Scribbly Gum: gets its name from insect larvae “Scribblers” that live on the trunk & under the bark, leaving these interesting marks when the bark peals & falls off.
Nature’s graffiti artists I call these busy little critters –
My Freeform Handbag ‘Scribbler’ is the result (available for sale in my Etsy shop)
Acacia (Wattle): is another beautiful Australian native that comes in a variety of shapes & sizes & is a particular favourite of mine.
The cheerful yellow flowers are easily recognisable, but it’s the foliage that I find most fascinating – ranging from round, soft, silvery greys… to sparse, spiky olive green branches… to bright green fern-like stems.
My Freeform Handbag ‘Acacia’ came into being one winter when these lovely shrubs were in full bloom….
Banksia: it is so easy to be inspired by the interesting
textures & unusual colours of this uniquely Australian woody tree/shrub – the leaves are waxy, serrated & vary in colour from olive greens to bright ochre – the flower spikes are sculptural & vibrant & age into bizarre, gnarled seed pods which alone are a great source of inspiration.
My Freeform Crochet Handbag ‘Banksia No3’ (is available for sale in my Etsy shop) was influenced by a beautiful Banksia growing in my garden & I took it for granted for the longest time in my garden – fortunately I managed to take a photo of it before it died.
I’m not entirely sure if it’s possible to answer these elusive concepts… I might even be tempting fate by trying to analysing them… nevertheless, the questions have been asked, so I’ll give it a go but please, understand that I speak only for myself, others may (& will) come from completely different directions.
As I’ve said in an earlier post, I’ve been prompted to write a short series about ideas & inspirations… what they are & where they come from?… and attempt to answer these so often asked questions … what inspired you to do this or that? Where do your ideas come from? Why & how do you choose certain colours ~ textures~ shapes over others?
The dictionary defines idea as ‘just whatever is before the mind when one thinks – notion conceived by the mind’ Ok, so that’s not very helpful… and defines inspiration as ‘sudden creativity in artistic production – a sudden happy idea’… A sudden happy idea, Oh, but I do like that!
And, I guess that about sums it up… A sudden idea that stirs the blood, ignites the creative fire & burns until something is done about it. I know it’s been said
thousands of 
times by many artists everywhere & sounds so very cliché & glib but I really am influenced by nature’s offerings & my surroundings – a landscape (be it urban or rural), sunset, cloud formation, someone’s garden – a leaf, flower, rock, sea shell, coral, feather – a yarn, colour, texture or shape – I may come across an outrageous colour combo in someone’s garden, rush home, rummage through my stash & see if I have something that might help to interrupt what I’ve just found – if not, I’ll search the shops until I find it… this can take a day or two, more often it takes weeks… but, if I’m truly excited, I’ll search until I find it.
But having that said, these are just words &, as they say… ‘a picture’s worth a thousand words’ so I’ll be posting images of my work & what I believe influenced or inspired it, or what may have sparked the initial idea – I will be revisiting some items & many of you may be familiar with these pieces already but perhaps not so familiar with what inspired the original idea…
…and please, I value your comments so feel free to chime in at any time… stay tuned & enjoy!
Hello & welcome to 2011….
I thought it might be appropriate to begin the year with 2 new crochet patterns & trust they will be useful additions to your crochet repertoire – The crochet bag purse pattern is for sale & a basic foundation for embellishments – let your imagination go wild by adding your own ideas to make this your very own creation… The button pattern is a free download & a handy little item when that special button is required but is often so difficult to find – enjoy!
This basic crochet bag/purse pattern is worked on size not number of stitches & can be used as a foundation for embellishments by adding crochet/knit flowers/motifs ~ beading ~ lace overlays ~ freeform scrumples ~ or anything your imagination & heart desires ~ your choice of yarn & hook size will determine the look & feel of your purse/bag – experiment with yarns, hooks & width/depth of your bag/purse & have fun creating your own individual design
Pattern includes:
Requirements: to create the purse in the photo I used:
Yarn Bee (Down to Earth) 70% Bamboo, 30% Cotton – 150 grms ~ hook size 4.50 (US: G) ~ satin lining ~ shade cloth for bag base ~ simple crochet button
* Please note: flower embellishments are not included in this pattern
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(2) Simple Crochet Button pattern – free Download
This simple button pattern will come in handy when nothing else suits or is available – experiment with yarns, threads & hook sizes – work pattern in back loops of stitch only – play with multi colours by changing colour on every round or use variegated yarn/thread – thread beads onto your yarn/thread & bring them into your work as desired – stuff with wadding for a firm button or cover old buttons Pattern includes:
