The gift of resilience and re-using fabrics

From Old Sweaters to New Mittens



Scroll down just a bit and and you'll find Angela Schupe's article on your left. But then, curiosity and persistence come easy for fiber artists. Nice article about about a mother-daughter team who make one-of-a-kind mittens from old sweaters.

My grandmother showed the same intuitive reusability and resilience in her fiber arts. Heck, it was just sewing to her. Working for New York Life, my grandfather had nice wool suits. My dad, a young employee of a major textile firm, had samples of test fabrics like new cordorouys and printed velvets and velveteens. My grandmother had two daughters with several grandsons. So what did she do?

Cut up the suits and samples to make quilts or bed covers for each of her boys. Nice handmade pieces that would keep them warm and instill the paternal love from both sides of the family. I found them in the cedar chest. Going there was like visiting your favorite museum and finding a new gallery. Packed away for years, the colors are rich and fresh, and the texture of the fabric a comforting delight.

There's one square left undone, with a threaded needle tucked in at the top. Obviously, she put it down to do something, what? I don't want to finish it. Instead, I sat down with a cup of tea and sketched out her pattern with the square beside me.  

Knitting and Crochet Tips from Lion Brand Yarn Company

Knitting and Crochet Tips from Lion Brand Yarn Company

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Heart these tips from fellow Lion Brand users. A knitter recently posted her solution to making sure sleeve lengths match. Use an extra long needle to hold both sleeves! How smart.

Of course, as a crochet girl, that doesn't work for me. Instead, I always do patterns on grid paper to be sure that my row count is correct and my tension is consistent. That's very important since I take my crochet with me. The speed of a subway, for example, shows up in tension. Definitely tighter than sitting in a rocker watching Dancing With The Stars!

Creating a pallette online

Called Color Schemer, love this method for playing with colors.

Contemporary Stencils & Templates - Firefox 5th Anniversary

Video: How to create an art quilt

Nice piece to show how nature inspires the selection of fabrics, design and process.

Cool Jewel Pallette

 

Created with Wordle. Cool pallette work well with florals.

A rose is a template of a rose

 

Free sample, appearing in Dover Publications 1500 Decorative Ornaments CD-ROM and Book C Dover Publications.

Like the look for applique, or doing an embroidery piece. This could easily be the center diva piece, elegantly framed