Breaking Bag!

There's a string bag in our house that gets a lot of use....

it has hung on several nails, in many places, and contained a myriad of things...

its current position is in the bathroom where it is in regular demand.

As it is so well employed it has become a bit more aerated than originally intended

  and has more holes than is functionally effective!

It was suggested we get a new one, but having seen some

  beautifully visibly mended projects I thought it lent itself to some colourful alterations!

A pouchy pocket with skills learned from Linda's string bag tutorial.

 The longer laceration required some freestyle suturing 

It adds a bit of colour and charm to the well loved item and given it a bit of a zingy lift!

It has also met with approval of the rest of the household!

A very relaxing way to spend an evening just randomeandering!

Scrumble Swapping!

Have I told you how much I am enjoying freeform crochet?!

  - the freedom of taking wool for a wander, 

randomeandering with several threads, textures, and wiggles!

When Ali of crazy dazy, a fabulously creative knitter, expressed interest in freeform we hatched a collaborative idea of a scrumble swap!

Ali to knit a scrumble and the other Ali (me!) to hook one,

*pop it in the post, for it to cross the waves,  the other Ali to add to it* 

repeat from *to* 

until we feel it is time to stop!

This is the crochet one posted from Brum:

It will be soooo interesting to see what happens next!

I was really excited to receive Ali's parcel

a deliciously bright green and pink beaded scrumble, which reminded her of green cabbages! 

Its so much more random than I thought it could be, and so much better for it!
It looks like crochet..

I really enjoy exploring its shape and holeyness, 

Ali has deliberately made spaces for me to hook into...

 ...I am hesitant to add to it...

...so I propose to view it,
and savour it for a while...then have a go...
as that was its purpose -
to be one ingredient in a feeform collage!
I have been practising some new techniques...

Its so exciting to share creative ideas and I'm enjoying the thrill of the next stage.

Many thanks to Ali for another fun and inspiring project...an adventure in scrumbleland!

A very Happy Accident....

.....one of the things on my to do list for a looooong time has been a purse for myself.

I eventually got round to it, and had in mind a drawstring design with a flat spiral bottom, that would be felted to cater for wear and tear.

Selecting two wools from my feltable stash I began the spiral....

..the two selected wools were different weights....

and it was tricky to keep the spiral flat....

 ...it grew quickly and was rather inflexible..

 it began to take on a different form...

So I continued going round in circles and made a freeform vessel.....

It seems to have found a place on a shelf that we see several times a day...

I love the knubbly bits on the edge!

So, this got me thinking.......

There were lots of sequins in one of the wools - but only a few are visible...the rest hidden between the stitches!

 

This sea inspired vessel is different from every angle - 

an ocean of photos follows, come for a paddle...

some sewn sequins for sparkle!

sunlight on the waves!

There are 17 yarns and threads in total - some singles and lots of combinations

This is a gift for a very special friend who spends holidays by the sea!

 Both randomeanderings have used plenty of wool!

The first wades in at 39g and the sea waves weigh 68g.

I loved the going round in random circles, 

freeforming is definitely my favoured hooking method at the moment very therapeutic and relaxing.

The purse is still on my list!

Off the cuff...

For holiday trips, one of the things that is always packed is my crochet bag...usually stuffed with more than one project, all my hooks and paraphernalia. 

So far though, it returns unopened...or has the occasional minor disturbance whilst hunting for a pair of scissors.

On a recent trip to visit family, the last decision I made was to leave the bag at home...

One of our nieces is fund raising for a charity she has been working with during the summer.

As I was there, I offered to crochet her some brooches...

Their market town is well stocked with everything a crafter could crave...so I could source everything* I needed quickly and relatively reasonably.

With two hooks, a ball of Stylecraft Harlequin, Yarnfair stripes,  Stylecraft Senses Lace, and some multicoloured thread (*the one thing that eluded me was sparkly thread!) 

I began...

There are 20 items in total, 

brooches with safety pin backs, 

and some hanging decorations...

no written patterns, 

 some remembered, 

some made up and some freeform!

In town there were some fab charity shop finds in the form of sequins and a bagful of sewing supplies - lots of coloured cottons and needles to sew the safety pin backs on!

My mother-in-law also donated a bag of  vintage buttons...

I made this for her as she had admired the crocheted colours and the stylish gold button, from her collection, really sets it off ....

.... as did the velvet button centre for this flower...that had started as a star!

We wondered whether the button had originally been part of some furniture...

There were a few happy accidents...

this also started as a star...I got the counting a little awry...and the silky acrylic curled beautifully, 

as it did for the inner petals (an attempt at a different flat flower),

the combination of the two 'mistakes' made one of my favourite items!

I learned a lot....

that twenty items can be made from less than two balls of wool -(I still have more than half of the thinner yarns left),
that I can finish things in a couple of days,

that relaxing, experimenting and going with the flow works wonders

..and that I should always pack my crochet bag!

Hoping they sell well!

More on happy accidents soon - I seem to be making a habit of them!