Where Have You Been?

Ok. I realize that I’m the one that went missing, but hey. I’m a bit amazed that more two months have passed without a single post. The truth is that I’ve been caught up in the beginning of spring here in Georgia, and writing articles about spring ephemerals on one of my other blogs – Native in the City. I’ve also been busy with new projects including lots of felting, and new adventures in filet crochet and chenille. Setting up a web store on Etsy – check it out at http://www.soubretteart.com/ – to sell some pieces have rounded out the time.

Here are a few of the crocheted and felted bowls, all based around the same basic techniques described in the chair pad project.
The only real difference is that when you feel the base of the bowl is large enough and you want to start building the sides, you simply stop increasing. To create the ruffled edge on a few of the bowls shown here, start increasing again, but double or triple it up. The more you increase, the more exaggerated the ruffle.

Creating the multicolored designs was really fun. This method is sometimes called tapestry crochet, and you just carry the second color along as you crochet and switch colors whenever the mood strikes. There are many good tutorials online that show how to work with two colors. A few include Tapestry Crochet, Chrochet N More, Art of Tangle, and the crochet pages at About.com. As for the flower that adorns the top of the felted bowl cover, I found the pattern on Meilynne’s Yarngear blog.

Unlike the chair pad, which had to dry flat, bowls need to be dried around something that helps them to retain their shape. I used everything from an empty mayonnaise jar to wadded up grocery bags. The whole point here is to be creative and have fun. Some projects will turn out better than others and in the beginning nothing will turn out just the way you expected, but that can be a good thing!