Strand Over Fist

When I first started crocheting (when I was still afraid of making wearable garments) I made a lot of scarves and purses. Many of the purses were completely improvised and I never bothered to write patterns for them. Looking back, I’m wondering if maybe I should. Would you be interested in making these?

Spike Stitch Fur-Lined Purse:  Inspired by a spike stitch tutorial that I had found on CrochetMe several years ago.  It’s all wool with a fun fur strap and edging, felted.  Very simple construction, I liked how slouchy it turned out…

The Fibonacci Squares Purse and Spiral Pouch: Also felted wool… I’ve always loved math, particularly the golden ratio. This bag was originally an idea for an afghan but I figured a purse would be an easier place to start (I’ve still not made the afghan but someday I will.

The back is just striped… Then I made this little spiral coin purse to sort of go with it.

Beaded Racing Striped Purse: This one is made with Moda Dea Beadnik yarn (I thought it was really neat but it has been discontinued). I had just learned to do linked treble crochet stitches (kind of similar to Tunisian, I’d later find out) which forms a really dense, solid fabric.  So I designed this bag in mostly that stitch in a kind 0f 70s color scheme and stripe pattern.

As a crocheter and a designer I tend to notice fashion details when watching a movie or TV show. Here are some movies I’ve watched recently that inspired me:

Zack and Miri

screen-caps by Vickie Howell, check out her blog for more

This one has already been nicely screen-capped and reviewed by Vickie Howell.  If you’re not a crocheter or knitter you may not have noticed but there are handmade hats and scarves everywhere in that movie!  If you listened closely you’ll remember that Miri works at a Yarn Store so maybe she’s the assumed stitcher?  It’s not exactly a movie for children or anyone easily offended (though it is quite funny) so if you fall into one of those groups, check out the photos at the link above instead of watching the movie.  The inspiration here is kind of obvious :)

Sex and the Single Girl
This is obviously not a new movie but I just recently watched it for the first time.  Sex and the Single Girl is a 1964 movie based on a book and starring Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood.  In it Natalie plays a young psychologist whose mod 60’s style inspired me to draw up some sketches for possible future crochet patterns.  The jacket in this photo specifically grabbed my attention.  I could not find a photo of the back of it but it had an interesting inverted V slit all the way to the neckline.  I haven’t yet designed a sweater because I’m a bit intimidated by the idea of designing for multiple sizes but this jacket gave me an idea for easily adjustable sizing.  There is a great post about the interior design and fashion in the movie at Sweet Sunday Mornings.

Alice in Wonderland

Just this weekend I saw the new Alice in Wonderland (re-imagined by Tim Burton.) My favorite part of the movie was the wardrobe. Alice wears 8 or 10 outfits throughout the movie and during the first part of the movie she was wearing these cute blue and white striped fingerless gloves (which you can see peeking out from her sleeves in this photo.) These inspired me to design some little lacy spring wristlets, since I’ve been enjoying working with lace weight yarn so much lately.  I’ve been working on this pattern for the past few days and hopefully I’ll finish it soon so I can share it before spring is over!

I actually found another blogger who admired these wrist warmers as much as I did so you can find more photos of those as well as more wardrobe shots from Alice at The Art of Clothes.

So what I want to know is, designers and stitchers, what inspires you?

My favorite hooks are generally the simple plastic inline style but I’m always up for trying out different hooks to see if I might like it better.  When I found the Kollage Square Crochet Hooks at Yarnmarket they were like nothing I’d ever seen before, I was intrigued.  I guess Kollage started this idea with square wood knitting needles that are apparently easier on the hands than typical round needles.  I can’t speak for those as I don’t knit enough to know but the hooks are definitely NOT easier on the hands.

I thought maybe it was time I bought myself a really nice hook… but it’s not a nice hook. It’s a simple metal hook glued into a square rosewood handle… crookedly! I had a hard time taking a photo that showed this but the hook part leans off to one side.  Definitely not a hook that should have cost nearly $13 (way more than I’ve ever spent on a single hook)!  It’s also really uncomfortable to crochet with… but, you know, that’s the risk you take buying stuff from the couch…

How’s that for a grumpy Monday post? :P