New Piece: That’s My Jam Scarf

That's My Jam Scarf | Webster Fiber Arts

April 19, 2016January 30, 2017 | Annie

Hi folks,

Oh my goodness! I have been having a terrible time getting decent looking pictures of my pieces lately. All of my photo mojo disappeared and I was getting nasty, fuzzy, blurry pictures. Booo! This led to a super-frustrated Annie, and a super-frustrated Annie does a lot of crochet, which led to even more pieces needing to be photographed.

Last Thursday, I was on a mission. These pictures were going to happen! I moved the coffee table out of the living room and setup my little photo studio. I took a few pictures, looked at them, made a few adjustments, repeated the process a couple of times, and ended up with some photos that work. Yay! There is still some editing and cropping and so forth to do, but this is a big hurdle cleared.

The first piece I want to show you is made from yarn I got on our trip to Arkansas last fall. This is That’s My Jam:

I had to supplement my Arkansas yarn with another ball that I ordered online because this scarf was going to be way too short without the extra yarn. Now it is long and light and colorful and I love it.

See more photos and purchase on Etsy.

Until next time,
Annie

Scarf Struggles

February 13, 2016January 30, 2017 | Annie

Hi folks,

I have this yarn:

This is Red Heart’s Boutique Treasure in Watercolors. I really like the colors in this—two variegated strands are plied together. It is soft and wonderful. I am having a terrible time with it.

The yarn itself is fine. I want that to be clear. This is a me problem. I can’t seem to settle on a stitch pattern I like, one that does justice to the pretty color changes. I have started and ripped out at least 10 different pieces. This is a little frustrating, though I do have a plan for some other yarn in my stash because of the stitches I have been playing with for this piece. Here are a couple that I started and just cut off because the yarn was starting to get a little fuzzy:

And here is where I am now. This scarf uses a V stitch for a few rows, then a really long V stitch for a row. One of the things I really like about this yarn is the way long stitches look with it.

When this piece was sitting in my “in progress” pile, I thought I was going to be frogging this one too, but when I laid it out for the photo above, I really started to like it. I think this might be the one. I’m not sure I have enough yarn to make a decent scarf at this width, so there may still be one more round of frogging, but this time it will only be to adjust the size, not to start all over again. Woo-hoo! I’m so glad I decided to write about this one. I might have continued to struggle with this piece had I not taken that photo.

Until next time,
Annie

A Scarf for Me: Forever Summer

Forever Summer Scarf | Webster Fiber Arts

February 3, 2016January 30, 2017 | Annie

Hi folks,

Let us take a trip back in time, to August of last year, when I started working on this brightly colored scarf:

I dyed all of this bright yarn for my donation for the Mandalas for Marinke Project.

I finished the scarf sometime in early September, and wrapped it around the dress form I use for photos (her name is Bea, by the way). I was putting off blocking this piece because blocking is not super fun, and I put off blocking most of my pieces. So this scarf sat around Bea’s neck for a while, and it made me happy to look at it each day. These colors are just so…me. It didn’t take me very long to decide that this scarf was going to be living with me.

I will admit that when I went to block this piece, I discovered that the yellow dye was not staying in the yarn very well, so this scarf got a second bath in some vinegar and sat in the oven for a while. There was not nearly as much yellow run off when I rinsed it after this second attempt at setting the color, but it is still not as colorfast as my other hand dyed yarns. I must have left something out in the original dying process. No matter. It works for me.

These colors remind me of the shelves of brightly colored plastic plates and cups you see at stores heading into the summer months. Since this scarf is something I would wear in the cold weather, I’m calling it “Forever Summer,” as a way to remember those summer shades when it is gray and cold outside.

Until next time,
Annie

New Piece: Cornucopia Scarf

February 2, 2016January 30, 2017 | Annie

Hi folks,

New piece! This is the Cornucopia Scarf:

This scarf is made with yarn I got on our trip to Silver Dollar City last fall. It is an awesome handspun yarn by Kathleen D. Brewer.

I’ve tried a little bit of drop spindle spinning in the past. It did not go well. I know it is just a matter of needing more practice. One of my sisters-in-law has a couple of alpacas on her farm, and she gave me a bag full of fiber at Christmas, so I have plenty of fluff to work with as I continue to learn about spinning. Knowing how much I am struggling with it makes me appreciate the work spinners do all the more.

See more photos and purchase on Etsy.

Until next time,
Annie

What I Made for Christmas

December 30, 2015January 30, 2017 | Annie

Hi folks,

The gifts have been distributed, and now I can show them off!

I made this scarf for my mom:

This is made from my beloved Lion Brand Landscapes yarn. I love the colors in this one (Tropics) and I knew my mom would, too.

My favorite thing about this one is the edging. I’ve used this one a few times, but the way it worked up in the thick Landscapes yarn makes me really happy.

I made these guys for my brother and his girlfriend:

I learned how to make these monsters in Stacey Trock’s Amigurumi: Design Your Own Monster class on Craftsy. This class was awesome because I learned to make these stuffed monsters from my own little monster doodles. So much fun!

The blue guy took on more of an alien form as I worked on him.

And greeny has bumps on his back, kind of like a toad.

Until next time,
Annie

New Piece: Meandering Moss Scarf

Meandering Moss Scarf | Webster Fiber Arts

November 12, 2015January 30, 2017 | Annie

Hi folks,

The last week has been very itchy for me. Last Thursday, I worked in the yard, cleaning out flower pots and birdfeeder, planting mums, and collecting our various gnomes, birds, and gazing balls for winter storage. I had a couple of bug bites that started itching that night, but Friday morning I woke up to discover my chest and neck covered in bites. I tried to count them a couple times, but they were all swollen into each other, so I lost track. I’m guessing there were about 50 of them.

The itching was terrible. I went to the store Saturday and bought Benadryl and spent most of the day sleeping, which meant I wasn’t scratching myself, which is a good thing. I covered myself in Calamine lotion, but after a couple of days, my skin got very dry and even itchier—so annoying!

Things are much better today. My skin is still dry in spots, but the bites are no longer swollen. I just have little bursts of itchiness now and I am feeling like a much happier person. I’m feeling so good, I am even up to posting a new piece today. Yay!

This is the Meandering Moss Scarf:

This is yarn I dyed myself, then I crocheted it into this frilly little scarf. I love the look of these kind of swirly, coral-like pieces. There are just so many stitches crammed into the space. There are artists out there doing really cool things with hyperbolic crochet. Look at the photos in this Google Image Search for “crochet coral reef.” Amazing!

With all of the curls, this scarf can be worn in a number of ways. I like it wrapped a snug around the neck a couple of times to get a flouncy collar.

See more photos and purchase on Etsy.

Until next time,
Annie

New Piece: Sunset Waves Scarf

October 30, 2015January 30, 2017 | Annie

Hi folks,

I’ve felt yucky this week. I have had a cold. Fortunately, it hasn’t been a bad one, but it has sucked up all of my energy and left me wanting to do nothing but sleep and watch TV. The watching TV isn’t unusual, but the sleeping during the day is. I’m feeling less dizzy today, but I am doing more coughing and sneezing.

I did have enough energy to add a new scarf to the shop today. This is the Sunset Waves Scarf:

This scarf is very similar to my Hills & Valleys Infinity Scarf. I made these two pieces around the same time, but I am just getting around to posting Sunset Waves. It was in the “completed” stack, but I hadn’t photographed it. Ooops!

I used my beloved Noro yarn for this piece. Wooly wonderfulness!

See more photos and purchase at Etsy.

Until next time,
Annie

New Piece: Falling Leaves Scarf

Falling Leaves Scarf | Webster Fiber Arts

October 13, 2015January 30, 2017 | Annie

Hi folks,

I just added a new scarf to the shop, the Falling Leaves Scarf:

I wrote about this piece a few weeks ago when I was about halfway through the scarf. I fell in love with this yarn as soon as I saw it. It’s part of the Isaac Mizrahi Craft collection from Premier Yarns, and the colors are glorious.

The leaves are only beginning to change colors here in Kansas City, but on my trip to the Smokies I saw some beautiful colors, especially as we drove into higher elevations. There were beautiful golds and oranges, with a few vibrant red leaves thrown in for good measure. When I got home from the trip and started taking photos of this piece, I was reminded of those leaves. I am hopeful that we will soon have those glowing colors here at our house.

See more photos and purchase at Etsy.

Until next time,
Annie

On the Hook: Gray Chevron Scarf

October 2, 2015January 30, 2017 | Annie

Hi folks,

This scarf has been in my unfinished pile for a while.

I think it is pretty. I like the pattern and color, and yarn is a soft acrylic that feels really nice. It’s those color changes that make me pick this one last when I am grabbing pieces to work on. It isn’t so much that the colors change, it’s that all the ends of those colors need to be sewn into the piece.

You might notice that there are a lot of un-sewn-in ends on this one. It isn’t one of my favorite things to do. I would much rather create actual crochet stitches, so I usually get in a groove and keep making those stitches, and the ends to be sewn in just keep adding up.

I stopped adding new length to this one until I get the existing ends sewn in, thinking I could then adopt the practice of sewing them in as I go. Instead, this scarf just moves to the bottom of the pile as I find new yarns and stitch patterns I want to try. I’m hoping that by posting this piece here, it will serve as another form of motivation.

I really do like this one. If I didn’t, I would just rip it out and use the yarn for something else (This yarn was going to be used for a Fair Isle piece, but I found it to be a tedious process. I may give that another go someday). I need to refine my making process when it comes to pieces with a lot of color changes so it goes more smoothly for me.

Until next time,
Annie