Just Like A Jigsaw Puzzle

Joining together your freeform pieces is just like working on a jigsaw puzzle...

Only a little more flexible.

You just need to find a spot where the piece will fit - or almost fit, and stitch it into place. It really is as simple as that.

Sometimes you end up with a little hole, like in the photo below.



Don't ever worry about that though!

It's better to leave a gap than to stretch and distort the piece and force it to fit.

The hole can be filled in later on with another small motif, maybe some novelty yarn, a button or a bead.



Here's where I'm up to so far with the hat. You can see that the paper template is very quickly being covered with scrumbles.

And if you turn your head to the side, it looks a litle like a map of Australia!

Freeform Hat In Progress

When I made my Freeform Bag, there were loads of leftover pieces... so I've decided to make them into a hat. Actually there's enough there for more than just one hat... but I'll start with one and see how it goes.



The plan is for a square shaped hat, so I've cut out a template 52 x 22cm. I'll then piece together all my scrumbles to fit the template.

I've taken a few progress photos so that you can get an idea of how it comes together.

I started with a few flower motifs:



And joined some of them together:



Then worked some single crochet around them:



And added some embroidery to embellish:



See how it starts to take on a life of it's own?

Finished Doily

Well, it's not really your traditional style of doily... but it certainly serves the same purpose.

And let's face it - I'm not exactly your TRADITIONAL kind of girl anyway!

As you can see, I have crocheted a variety of different sized granny squares: using a 1.0mm hook and leftover embroidery threads. The final round of each square was completed using a similar thickness of navy 'op shop' cotton. Once the squares were all joined, I worked a few rounds of single crochet (US) around the entire piece. Then finished it off with a simple running stitch embroidered border.



It was never my intention to create straight edges on this doily... although the whole piece did turn out a bit more 'square' than I was hoping for. If you were wanting to make one yourself with straight edges, then you'll just need to spend a little time on some math before you start - to work out the sizes and quantities needed of each granny square.



As for me, no real thought went into it! I just worked up some squares, then slapped them together... and I'm loving the result.

A Doily With A Difference

I've been working on a doily, made using leftover embroidery threads.

Because the lengths were quite short, there have been LOADS of ends to sew in!

BUT they're all done now, and I'm loving the finished result...

The piece is blocking at the moment, so I'll be back tomorrow to share some photos.

Designers Challenge?

Now, I'm still keen on the Stained Glass Challenge which I blogged about yesterday... but I've also come across another interesting one. Maybe it will appeal to you, too.

The group is called Designers Challenge. Each month they launch a new challenge... instructing you on what object to make, what theme to adhere to, and which technique to use. It sounds terribly structured, but there is plenty of room for individual interpretation.

The October Challenge really appeals to me.

The Object
to make this month is a sculpture or artistic decoration... oooohhhhh, I could make almost anything - there's so many possibilities there

The Theme
is celestial/outer space... I'm thinking some weird alien kind of a thing - golly! I've never done anything like that before! (okay, maybe once or twice)

The Technique
is to use non-fibery objects in addition to knitting/crocheting (wire, found objects, etc)... well, I can totally do that - I have a room full of non-fibery delights to work with



So where exactly am I going to start? Honestly don't know...

But I'm thinking that I might work with wire cables.

Remember those ceramic flying ducks which were popular back the 1950s? People would hang them in a set of three on their walls... Maybe I'll work up a variation on that idea, but with an outer space theme?

Master Eight is keen to decorate his room with a space theme. We've recently painted it, and I've purchased some of those vinyl wall stickers to put up... spaceships, stars, planets, etc. So I'm thinking maybe a sculpture of some kind to go into his bedroom. Actually, I might ask him to collaborate with me on this one. It would help me with some direction.

In the meantime, here's a photo of the gorgeous boy with his new sister:

Looking For A Challenge

I've been looking around for a new challenge lately. There's SO many projects here already that I could be working on, but none of them are inspiring me at the moment. So I've been hunting through some of the other groups on Ravelry to see what might stimulate my creativity.

One group I stumbled across is called Picto Create. It's not an overly active group, but there are a few regular posters.

The concept of the group is simple:

"Every Monday, a picture is posted. Using the picture as your inspiration - spin a yarn, knit or crochet a project to look like it, emulate or resemble it"


They're up to Week 171 and the challenge is Stained Glass, as pictured above. Looking through previous challenges, it would seem that most of the participants choose to spin the most amazing yarns using the colours in the photo for inspiration.

Of course, I won't be spinning!

I'm thinking about interpreting the Stained Glass in Freeform Knit and Crochet, though at this point I'm not sure if I'll be aiming for an accurate representation or something a bit more abstract. Maybe I'll focus on one part of the image, and zoom in on the flowers or the water...

If you've got ideas running through your head... don't just suggest them to me - come and join in the fun at Picto Create

Finished My First Freeform Piece

Gosh I've been pathetic at blogging over this past year!

About twelve months ago I attended an all day Freeform workshop hosted by Prudence Mapstone. I'd been dabbling with a bit of freeform knitting and crochet on my own, but when I heard that THE MASTER was going to be in town, there was no way I could miss that!



So my dear friend Dawnie-Pants and I booked ourselves in at the earliest opportunity...

We equipped ourselves with a range of different sized hooks and needles, and lots and lots of different yarns. Excitement overload hit me... I felt like absolute rubbish by the time the day rolled around.. and I thought I was ill with nerves. With hindsight I can state that it was NOT nerves, but indeed the onset of Morning Sickness which had me feeling so unwell!!!



Despite the Morning Sickness, I had a fabulous day. Prudence herself was not at all the person I was expecting. I think that because her work is so bold and outspoken, that I expected her personality to be the same... but the opposite is true. Prudence is a tiny woman, with a quiet demeanour and a palpable serenity about her. Like a really delicate flower. And an excellent teacher, did I mention that? If you ever have the opportunity to learn from her DO NOT PASS IT UP.

Really, I can't believe that I didn't blog about this at the time!



The workshop was brilliant and I came home from it so inspired...

But it still took me a whole year to finish the piece I started there!



And here it is: My First Freeform Bag

from the front



and the back
(or vice versa)



The only reason I didn't finish it much earlier is because I lost motivation when it came to the lining and the handles. I didn't really know what I was going to do regarding them, and was kind of avoiding making a decision! I'm very good at that.

Enter my good friend Maree, who not only guided me into making a decision... but also sewed the lining and handles for me. Now I have a useful bag! Thanks Maree.

Freeform is amazingly fun and very addictive. If you're feeling like you'd be interested in giving it a go, then you should take a look at this guide from Prudence for getting started. I can't seem to get a direct link, so you'll need to click and enter her site, and then select the "what is freeform" option.

But be careful - I'm serious when I say it is HIGHLY addictive - you have been warned.