The Fall issue of Crochet Me is up and I thought it might be a good time to talk about some crochet resources on the web. Crochet Me has lots of patterns and articles online (including the Fat Kitty, pictured here).

But what if you have a question, or need someone to talk to about your love of crochet? Then check out the Crochetville forums. They appear to be very active and include a wide range of topics — everything from how-to’s and crochet-alongs to design discussions and dyeing.

If you want to visit some crochet blogs, or have a crochet blog and want to join a web ring, there’s the Crochet Blogs Web ring — run by Donna of Yarn Tomato.

Other crochet links:

• CrochetCast — crochet podcast
• Monster Crochet — you have to see this!
• Crochet Videos — videos tagged with “crochet” on YouTube
• Art Crochet Flickr group — amazing stuff here

Whiptips is an crafts advice column for readers to ask questions or offer advice by leaving your comments. View the Whiptips archive here. You can submit questions, to whiptips@gmail.com. Please include photos with your questions!

Sara from mad mommy wants to know how to crochet a cover for a box, she says:

I’m so glad you’re offering this feature!
Last night I was lying awake trying to figure out how to ask the blogging/crafting community how to crochet a cover for my son’s baby wipe box. There are so many tea cosies and tissue box covers that I figured this would be a pretty easy thing, but I’m not finding any. I am also a beginner when it comes to crochet (in other words, I crochet about as well as I drive a stick-shift, which means I probably could in an emergency, but otherwise, not so good…). If you can help, please let me know!

Can anyone help?

making your own hat is so satisfying, you’ll wonder why you never made one before. easy as pie!

Materials:

• 1/2 yard hat fabric
• 1/2 yard lining fabric
• 1/4 yard fusible interfacing
• button
• sewing machine/needle & thread
• (optional) ham for pressing

Instructions:

1. lay out the pattern pieces

2. pin the pattern pieces to your fabric

3. cut out all the pieces (in hat & lining fabric) and interfacing

4. on the side pieces, mark the edge closest to the front pieces (this edge is longer and helps with the shape of the hat)

5. fuse interfacing to the peak pieces

6. with right sides together, sew the back pieces together at 1/2″

7. with right sides together, sew the front pieces together at 1/2″. then sew the side pieces to the front piece

8. press the seams open now (it will be harder to press later, when the hat is assembled)

9. sew the back piece to the sides

at this point, you can trim some of the bulk off the top.

10. repeat steps 6-9 for the lining fabric.

11. with right sides together, sew the peak pieces together at 1/4″

turn the peak right side out and press it flat.

12. you should now have 3 pieces that look like this

13. (optional) topstitch the peak at 1/4″ for decoration.

14. with right sides together, pin the peak to the hat

15. lay the hat and peak into the lining (which is inside out)

16. beginning at centre back, sew the hat to the lining at 1/4″, leaving a 2-3″ gap

17. turn the hat right side out

18. press the edge of the hat flat

(please excuse the dirty laundry in the background)

19. blindstitch or machine stitch the opening closed.

20. attach a button to the top of the hat, sewing through both hat & lining (so that the lining doesn’t fall down)

21. ooooh

* another way of finishing the hat is to leave the raw edges of the hat and lining exposed

and stitch a grosgrain ribbon over them.

Printmaking is a passion of mine which I love to share with others. One of the simplest and yet most beautiful ways to make a print is to use produce. There are lots of sites out there with different ideas on vegetable prints, here are a few of the better ones I found - Kids Craft Weekly has one, Family Crafts does too,and Scholastic as well.
Here are some tips/ideas which I have used with many people, time and again which work well.
*Try to cut open a apple horizontally to show the interior star shape.
*Use mushrooms, onions, leaf lettuce, kale, corn on the cob, bell peppers, citrus fruits and cauliflower.
*Slice them in half or so there is a flat surface to take the ink from - make sure they are dry and not too juicy.
*Leafy vegetables should be inked on the surface which is most ridged. Corn is very easy to roll into the ink.
*At the end of the process, wash off the fruits and vegetables and put into your compost pile.
*Push forks into the slippery produce to use as handles and to stay away from the onions!
Using water based inks give the best results with details but tempera paint with a little liquid soap added works.
*Remember, less is more when printing, so use the ink/paint sparingly for the most detail.
You can use these ideas as springboards for your printmaking projects too: create monsters from the shapes or animals, make a landscape, create underwater creatures, faces, abstract designs and vehicles which have never been seen before!

There are so many knitting podcasts out there now that I can’t even begin to keep up, but the number of sewing and quilting podcasts is a little more managable. Here are my most recent subscriptions:

Sewchick: Art Quilt Adventurer The two episodes so far have covered “what is art quilting?” and overcoming emotions and attitudes that block creativity.

British textile artist Bonnie McCaffery has an audio/video podcast about art quilting techniques.

Driven to Quilt: All kinds of quilting news, reviews, and techniques by Nadine Ruggles.

Material Mama: Sewing and fabric with a focus on fashion sewing for the family.

Grandma’s Sewing Cabinet: Not a podcast by a grandma, but by a granddaughter inspired vintage sewing patterns and supplies.

CRAFT Magazine is doing something interesting alongside their audio podcast: podcast patterns! Which really are just PDFs delivered to you. The patterns (so far) have consisted of very cute garments from the Australian company Fitz Patterns.

It shouldn’t be called City Museum. It should be called Phantasmagoria Central or something. For those of you who have never heard of St. Louis, Missouri, it is the gateway to the American West and located on the Mississippi River. It is home to the City Museum, way up there on my list of amazing places I’ve been in the world. If you are a creative person, a maker of any sorts, prepare to be amazed, astonished and thoroughly inspired. And any child over the age of 2, and likely all the grown-ups you know too, will beg to go back.

The City Museum is located in the site of a former shoe factory and occupies an entire city block. It is made of recycled industrial parts and architectural salvage. It is part adventure playground, part Alice in Wonderland and all organic, intuitive, outsider art on steroids.

You rarely know where the tunnels you are crawling through or the stairs you are climbing will lead you, you only know that you are entering another world designed by a sculptor with an amazing imagination. You’ll be thinking about how cool it was long after you’ve returned home and you’ll spot a key someone has dropped in the street and you’ll think about all of the different things you could do with that key–things that you might not have thought about had you not gone to the City Museum.

The spindles on the staircase–rollers from the conveyors of the shoe factory, the mosaic on the column–one night’s worth of oyster shells from a local seafood restaurant, the wall next to the elevator–old engraving plates from a printer, the spiral climbing structure over there–used to be a refrigerant tube used in a beer factory.

Yes that is our friends’ 3-year old climbing through a suspended tunnel made out of salvaged rebar 5 stories above the ground. It is connected to an abandoned FBI plane at one end and a series of climbing structures and old buses and a fire engine on the other. Did I mention that the place stays open until 1 am? We stayed for 5 hours and left only because our young children needed to go to bed. We didn’t even make it to the glass-tube slide that goes through the shark pool, see the acrobats or enter the Museum of Mirth, Mystery and Mayhem.

Going to the City Museum will make you rethink your definition of materials because it shows just how great design can make anything interesting. You will feel like a kid again, head swirling in amazement and longing to go make something.

Below are some more resources you might like to hook up with… first a knitted princess Leia hat with pattern (thanks Emma for sending in the Link)

I have extended upload your link time to end of the weekend - so you have until Sunday to upload your hat link \
- I want more more MORE! (manic laughter) …

yahoo hat group
knitting pattern central - tonnes of hat patterns here
crochet pattern central - hats hats and more hats
head huggers - make hats for others
global hat directory
history of hats
history of hats 2

Photograph of Frida Kahlo with Red “Rebozo”. The rebozo is a traditional Mexican shawl that is long enough to wrap around a woman’s body, with a little extra (about 4-5 feet).
Vicky Cowal explains the history of this shawl:

“The rebozo has a history that goes back many centuries and is a wonderful example of what the meeting of cultures can produce. In the days before the conquest, both men and women used a kind of simple shawl, a lienzo, both for warmth and for carrying bundles. It was woven in backstrap looms from maguey and henequen fibers and there are many examples of them in various codices. Soon after the Spaniards arrived, they insisted that the Mexican women wear a head covering for entering the churches. Out of this necessity combined with the Spaniards’ imported weaving skills came the rebozo (the word comes from the verb rebozar, meaning to cover up), a multi-purpose covering initially woven of just cotton and then later on also of silk and wool, and still to this day a symbol of mexicanidad worn proudly by Mexican women of all social standings.”

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Fotografía de Frida Kahlo con un rebozo rojo. El rebozo es un mantón tradicional mexicano, bastante largo, que las mujeres usan para abrigarse alrededor del cuerpo.

Vicky Cowal explica la historia de este chal: “El rebozo tiene una historia de siglos y es un maravilloso ejemplo de mestizaje de culturas. Antes de la conquista, tanto los hombres como las mujeres usaron una especie de mantón simple, un lienzo, tanto para el calor como para llevar bultos. Fue tejido en telares de cintura y fibras henequen- hay muchos ejemplos de ellos en varios códices-. Con la conquista española,las costumbres cambian e insistieron en que las mujeres mexicanas llevasen cubierta la cabeza para entrar en las iglesias. De esta necesidad, combinada con las habilidades del tejido importado por los españoles ,vino el rebozo (la palabra viene del verbo rebozar, queriendo decir cubrir), una cubierta al principio tejida de algodón y más tarde también de seda y lana. Hoy en día es un símbolo llevado con orgullo por las mujeres mexicanas de todas las categorías sociales”

How to weave a rebozo. The rebozos are traditionally woven by men and it is a laborious and complicated process and takes years of practice to get it right.

A variety of fibers are used, including silk, rayon, and cotton.The warp on a backstrap loom is stretched between a support and the weaver’s body. A very interesting web about how to make a backstrap woven shawls is the school of Santa María.

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Cómo se tejen los rebozos. El rebozo tradicionalmente es tejido por hombres; un proceso laborioso y complicado que lleva años de práctica para llegar a hacerlo correctamente.

Desde hace tiempo, los hacen con el telar de cintura con hilos finos de algodón, seda, y artisela. En el telar de cintura la urdimbre se estira entre un respaldo y el cuerpo de la tejedora. Muy interesante el link de la escuela Santa María donde describe cómo se fabrica un rebozo.

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El “rebozo” is so versatile and was/is commonly used to carry babies on mother’s back, like a cool-weather wrap, knapsack, sash, elegant shawl… But it´s more than a shawl, it´s an expression of Mexican history, culture and art.

Este chal es muy versátil y puede ser usado como portador de bebés, abrigo, fajín, prenda elagante… Pero lo que realmente simboloza es la expresión de lo más profundo de la cultura, el arte y la historia mexicana.

Bowls from Shannon Garson’s “Paddock” collection.

Shannon Garson makes porcelain pots onto which she draws images from her garden and life. Shannon writes the blog Strange Fragments and she has a lovely way of talking about her pottery “The purpose of these pots is to create a small dorway into a different world as people go about thier everyday lives, having cups of tea, washing up dishes, eating cakes.”

“Clown teapot”, a one off by Andy Titcomb.

Teapots, teapots, teapots is Andy Titcombe’s blog about…teapots! “There is something momentous about a teapot. In the harried business of 21st-century living, it is, in a way, a monument to time, or rather taking time — say, tea time.” Read Andy’s complete ode to the teapot here.

Tiles by Raheleh, Jill and Lee.

Raheleh writes Diary of a Potter, a blog she started a little over a year ago. She graduated from the University of Teheran in Handicraft with major on pottery and ceramic and now she lives in the US. Don’t miss her post about the tiles she’s made in collaboration with her friends Jill and Lee.

Good Luck birds by Sproutstudio.

Jenifer makes endevours into all kinds of arts and crafts, ceramics is just one of them and she writes about it all on Sproutgirl.

no hat frenzy would be complete without ana voog - love these freestyle crochet creations.

she sells the hats and patterns, but also has free patterns on her blog - great spiral hat how to here. The hats are so incredibly good though!

I like her vibe

I am a spinner, hand-dyer, knitter and crocheter, and Hat-maker. I have worked in materials ranging from handspun dog and cat hair, to recycled plastic bags, to the ultimate luxury fibre, cashmere. Wherever possible, I use my own handspun, hand-dyed yarn, creating a truly individual and different look. All of the materials I work with are chosen with great care. All of the Hats I make are made with great attention to detail, and passion.

For the child who loves to collect beautiful nature things, such as the inside of milkweed pods, small seeds, flower petals and other flat ephemeral objects, there is no better way to keep them than to capture them inside handmade paper. To make handmade paper with children is quite simple to do. Sometimes a toddler likes to get into the paper ripping segment so don’t be surprised if they want to join in!

First assemble these ingredients:
* paper egg cartons, old paper scraps, even a bit of that dryer lint!
* a few drops of liquid soap detergent per potful
* water + cooking pot
* papertowels
* old screens - use masking tape around the edges to keep sharp edges away.
* stack of newspaper
* those flat nature items or for that sparkle-holic, glitter, if you must.

Then get started:
* Everyone tears up the egg cartons.You can also use old newspaper and other scrap paper, torn up into small pieces. A combination of them all is great! (Do not try to use glossy papers as they just won’t break down very well)
* Put the pieces in the pot with detergent and water to cover and cook on low for 2-3 hours. Cook until the mixture looks very soft and can be easily blended with a spoon. During this time, children can sort through their inclusions to decide what will go into each piece of paper, or look outside for more items.
* Put in food processor, until it is a smooth consistency.
* Add water to the mixture before and after cooking to keep it smooth and the thickness of yoghurt.
* You can add a little food coloring if you like, and then pour onto the screen.
* Strain through screen until desired thickness, adding in the nature inclusions as you go.
* Flip over onto the newspaper, cover with the paper towels and then more newspaper.
* Cover with heavy books or another weight for 24 hours. Peel off paper and let dry for an additional 24 hours. If you are careful, you can iron the paper on a very low setting with a protective newpaper layer in between the iron and new handmade paper to avoid scorching it.
* Spray with spray starch and iron if you intend to use ink on it to keep it from bleeding.
This paper is perfect for love notes, invitations and for making little journals filled with secrets and scribbles.
There are a great many papermaking books and web sources for more sophisticated equipment if you get hooked, but this is a good way to get started.

Just a couple more days to go with getting your entries into whiplash - I can’t wait to see all the amazing hats out there!
Here’s another one for you…

Read about this fantastic hat here -

classical millinery combined with sculptural perspectives has let to these wonderful creations in felt.

Jean Hicks Erratica hats

I write about children’s crafts for whipup, and blog most every day about art and design at Art Esprit.

The Big Draw is an annual event showpiece from the organisation, Drawing Power. Their patrons are heavy hitters in the drawing dept: Quentin Blake, David Hockney,and Posy Simmonds just to name a few. Their aim is simple: To get everyone drawing. They say “that drawing can be a public activity as well as a private passion. 1000 venues across the UK, from great national institutions to village halls, will be joining in to offer people of all ages the chance to discover that drawing is enjoyable, liberating and at everyone’s
fingertips. The Campaign was inspired by the great Victorian writer and visionary, John Ruskin. His mission was not to teach people to draw, but how to see. Each Big Draw season brings fresh opportunities to discover how drawing can connect us to our environment and heritage.” And it is spreading … this year there are events in New York City, Boston, Jersey, Dublin and Gibralter. Anyone can participate and there are even events on the internet.

Interested in how to find an event already happening or to organise an event? Here is the press kit! They even have directions for planning drawing activities…and running drawing activites. At our gallery we used their on line theme page to start our group of 30 children and parents drawing last year in an informal participation. We applied for information last year and we are in the process of organizing a more formal Big Draw event for 2007 in New Hampshire. I think that it is a great way to get children, adults and community exposed to something which is at the core of our being and often gets ignored. Who knows? Maybe by practicing drawing we will all come to see our world a little more clearly.

I live outside of Chicago, where we take our winters seriously. And for those of you who live in the Northern Hemisphere, I don’t need to remind you that (sigh) winter is coming. But you’d never know by the “winter” clothing that is sold for girls–thin little cotton skirts and leggings that would chill the body long before the first snowflakes fall. So I decided to make our 5-year-old daughter some reversible pants with either two layers of flannel or one layer of denim and a layer of flannel. Best of all, if she spills something while we’re traveling or out somewhere, you turn ‘em inside out in the bathroom and presto chango your child is presentable! It’s this magical feat that caused her to name them her “Fancy Pants.”

She lived in these pants and others like them last winter and they only took an hour and a half or so to make. I used a simple elastic-waist pants pattern with three or four seams. I made two pair and sewed them together before I put the elastic in the waist. The added bonus is that I made one a size larger and then turned up the fab Pucci-esque print for added style and more wearings next year.

Recently i have descovered this great work in felt. Paula Mantelli(Mondopanno) explains:”The little baskets come out of the board, like little pockets, to fit the creatures in there.When the toys “are not”, it’s just a balloon board. After playing with them, it’s where they’re keeped.Each toy has a different little rattle inside.”

More details here.

Recientemente he descubierto esta estupendo trabajo en fieltro. Paola Mantelli(Mondopanno) nos explica :”As cestinhas “saem” do quadro, formando uns bolsos, pra encaixar as criaturas aí.
Quando os bonequinhos “não estão”, ele é só um quadro de balões. Depois de brincar, é onde eles são guardados.Cada boneco tem um chocalhinho diferente dentro.”

Más detalles aquí.

cosymakes has a fabulous set of all the hats she has made - mostly from recycled wool.

Quilt from Patchwork Lives, larger image here.
Travelling west in American in the nineteenth century, you may never have seen again those you left behind in the east.

Quilt from Patchwork Lives, larger image here.
Signature quilts and album quilts were tangible mementoes, often collaborative works.

Quilt from the IQSC, larger image here.
The Patchwork Lives exhibit not only contains an enticing assortment of historic quilts, it also shows how they document social change over a seventy year period.

Quilt from the IQSC, larger image here.

If you’re interested in historic quilts, the International Quilt Study Center has a free quilt-of-the-month email drawing on its extensive collection. Sign up here, or view the archives here.

More on signature quilts here and here.

This is one of Hilda’s bird hats

Amongst the many many talents of Hilda, is knitting, yes she makes dolls and stuffed toys, she sews bags and clothes, she paints and draws, but she also knits, and her hats are simply divine. Check out her flickr site and website.