Crochet Queen: Royal Ramblings

I was about to blog about crocheting with porcelain clay recently and got to thinking about all the other strange/interesting materials I've crocheted with during my long crochet journey! #Consider Listening to your inner artist and let me know what interesting things you have crocheted with.

WomanMade Gallery: 685 N. Milwaukee, Chicago Yes, my specialty is crochet, and yes I am the author of the  Fine Art of Crochet: Innovative Works from Twenty Contemporary Artists.  However, I love fiber in all of its forms and Art-To-Wear is no exception. The Art Wear movement established firm roots in the decade of the eighties with the publication of Julie Schafler Dale's incredible book,  Art To Wear . Dana Balwin: Wild & Wooly Bride, lamblocks, embroidered, beaded, felted , Deborah Hirshfield: Triumverate of Maladies, silk, dye, wood, thread, wool roving Deborah Hirschfield: Untitled Melis Agabigum: When You Told Me to Go Along, I Should Have Asked How Far, coppper, powdercoat, waxed cotton Suzanne Peterson: The Weight of Overindulgence , glass, nicket, video Cydney Lewis: Blackberry Necklace, plastic bags Dawna Davis: Elizabethan's Treasure, wire The above work is the closest they came to choosing a "crochet-like...

I'm excited to be participating in the 6th Annual Blog Week: We're writing about 6 topics provided for us; one for each day.  Day One (Monday 11th May): If You Were Yarn. If you were a type or brand of yarn, which would you be? Are you a classic pure wool? Is there extra tension but a bit of bounce in you because of your high twist? Would you be more like a high-maintainance, strictly hand-wash fluffy angora or a ‘bring it on’ acrylic, bravely heading into the world of possible baby-sick laundering disasters knowing that you will always come out bright and unharmed? Spend some time browsing yarns and getting to know their qualities, and decide which yarn you think best matches your personality . Trying to decide which yarn I would be if I were a yarn is proving to be difficult! I do love it all, but I love unusual materials the most! Randomly, I choose one, raffia, to get started here. Raffia is not all that unusual, but it does lend itself to sculptural effects as o...

Tuesday, August 3, 2013 I first “met” Jude Butterworth on the Internet via Ravelry when I admired and bought one of her gorgeous shawl patterns. Since that time she has been an active and very creative participant in my Ravelry Fan group, Cro-Kween Designs .  I admire Jude's beautiful free-form and other crochet work. From Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, she is one busy and talented lady. I asked her to share some of her insights on alternative materials for use in crochet. Alternative Materials: A Practical Guide by Jude Butterworth When I was a university student, I had very little money and used what little I did have for food and shelter.  During that time I had such a strong urge to crochet that I had to get inventive.  Whether by necessity, curiosity, or the desire to recycle detritus that would otherwise end up in a landfill, many crocheters are experimenting with materials that diverge from traditional yarns often found in the crocheter’s basket. As...