Krawaggul – beautiful stripey and polkadotty knitted cushion.

Turkey feathers - the crafting never stops – bags this time – wonderful details.

Doll stories is a wonderful newish blog from Israel, Neta makes dolls and dogs and gives them all unique personalities. Just loving seeing what she is doing.

while she naps - a less cowardly lion is wonderful. A quote from her site about her thoughts behind this lion “I have been thinking a lot about making primitive dolls. Dolls/animals that use natural materials and that are assembled in an obvious way. I love the look of exposed seams, of visible hand-stitching, of parts of the toy being tied together, even, instead of sewn.”

Needle book – love the retro feel of this button bracelet.

Liza Lou is a bead artist who creates entire scenes – rooms, trailers, houses, a backyard – entirely from tiny beads.

Her current show at the White Cube in the UK is “a meditation on the vulnerability of the human body and the architecture of confinement” and includes a room the size of a death row prison cell, a barbed wire security fence, and several male figures in states of anguish.

From the exhibit description:

Lou’s work has an immediate ‘shock’ content that works on different levels: first, an acknowledgement of the work’s sheer aesthetic impact and secondly the slower comprehension of the labour that underlies its construction. But whereas in Lou’s earlier works the startling clarity of the image is often a counterpoint to the lengthy process of its realization, for the execution of Cell, Lou further slowed down the process by using beads of the smallest variety with their holes all facing up in an exacting hour-by-hour approach in order to ‘use time as an art material’.

Images of her earlier work can be seen here.

An interesting review of the current exhibit can also be found at the Guardian.

Via magpie and cake

This cute new top has become mine, thanks to Generation-T! How much did I pay for this awesome rocker/beach-bum style? Nothing! I made it myself by following the super easy project tutorials on generation-t’s website!

And just so you don’t think that this top looked good to start with, I’d like y’all to know that this baby started out like this:

Ouch. Tight arms. Small neck. Bad shirt.

What I am particularly excited about on the Generation-T site, is that there is going to be a new way to modify old t-shirts every month! So far there are just two styles, but if you need more right this minute, then pick up the brand new Generation-T book: Generation T, 108 ways to tranform a T-shirt, by Megan Nicolay.

If you’re digging the whole recycled t-shirt thing I would also recommend checking out the site www.compai.com. There is also a Compai book, 99 Ways to Cut, Sew, Trim, and Tie your T-Shirt Into Something Special, by Faith Blakeney, Justina Blakeney, Anka Livakovic, and Ellen Schultz. I have yet to test out any of these designs, but they also look like they could be quite lovely.

Hmm. Like the idea. Definitely comes under extreme crafting. Make your own sandals from tires. Or buy these from adbusters.

Via ReadyMade Blog and MAKE.
Image – www.hollowtop.com

Emoticon, 61-1/4” x 50”, copyright Regina Alexandra

I found Regina Alexandra’s work by doing a Google search for “modern quilts” … why, she has the very domain name modernquilts.com! There is an obvious parallel between pixel art and patchwork (maybe you’ve come across this or this on your internet travels) and I love Ms. Alexandra’s more abstract, minimalist merging of the traditional and the digital. I asked her via e-mail how her “Faces” series developed:

Honestly, sometimes it feels like some of my ideas are just dropped into my head by some outside source at the oddest moment, without warning, and then, there they are! But I was in the planning stages of some very bold, modern graphic quilts at the time. (I was a graphic designer for many years, and that influences my work, as you can see) And in retrospect, it’s no surpise I ended up doing the Faces series, because I am really taken with the face and its expressions: to me it represents a snapshot of humanity and the underlying bewilderment, surprise or amusement at simply finding oneself in the human condition!

Yes, the “Faces” series has just begun! Several interesting, new and surprising designs for the series are in the works, with more suggestions of pixellation. The quilts can take several months to make because of the hand-stitching and certain time constraints.

Ms. Alexandra also makes art quilts with very soulful, personal themes. You can see from her about page that she comes from a long line of sewists and her art quilts are a loving tribute to those who came before her.

How’d They Do That?

We opened a photo in Photoshop and converted it into black and white. Then we bumped up the contrast and applied the half-tone line filter. Choosing a line color that is the same color as the thread you intend to use will make the stitching go faster. Using Timeless Treasures photo transfer fabric sheets that can be fed through an inkjet printer, we printed it out.

Then we made a quilt sandwich with a piece of low-loft cotton batting (we only use Quilters Dream) and a piece of backing. Then go back and forth stitching on a regular sewing machine over the lines in a straight stitch. Keep the feed dogs up and use the reverse stitch function, stitching until all of the lines are covered.

Hi! I’m Alicia, and I’ve been selling my crafts on-line and in stores, including my own store, for several years now. In this column, I’ll be talking in a general way about what it’s like to sell the things that you make, and I’ll give you some ideas to consider when selling your own work.

Whether you plan to sell your work on your own web site, at craft fairs, in shops, or at on-line marketplaces, let’s face it: The first thing you need is a name for your business! I love to think of names for things. If you don’t, consider taking a few of your creative friends out for drinks, and bring a pad of paper and pen for a brainstorming session — once you start talking about who you are, what you make, and what your vision of your business is, the words will start flowing. (A margarita never hurts, just to get the ball rolling.) Don’t stop at your first idea — the nature of brainstorming is organic, and you never end up where you thought you would.

Choose your name carefully! None of us can see the future, but when it comes to names you must try. You will, if you’re lucky, have it for a long time, and you will say it dozens of times a day, and see it in print, and hear it said by other people. In fact, say it to other people, and make sure they don’t say it back to you with a question mark in their voice and a bewildered look on their face, because you will be seeing that exact look on someone else’s face every time you say it. It reminds me of when my husband wanted to name the dog “Hercule Poirot.” The dog’s a girl, but that’s not the point. You want your name to be catchy and clever, but pronounceable, and not so obscure that no one will have a clue what you do — unless you like explaining that sort of thing a lot. You also want it to be specific to your work, but not so specific that it will pigeon-hole you into a particular product or “look.” Test your name on a bunch of people. Don’t necessarily take criticism or advice to heart immediately — this is your name after all, and at the end of the day, only you have to love it — but be aware that if you notice people having trouble pronouncing it, or spelling it (as they look you up on a search engine, for example), this is not a condition that is likely to go away.

Some days I wish I could start all over with a new name. If I’d had any idea six years ago that this would all last more than five minutes, I would’ve thought a lot more about it. And I would never again pick a made-up homonym, but, you know, that’s just me. If you haven’t already printed 2000 business cards and 500 woven labels, I envy you, I really do.

Where were we. If you already have a blog, you could consider using your blog name, or some version of it when naming the business division of yourself. If you’ve established a following, it can be a good idea to capitalize on the recognition-factor of the name you’ve already chosen for your blog. People have fairly short attention spans, and the more you repeat words and images (or, establish a particular “brand” for your work — which I’ll talk about in a later post), the more people will remember you. But if you are inclined to choose something fresh, I say do it. A new name can signal exciting changes, and pique peoples’ interest!

Do some searches yourself, and make sure no one is using the name you love. See what urls are available that relate to your name; if someone’s already claimed a url that you wanted, see if you can think of something similar that will be as close as possible to your business name. (Even if you don’t have a web site now, you may want to purchase a url for future use. Think success!) So many people have blogs and little businesses now you would be wise to choose something as unique as possible.

If you’re satisfied that your name is original, appropriate, and will allow your options to grow and change as your business does, remember to register that name with local authorities, and even your state. This protects you, and prevents others from using the name you worked so hard to think of! It will now be your “assumed business name,” and on legal documents pertaining to your business you and it will appear as, for instance, “Alicia Paulson d.b.a [doing business as] Posie: Rosy Little Things.”

For more information about the legalities of names, and registering them, please contact your county clerk, or the secretary of state where you live (or other local commerce authorities in your country). Also, consider investing in a few books about selling your handcrafts — they are invaluable reference tools as you go along. My favorites are by Barbara Brabec, who has been writing about crafts businesses for many years.

Ever since Interweave Knits ran an article in Fall 05 about Shibori felting, I’ve been totally engrossed in the idea, and practise. If I can get a little shibori into a piece, I will. Shibori work covers a range of techniques, but essentially brings great texture and movement to a piece of knitted fabric. The knit can be very fine and floaty, or thick and hearty, and variations are only limited to your imagination. A quick google search will bring up numerous links, but interestingly, not many blogs with finished product on them, and even flickr doesn’t bring much joy, which has surprised me because it’s such a great idea :: Fusion Knitting has a great bag, and Fiberarts have a lovely article but finding much more than that on the web is pretty hard. I’ve had a lot of fun creating bobbles, which are deceptively simple and quick to achieve and I thought I’d share my technique.

I like to use a good thick pure wool, with some give (ie, not too tight a ply). I’ve had excellent success with handpaintedyarn in a thick/thin slub wool which adds loads of texture. Although results will be just as great with an ordinary wool. Ensure though, that the wool is not superwash, as this will not felt as well, if at all. Decide on your size of end product, do a test knit piece for gauge, and knit up your piece about twice as large as you intend the final piece to be. I tend to use a larger needle than I would normally use for the type of wool – a loose knit will felt in close anyway, but it all depends how tight you want your felted piece to be. Knit your piece in stocking stitch, cast off, and give it a light press. Here comes the fun part.

Cut up a whole heap of small squares of cling film (plastic food wrap) – about 10cm x 10cm pieces. Grab a whole bunch of rubber bands, and some small pebbles or small beads. I used beads in this example. Wrap the knit fabric over the beads, cover with plastic wrap on the right side, and tie in place with a rubber band. Whatever is covered in plastic wrap will not felt. Keep going with the beads in whatever pattern you have figured out. Leave a suitable gap at the edges to allow for the fabric to shrink – say about 2-3cm would be the minimum I would leave. Next, throw it in an old pillowcase and close it, and add that to a washing machine with some old sneakers, tennis balls, and perhaps an old towel. This provides agitation, which will felt, or ‘full’, the fabric. Add a small amount of wool wash (very small amount), and set the machine on the highest temp setting. Check the felting progress every 10 minutes until it has felted your desired amount. This piece took 25 minutes.

When the item has felted to the desired amount, remove and dry. Once dry, remove the plastic wrap and beads, and you now have a lovely bobbled piece of shibori felt!

I love to make collage, and I love to collect all kinds of paper to use in my collages. There are so many beautifully patterned and textured papers out there now. Many art and design stores have good stock of wrapping papers and decorated paper to choose from. The scrapbooking craze has even been a gift to us non-scrapbookers. We have access to more and more beautiful paper goods—from woodgrains to florals to modern geometrics. But the kinds of papers I love to use even more than the ones I find in art stores are the ones I find as I peruse thrift stores or papers that I find in my everyday life. There is beautiful design on paper everywhere. It’s a matter of looking for it and saving it for collage.

Yesterday I found the piece of cardboard pictured below in the locker room at swimming practice. Don’t worry. It wasn’t on the floor. It appears to be from the package for a plastic shower cap. I was drawn to the text and the sort of retro “right way/wrong way” illustration. I am known for picking stuff up in strange places and have actually picked stuff up off the sidewalk before and using them in my work. I am known to keep chopstick wrappers. They often have wonderful little illustrations on them and great Japanese characters. And envelopes, especially those from overseas, have wonderful text markings. Take this one I received from Australia earlier this month.

Speaking of overseas, I love ephemera written in other languages. I especially love Japanese characters. Anytime I see any book at a secondhand store with Japanese characters (especially if it is made from newsprint, which is easy to collage) I pick it right up. And while perusing SCRAP and thrift stores, I often find old children’s books. I especially love old children’s textbooks because the illustrations are cool and colorful, and you are reusing something that should no longer be used with children because the content is outdated. I love to tear pages for my collages.

Of course, I am always looking for vintage journals and receipts. Vintage or new, I love any ephemera with numbers on it, like the tag pictured below. I save dry cleaning tags, which are usually pink, favorite color. I found these old used bingo cards, which are made from newsprint, in a cupboard at work. I work in a very old school building, so I imagine there are treasures hidden everywhere!

And I found two boxed of these old card stock accounting forms at a thrift store. they are not only good for collage, but for a drawing and screen printing surface. And vintage patterns and their envelopes are a great source for layering and color in collage.

Wonderful paper for collage is everywhere. If you see a piece of paper that you like, whether it’s packaging on food or an old magazine, pick it up! And voila, with a little time, patience and varnish, you have a wonderful collage.

Green girl art makes delightfully fun soft robot creations. I particularly love the robot in leiderhosen.

most people will be familiar with Jesses knitted robots.

cakeyvoice and her dawn of the knitted dead are just hilarious.

bloody bunnys drillobots are pretty damn cool

wee wonderfuls makes some great softies – these fembots are amongst my faves.

monster crochet makes crazy creatures – one of my faves is the scorpian queen – definitie sci-fi feel to this one.

Jäke Henzler (blog boy knits world) and his knitted yoda – love the simplicity of these