3KCBWDAY7- Balancing Your Craft!

Crafting Balance 
Are you a knitter or a crocheter, or are you a bit of both? If you are monogamous in your yarn-based crafting, is it because you do not enjoy the other craft or have you simply never given yourself the push to learn it? Is it because the items that you best enjoy crafting are more suited to the needles or the hook? Do you plan on ever trying to take up and fully learn the other craft? If you are equally comfortable knitting as you are crocheting, how do you balance both crafts? Do you always have projects of each on the go, or do you go through periods of favouring one over the other? How did you come to learn and love your craft(s)?

Freeform Knitted Lace with Freeform Crochet Edging

I guess you might say that I am WELL-BALANCED!  I am both a knitter and crocheter!  I learned to knit at about age 8 from my great aunt, who was Belgian.  I believe my mother taught me to crochet - don't remember when! I am about equally committed to both, plus a little felting thrown in there to truly create the balance. And the felting consists of knitted, nuno, and needle types, sometimes all three combined!  And then I recycle and like to create something from other functional objects, as in my Upcycle Scarves and Funky Fabric Scarves, the Rag Bags, and the Plarn Bags.  

Funky Fabric Scarf

Upcycle Scarf

I like freeform!  Organic designs, contemporary styling as well as classic, or organic, freeform within traditional styles - all are part of my repertoire.  As noted throughout this week of blogging, because I sell my work, I need to constantly be mindful of my audience, my followers, and the public in general - in terms of variety of color, texture, basic design, and styling.  So you might say that I dabble in everything (master of none??)

Bloomin' Neck Garden

Plarn Bag

I find crochet allows me to be more creative than knitting - maybe because I have not tried my hand at a some advanced stitches in knitting.  I can create 3-dimensional artwork with crochet; I can pull out parts without destroying the entire piece with crochet.  I can create freeform designs more readily with crochet.  Do I like it best? Not at all!  The balance of fiber art in my life is important.  I bore easily, like to work quickly, and often like combining my two or three interest areas.  This has become my life's work and work that I truly love!  As a career counselor too, I know how important this is and am grateful to have found this balance in my life - particularly during this time of retirement!

All my work is viewable on flickr!  Please take a look if interested!

Funky Feel and Felt!

Nuno Felt Brooch Combo,
originally uploaded by scarfitup.

Mmmmmmmmm! I LOVE fiber! I guess that's why I'm a fiber artist and not some other kind!

Nuno felt is a wonderful thing! It's soft, pliable, delicate-looking but not delicate, and it allows the artist to create diverse pieces of wearable art.
This piece was made from two separate small pieces of nuno samples, folded and wired together, pin attached, and VOILA! it's a brooch!

But not so simple, really! The process is awesome and awe-inspiring, requiring a full day of felting and fulling in a process that is far too long to explain right now. If interested, there is much to learn and lots of examples to see. Go to Etsy and do a search for "nuno felt." You'll be awed too!



And do you love the FEEL of fiber? Do you love funky? OK! so here is Smokey Cachecol, the latest from my collection of scarflettes or cachecols - for that lightweight warmth for your neck. This one pulls together all sorts of greys (grays) with black, cream, and silver accents. It's finished with funky knots and a large swirly vintage button (thanks, Karen!)