating her first year of cro-blogging over there at Crochet Cafe!  Congratulations Jocelyn!! J

Pop-Quiz: Think FAST!!

OK, so when your dinner catches fire, do you:

a. run around screaming fire! Fire!
b. grab the fire extinguisher and douse the fire?
c. ignore important documents and think only of getting everyone outside safely and how you're going to rescue your entire yarn stash?
d. think "gee, maybe now I can start thinking about having an entire room for storing my vast yarn collection once the new house is built."

                                 heh heh heh

Yes, there was a fire here -- my toaster oven, my NEW toaster oven, roared flames at me through it's glass doors just moments after turning it on.  I opted to throw a 5-pound bag of flour at it.  That worked!  Fire gone!  Then threw the toaster oven outside -- just in case.

But I will confess that my answer to the pop quiz above was "e" ... "all of the above."

                                  Geesh!

See, now if this isn't a great reason for crocheters NOT to cook, then what is?  If I had ordered Chinese, then I'd still be working on my freeform jean jacket instead of cleaning up a massive amount of flour.  ;)


Disclaimer:  Real food, toaster oven, and Dee's arm was actually damaged/hurt during this escapade.  No other human, or yarn fibers were damaged.  There will be no reenactment offered.  Dee was NOT crocheting when the actual fire broke out. Dee couldn't locate the fire extinguisher thus the flour substitution. Dee is hoping her brother, the professional fireman, does not read this journal entry. And finally -- don't use a toaster oven to warm up taco shells.  Humph.

Giving thought to McDreamys

When it comes to your crocheting, I am curious readers, of which rules you follow.

Do you, for single crochet stitches, chain two and skip the first stitch (thus letting the chain become your first stitch), or do you chain one and work in the immediate first stitch?

Myself?  I have always followed the chain one/immediate first stitch rule which is endorsed by the CGOA and the Craft Yarn Council (where I received my Certification from).

Do you, when reading patterns, prefer to have the instructions state to create the turning chains at the end of a row and then have you turn your work, or do you prefer to turn your work and then create your turning chain?

Myself?  I prefer to create my chains before I turn my work, especially when I'm working with taller stitches.  This is because when I turn my work it gives my turning chain a little twist and helps it blend in "as a stitch" rather than being a flat chain laying on the side of my work.

While you're following a pattern, do you ever look at the accompanying photograph to help you figure out the next step? 

Myself?  Oh absolutely.  But there are times that it's impossible to use the image as a reference because of the way a photograph was taken.  (Sometimes the photographer is not someone who understands crochet, and/or what the right/wrong side of crochet work looks like.) 

When you're using a pattern, how important is it to you to know if it's the American or the European crochet rules/abbreviations used?

This is very important to me; I can't begin to express how many times a student has come to me stating that their work looks "off" -- only to discover that they were using the American rules instead of the European or vise versa!

To quote a term used on the television program, Grey's Anatomy, what makes a pattern "McDreamy" for you?  Is it simplicity, speed, or perhaps a challenge where you learn new stitches or techniques?

The McDreamy patterns I like are the ones that challenge me.  But I think this is because I have a lot of practice/knowledge under my belt.  Perhaps if I were still a newbie to the art of crochet I'd be looking for simplicity. 

As I give more thought into what I'll be offering in the book I plan on doing this year, these are just some of the questions I am pondering.  What are your thoughts?

Question From Reader: Freeform

Quietkat asks: "What is freeform crochet?"

Quietkat, thank you for contacting me and inquiring about what freeform crochet is.

I like to think of it as a rebellious type of crochet -- as a technique that dares to challenge the traditional rules of crochet, how it's applied, and how it's used.

It's a technique that lets you mix and match your fibers until you find a combination that's pleasing to your eye, and to your touch.

It's a technique that lets you use simple stitches, complex stitches, or a combination of the two.

It's a technique that lets you challenge yourself.  Do you want to create a variety of small motifs (think Prudence Mapstone) or larger motifs (think Margaret Hubert) -- or perhaps a combination of the two?

Freeform is a technique that welcomes the other fiber arts to be added in too: tatting, knitting, cross stitch, needlepoint, and macrame'.  Perhaps your passion includes jewelry -- well, you can add that into your freeform work too!   The beauty of it is that there are no rules.  Your work will be unique to that of another; in fact, many that enjoy the freeform technique can look at various works and know who's work it is!!  (Isn't that amazing?) 

Pictured on the left here is a project I started working on yesterday (yes, that is one of my new mannequins my sweet hubby surprised me with!) using the fibers pictured above.  I am crocheting a variety of shapes with a variety of yarns, stitches, and colors to my hearts' content with the goal of covering part of the front and some of the back shoulder area.  (Click onto image for larger view)  I am using fibers I found in my yarn stash -- purples, teals, and greens -- and just loved the entire creative process and freedoms this crochet technique has to offer! 

You can visit Prudence's website and order some of her books, visit Margaret's website and order her video, or visit websites like amazon, barnes & noble, or overstock.com to find various books on the market.  Sometimes eBay has some great freeform reference materials that are worth their weight in gold (look for titles with "Silvia Cosh" and "James Walters")!   You may also be interested in joining a freeform online group (look to the right for the various online groups I belong to), and/or take classes.  For more reference material, do a search on the Internet using words like "freeform crochet" and "freeform knit."  ... and don't forget to click onto the "image" search option too -- be prepared to be inspired!  :)

Thanks for writing in Quietkat!
Sincerely,
~Dee

Super Sunday

I'm slowly emerging from my tortoise shell and embracing all that I love, all that I enjoy -- and what better day to do it on than on Super Bowl Sunday?

So what is bringing me out of my shell?  Was it the four mannequins my husband surprised me with when he came home from work on Friday?  Maybe.

"Happiness isn't in having what you want but rather in wanting what you have." 
            ~Chinese Fortune Cookie

Was it the crochet books that my kids found for me at our local library -- and insisted I take home to check out?  Could be.

Was it the sample yarns I received in the mail from my new "monthly subscription?"  Mmmmmmmm, maybe.

"Fear is the mind killer." 
        ~Paul Maud'dib, Character from Frank Herbert's Dune book series

Was it in discovering that Jennifer Love Hewitt might be a crocheter?  Nah, but it's pretty cool in thinking that she might be! 

Was it in relishing in the comments & emails you all have shared with me?  Thank you so much!!

                             I think it's a combination of all of the above!

Star sent me an email stating, "we have to feel what we are feeling rather than suppress them" -- and she is so right!  I recall a class I took with Noreen Crone-Finlay at the 2004 CGOA National Crochet Conference where we created dolls.  I was a week into being treated for two ruptured discs in my spine -- talk about emotions -- eish!!  I still have that doll, and each time I hold her I feel the release of the emotions I had at that time.  What a powerful therapy!

So, with hook in hand and with a bowl of assorted fibers at my feet, I will do just that today.  I'm going to take these feelings and work them into fiber bliss.  I'm going to make today into a Super Sunday!  :)

Time Off

Ah, I know, I've been away for a few days.  Thank you for the emails expressing your concerns.  I'm OK, we're OK.  I took some time off to let my emotions settle a bit; some time to let me look at the positive side of a terrifying moment that thankfully didn't end in tragedy.    For those that don't know what happened yet my son was nearly mowed down by a speeding SUV while he was crossing the parking lot at his school.  I was witness to this, as were several other parents.  I screamed as any mother does when she sees her child in immediate danger.  They were the kind of screams that chill the blood; screams I never wish to make or hear again for the rest of my life.  My son heard my frantic screams and stopped instantly in his tracks.  The SUV missed him by an inch. 

The reason for the SUV to race across the parking lot?  They were running late.  In my book, if you're running late, you're running late.  It doesn't matter if you're 5 seconds late, or 5 minutes late.  You're still late.  So is it worth it to endanger your passengers, and those on foot, to race across a parking lot to save 5 seconds?   

Later that same day the driver of the SUV apologized to me.  I think I was still in what's called "shell shock."  I remember her telling me she was running late and that she didn't think to look on both sides of the aisles of parked cars  -- the only thing she had on her mind was getting her children to school on time.  If ever there was a day to show I'm not one in need of anger management -- then this was it.  I wanted to unleash the fury of emotions I had, but I didn't.  I didn't want to scare her young son she had with her; I just wanted her to promise to never, ever, race across ANY parking lot again.  And she did promise, and we left it at that.  

But I'm still upset.  I can't get the image of the SUV coming right towards my son out of my mind; my heart is still in the back of my throat.  I thought crocheting would help relieve how I'm feeling, but it hasn't.  I thought flipping through some new crochet books that just arrived would interest me.  It hasn't.  Instead we've been spending time watching family videos -- being thankful that what could have been, wasn't.

So again, I appreciate your concern and understanding.  I'll be back to "being me" hopefully in a few days.  I'm focusing on the positive!

If you'd like to leave comments, please do.  But rather than focus on my story here, why not tell me what you're working on?  I think that would help brighten my spirits more.  :)