More Jigsaw Crochet

Today when we were going through boxes of old projects, I found some jigsaw knitting so tonight I got to add some orange and some teal to it. I did single crochet, double crochet, half double crochet and bouillon knots. It's very colorful. I hope I have the guts to wear it.

Freeform Scarflette Necklace Multi-colored

I spent the day assembling this necklace. Some of the circles were already made and in my pile of goodies. Even so, it took me nearly every bit of available time I had to finish it and do the photos. I ran out of time before I even got it listed in my Etsy shop. Hopefully I'll get to that tomorrow. I'd like to make more of these but they take so long I don't see how I can ever make a profit. It's not like I can ask $100. Well, I can, but I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for a buyer.

I display my necklaces on a gourd, because some buyers get very upset if they think a person ever wore the item. So I almost never display them on people. Then others will complain that they want to see it on a person, so there is really no way to win.

When people buy a shirt at a department store, I don't think they want to think about how many times someone else might have tried it on before they did.

Freestyle Poncho

Twice yesterday I tried to start a crocheted loop to make a poncho out of. Both times I ended up with a mobius strip. So I decided to give it a rest. I'm glad I did because this morning my mind solved the problem. I'll just make a straight piece the right length, then crochet a few rows of double crochet to give it some stability and then join the ends together and start my rounds at that point. I believe that will work. Plus that will give me a little leeway if I want to add a button and clasp fastener down the road.

I got the idea from a poncho I saw in a book yesterday that was not only crocheted, but also beaded and embroidered with a cowrie shell fringe on the bottom. While I was doing research I came across this page of free poncho patterns which wasn't of use to me at the time but might be of use to one of my readers. http://www.crochetpatterncentral.com/directory/ponchos.php

Wrapped in love and yarn

This triangular piece would be perfect for a bikini top. I'll have to remember that for later. (see photo below)

Saturday I started a new wrap in my jigsaw puzzle style. I'm surprised how quickly it is coming along. Yesterday I worked on it at the archery meeting. Then when I got home I found an old vest to pin it too so I could better figure out where to place each design element. I'm having a lot of fun with it.

books=ideas

While I was browsing Barnes and Noble I noticed that new freeform books have come out. So if you haven't looked for a while, you might want to go see for yourself.

I don't call them Scrumbles.

I don't call them Scrumbles because that term was coined years after I began doing this.

When you grab some yarn and some needles or a crochet hook and start making fabric using various stitches you can create original and exciting new things.

I'm more used to calling this organic crochet and knitting, but the current trend has renamed it Free Form and called the pieces 'scrumbles'. I call my pieces Jigsaw Puzzles, because each piece is joined to other parts until enough fabric is made to create a garment or a purse or a pillow or something tangible.

This is a lot like abstract painting with fibers instead of paint. I consider myself a fabric artist.
I made my first garment (a floor length robe for street performing) in about 1989. I didn't have internet access until 1995 so I'm afraid I don't have any photos of it. If I ever find it in storage, I'll be sure to post a photo. I'm not even sure I still have it. Like many things in life, we would have documented them better if we thought they'd be important milestones later.