Carol Wiebe

I worked for months making delicate “granny squares” out of thread. I finished a “poncho,” which I blocked in time to wear for my last day at school. My neighbor, good friend, and food guru Wendi Hiebert, snapped a few pics of me that morning in front of her rosebush and sent them to me last night. Do I look happy? Carol wears her own handmade crochet. Crochet close up. #WendiHiebert #retirement #grannysquares #CWWOL20120628a #lastday #CWWOL20120628b #crochet #threadcrochet

It will be 18 months, at the end of this month, that I have been posting every single day. It was part of my goal to also post at least one image every day. In that time, I have created many digital images because they were the easiest way to express myself. However, they are just the tip of the iceberg. I have been painting, but I can’t make a painting every day. Some artists are expert croppers who can show you parts of a painting, or stages of a painting, and thus get a lo

. I’ve joined a number of my larger squares to get a feel for the crochet fabric I am creating. Four Crocheted Lace Squares Joined The safety pin marks the wrong side, where I have woven in my eensy-weensy threads. It is a reminder,  so that I do not inadvertently put a right side and wrong side together as I keep crocheting and sewing my squares. You’d be surprised how easy that is to do, especially with such light and lacy work. And, of course, I had to make some digital ar

. I am grinning as I think of people puzzling over my blog post title, but it will soon become clear. I am still on a crochet binge. I started our with a 1 mm crochet hook, and realized I would need approximately 220 squares to complete my small project. I then switched to a 3.50 mm hook. You can see the larger square should require considerably fewer motifs to complete my crochet garment. It also has a softer hand, which means it will drape better in the final analysis. Do I

. Paulann, from Growthlines, commented that my photo of blocked crochet looked like a piece of art. I decided to play with it a little more, and see where that took me. Blocked Crochet "Textile" 1 .This digital design has a decidedly textile-ish look, and a rather old-fashioned flavor. Blocked Crochet "Textile" 2 The same design has had some color changes, above, but still retains a retro charm. #retro #charm #CWWOL20120208a #Growthlines #blocked #textile #oldfashioned #texti

. I’ve said before that I love to crochet. I’m making a little poncho type shawl (it won’t fall off your shoulders) and needed to block it. I saw the idea on someone’s blog  (wish I could remember where so I could thank them) to use interlocking foam tiles. Eureka! No expensive blocking board needed! Now that I look at it, I see that I have pulled farther to the right than the left on my garment. We’ll see how that plays out in the wearing. Block crochet If you look really ha

.I am quickly crocheting a lovely scarf–I’m not sure who it will be a gift for, yet, but I have every intention of making a couple scarves before boxing day. I used a pattern by Doris Chan, one of my favorite crochet designers, but made a couple small changes to it. Obviously, the scarf will need to be blocked when I am done. Make a Statement with Accessories and Scarves – Don’t over pack with too many outfits. Bring basics that travel well and that you can mix and match. Dre

I am speechless .  .  .  .  . #Crochet #JoHamilton #portraits

At least that’s how I act when at a vendor’s mall, as the one I attended today proved once again. I bought some lovely new books, including Maggie Grey‘s latest, Mixed Media: New Studio Techniques, which is as yet unavailable even on Amazon. Buying the book gives you access to free online classes! The co-author is Isobel Hall (see author write-ups here), who has written some very useful books for anyone who loves working with paper  (Bags with Paper and Stitch and Embroidered

Remember that little crocheted tote bag I was working on for my granddaughter’s birthday? It was finally delivered, and was well received. Was there super enthusiasm? Well, it is not money, a video game or an exciting new toy , so all in all, I was happy with the response. Hopefully, as she uses it, she’ll enjoy its practical prettiness. Finished bag, lined Bag detail #crochet #granddaughter #totebag

I wish I could say “Have bag, will travel” but I still have to make 4 more little flowers, sew them on  (complete with a pearl in the centre) and crochet the strap. It probably needs to be lined, as well, or little treasures could fall through. Almost there I must get back to my hook . . . #bag #squaremotif #granddaughter #CWWOL20110416 #hook #totebag #crochet

I just finished crocheting a hat that I am extremely pleased with, because it looks good and is comfy, too~the best of both worlds. The pattern is from a collection called Classic Crochet Cloches, designed by yarn-savvy Jennifer Hansen of Stitch Diva Studios. I used a plain, purple acrylic yarn but, buoyed by my success, I now intend to ply my hook using silk, linen, or a summer cotton in a quietly elegant eggshell with a pale lilac flower. My friend, Wendi, was kind enough t

I started crocheting in my twenties, plying my hook furiously and fearlessly for a few years. Quilting and painting obsessions were added fairly quickly (I have drawn my entire life, but painting came much later). Now, inexplicably, I am mad about crochet — again. There is no explaining it, or denying it. I am thinking and dreaming about crochet and designing stuff in my head. What I love most about it is that any shape is possible. A hook can be inserted anywhere. And the te

I have written about Maggie Grey in this blog a number of times. Her artistic output is legend, and every book she has published is replete with ideas, suggestions, techniques and illustrations to blow your eye sockets (and your mind). So imagine my elation when she agreed to publish one of my articles in Workshop On the Web (WOW). You can read Paper Cuts with Carol Wiebe in the September, 2010 issue. But there’s more. Maggie is so generous that she told me to be sure and add

One of the dresses that I bought at Frenchys, during a shopping adventure with Margi Hennen in Nova Scotia, was too tight on top. I didn’t mind because I had a plan. I would make a crocheted top and attach it to the dress, replacing the original bodice. I crocheted the top out of a cotton and milk protein yarn (70% cotton, 30% milk protein). I’d never heard of such a combination, but the yarn is beautifully soft. Then I put on the dress, pulled the crochet top over it and my

Last weekend was a flurry of activity as I scrambled to get 5 art pieces finished and packaged. That included creating and putting labels on the back of each piece, fitting a box, taping together a bunch of skinny lengths of bubble wrap, and then making labels for the boxes. Somehow,  it all got done. In my last post, I was celebrating the fact that  two pieces had been accepted into The Grand National, 2010 competition. They were delivered Monday morning to the Homer Watson

I’ll admit it: I have gone crochet crazy. Again. It first happened in my early twenties and I thought I was cured. It has been under control for a few decades now, with just an edging here, a joining there. I knew what could happen if I let it take over. In my twenties, I could get away with hours of sitting and not have the spread happen (don’t pretend that you don’t understand what I am talking about). I can’t just sit around with a hook and yarn all day, as hypnotic as mak

Margaret Wertheim and her twin sister Christine Wertheim created a coral reef: an invocation, in crochet, to the beauty that is coral. That’s correct, they crocheted it. PHE-NO-ME-NAL. This is so spacious in its conception, so widespread in its manifestation, so inspiring in its combination of the fields of mathematics, marine biology, feminine handicraft and environmental activism, that I am left breathless. This is crochet that made a difference. If I had used the following

I’ve been working on this piece for quite some time: I had hoped to finish it for show at Greenwood Quiltery. However, it was one of those pieces that offers an array of challenges. I totally ruined the bottom section, and had to cut it off and begin again. I’m actually glad I did, because I like this one better than the original! You may recognize the new bottom, except for the heart that appeared on it (a Beryl Taylor influence, no doubt). If you read the words that accompa

I am really excited about the direction my work is taking me. I was going to save the revealing of the following pieces for my solo show, but decided to put them up anyway. “Saving” things is definitely overrated. I call it the Sunday Shoes Syndrome, because as a young girl I had shoes, and whole outfits, that could only be worn on Sundays for church. There were other occasions these Sunday clothes could be worn, but never just for ordinary events. SSS generalizes to ridiculo