Stringspiration

Christmas means deadlines galore in my little corner of the world, and we're not talking just handmade presents for others. My day job often is overwhelming during the fourth quarter - for about 23 years straight now! Sometimes when I get home late at night, I don't want to do anything but soak in lavender-infused Epsom salts by the light of a candle. Yet every once in a while, I'm driven to do something I can finish in one night, and then I pay the price by being so excited, I can't sleep until the alarm goes off the next morning!

Such was the case one night last week. I'd spent a weekend back in about September sorting through all my selvedges because they had become unruly once again. I got most of the stash organized, measured and packaged, but I still don't have reliable internet access away from work most nights, so I haven't reopened my Etsy shop to list them just yet. I keep saying, "Next weekend..." but "next weekend" never comes!!!


Nevertheless, the mountain of scrappy strings is out of the way, and I even claimed time one night last week to piece together some of the special selvedges I've been hoarding for years. I think I'm going to turn these two panels into a crochet bag. One day.




Most selvedges have a collection of dots on one border used by printers to make sure the different inks line up; when the inks don't align, you get printing ghosts, or overlapping designs that can sometimes even look out of focus. (It's a bonus when you can work your name into your project!)




The first time I noticed a registration mark on fabric that was outside the normal dots, one of the dots was a smiley face. I saved that selvedge for close to two decades, knowing one day I'd find the perfect use for it. Some of the four yards went into the selvedge manadala rug I finished nearly three years ago.


There's still a small sand dune of special selvedges, which I initially thought might be cool braided into straps for my future crochet bag. But sometimes I think a vest would be really awesome, too. I'm setting them aside for just a bit, probably at least until after Christmas and fourth quarter, to give the braid idea time to ferment. That also will give me a little extra time to quilt panels for the sides and bottom of the bag. Then a couple of homemade bias tapes later, I'll have the most unique crochet bag on the planet!!!






Strings have been inspiring me in lots of ways the last few years...


I like the yarn lamp in the video above, but I thought it might be even cooler to use the same technique with snowflakes to make a different yarn lamp. Because, you know, I'm a snowflake nut.


Eric Rieger's work reminds me a bit of the beaded curtains so popular back in the 70s. I would have loved to be the one who came up with this idea!


One of my goals for next year is to figure out how to preserve leaves so I can crochet around them.


I think every city and town needs something like this.


I have space-themed fabric. I've crocheted mini planets. I would love to teach an astronomy class the way Ellen Harding Baker did!


Back in 2015, I had every intention of joining in the Sophie's Universe crochet-a-long. Now the pattern is a book, and there are SO many wonderful interpretations of the pattern!


My back door is in need of crochet enhancement and/or embellishment. I had been thinking one of my unfinished motif projects might be the perfect window covering, but some of these patterns make me want to start a whole new project!

Linking up with Alycia Quilts, Confessions of a Fabric Addict and TGIFF at Storied Quilts.

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