Lace-Competence/Top skill-Competence - SPETSKOMPETENS

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Starch it! Join me in new Flickr group!

You all know I have made 3D pieces with filetcrochet and sugarwater :)

Today I started a new Flickr pool called Starch it!
My plan is for you all to join in and we can explore what we can make with this technique together.
You don't have to crochet - you can use pieces of old Doilys, filetcrocheted bedspreads & other flea market finds. We can share recipes of starch (I only know about sugar/water but I've heard about glue and potato/water etc)
What do you say?
I would love if you joined me ! Just email me or make a comment here with your email and I send you an invite to the group.

Kind crocheted regards from Inger Carina

The Craftzine blog liked the idea. I'm so excited!!! :) > Craftzine blog

Floral USB memory stick

A little more flowers in your life can't hurt... can it?

Started out with a 2Gb Usb memory stick - boring boring... had to cut of a plasic bit on the end and smooth the edges with a file.

Then I crocheted tight around it in two pieces, one top & one bottom. I used embroidery yarn (Perl) multi colored green. A little bit of what I fancy = flowers. I took linnen embroidery yarn and made random tiny leafs and flowers. (click on the image for a better view).

Sewed them all on the crocheted USB cozy cover.

It's working well and it nearly blends in to the floral background here on my work desk at home.

Crocheted wallpaper continues

Continuing the task to try to crochet something that resembles my beloved bedroom wallpaper. I went agains my principles, to not buy new material (have to much already in stock) and bought two new colors that are closer to the ones on the wall than the ones I had in my stash. Getting closer now. It starts to look a little bit like the wallpaper .

The snow reflects the sunshine so the colors becomes very vibrant in the image. Took it outside on this sunny "winter"(!?) day at Öland.

Crocheted ATM-machine kept falling over

Cotton yarn, starched with sugarwater

This is the full size (approx 80cm, 32") TV/VHS-player & video cassette that I started with when I did the VHS piece I posted the other day. In the end I only used the cassette on its own. It's a much better piece without the TV/player. But this showes the level of my filet crochet period. I think this theme was my warm concern for old ladies in this technique developed society or something like that.
My 70 years old friend Birgitta always wanted me to go with her to the ATM - so I crocheted a full size ATM-machine (cash machine). But it kept falling over all the time so I never showed it. At the top of the crochet madness :-) I even recall asking my brothers girlfriend (now wife) if I could use her car (?) as a mold for a filetcrochet Car.....
At that time my right arm started to feel like it was melting so I put the hook away :-)
Couldn't find any pics of the ATM-machine. Found this sketch I did of me and Birgitta when we had our Art-studio scholarships at Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris 2001. I'm the hedgehog on the left with the colorful sneakers :-)


Hedgehogs at the cash machine, ink & Copic marker. Paris 2001

Going through my studio space

Going through all my things in the studio space because we are moving to a better place soon. Found a lot of photos and old art pieces from my studing years. (MFA at Konstfack Art department.) As an artist I've mostly worked with animated art video but in school I had a severe filet crochet CRAZY period. I filet crocheted so much I "crocheted myself" and couldn't crochet for years. I posted one VHS piece yesterday and these guns are my most displayed piece from that period. This is on the same theme as The "Soft punch" piece. (for the record: I don't like guns)
This makes me want to filet crochet again because it is a very good technique if you want to build three dimentional pieces.

Title: "A girl´s gotta do what a girl's gotta do", made in 1998, gun approx 25 x 13cm (10" x 5.2"), cotton yarn.

Detail 1.Detail 2.

Before DVD there was VHS

Title: "Before DVD there was VHS", made in 1998 , 19 x 11cm (7.6" x 4.4"), cotton yarn.

Scary wallpaper-crochet

Update on crocheted wallpaper project:
OH NOOO! This is getting really scary! The colors just don't translate well from the wall to cotton yarn. It looked so good when the yarn wasn't crocheted - but now it's hideous.
(it's even worse in this blue-tint Swedish winter non-proper-daylight image)

These wool yarns looks much better! Going with this yarn/color-sample to the local yarn store tomorrow and see if they have something in cotton in these colors.
I give this project one more chance - if it failes - it's "in-the-cupboard-under-some-other-scaryprojectstuff" and forget about it.

In the Crochet twilight-zone

- Sorry, your card was declined...
- Ok, take this and crochet me a beer please.
- There you go...
- Thanks, cheers mate!

A project for a nightowl - crocheted credit cards

Do you take Visa?
(don't we all need some crocheted credit now after all the Christmas shopping? )
This is one of those moments when you suddenly take a step back and look at yourself crocheting a Master Card in super thin sewing thread two o'clock in the morning. What on earth am I doing?
But you probably also now the feeling of getting an idea and you just have to try it right away. This project is up there with the crocheted wallpaper project in November :-)

Happy new year everyone! I've been on a vacation up north in Sweden to the beautiful Dalarna ♥. If you like Swedish folklore - this is the province to check out.

Soft punch

Some years ago it was hard to "make some noise" with textile in Sweden. During my Art University years we were a tiny group who worked alone. I am so happy that has changed now! It's the comeback of textile - and "with a vengeance" :-) I love it!

I'm so glad to be a part of this great community of crafters.

Found these pair of boxing-gloves that I did at Art University.... they speak for them self about how I felt back then :-)

Velvet boxing-glovers with traditional Swedish folklore embroidery. The stitch is from the province of Blekinge called Blekingestitch (Blekingesöm).

A project for a nightowl - crocheted wallpaper

I adore bright colored patterns (and I like to mix them). In the back you see my beloved bedroom wallpaper. A flea market find from Amsterdam. It's a vintage kitchen wallpaper, presumably from the 60's or 70's. It is my favorit pattern of all. Suddenly I thougt it looked little like a crocheted old-fashioned beadspread - and then that night was spoiled:-) I had to make a test. Traced it and made a sketch, found the right colored yarn in my boxes and started to crochet after the traced flowers.

This is how far I came with the project for now. I'm not sure if I like the big flower. Going to try a couple of other ways to solv it, less three-dimetional.

Textile flowers for a book releaseparty

I'm attending one of my multitalented friends book releaseparty tonight. Made some homemade crocheted and sewed flowers.

It's nice they will keep for a very long time!

Birthday gifts for a craftLover

Look at my wonderful birthday gifts from friends and family! I love the crochet cuckoo clock! It's from Amsterdam. Some of the books I got is from YesAsia.com which I can recommend. It's safe and fast to order - it only took a week from HongKong to Sweden.
A box filled with yarn! What more can a girl want ?