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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