A Scrumble a Week

Scrumble #45

2012-01-22T17:56:00.000-08:00

Here is my latest scrumble, finished last night.

It started with the strip of crochet bullions in the centre, which I had just unearthed at the bottom of a suitcase I was repacking. I didn't have any other grey yarn on hand, so decided to create a purple scrumble around them....but in the light of day I'm not altogether sure if that was a particularly good idea!

This morning the grey doesn't tone with the purple nearly as well as it did in the night light...so I may need to add a few other grey bits to the surface sometime, when I come across some more yarn in that tone.

The bullions had originally been worked in a straight line, using a smooth cotton yarn. To give them a better 'flow' I intentionally skipped stitches in some places, and added extras in other spots, as I worked the other yarns along the sides. There are a few knitted sections done moss (seed) stitch using a bamboo yarn, but the rest is all crochet, mainly in wools and mohairs, plus a few little areas in silk and angora. To add dimension to the piece some of the crochet stitches were worked 'around the post', and slip stitches were occasionally worked on the surface, too, for the same reason.

The scrumble was made in one piece, by picking up and joining on the stitches each time a new yarn was added (i.e. no sewing was involved). To give it a 'completed' look I finished off with a couple of rounds of short crochet stitches, being careful to increase or decrease wherever it was needed so that the piece remained flat.

As I think I may have mentioned on the blog before, bordering a piece like this is something that I rarely do for scrumbles that are going to become part of a garment, but I don't mind doing it to 'frame' a smaller artwork.

This is because putting a 'fence' around a lot of different fibres is often asking for trouble further down the track...even if the stitch count appears to be perfect when the piece is newly completed, if it contains a lot of different yarns you could find that some are likely to relax and expand a bit whilst others might shrink and contract slightly (even just in normal wear, let alone when being laundered), and this could cause the fabric of the garment to distort and go out of shape.

Scrumble # 44

2012-01-14T11:32:00.001-08:00

This scrumble is perhaps not quite as unusual as the last one, but still it was interesting to make.

I used lots of leftovers in pinks, oranges and greens, and most of these bits were totally used up in the process, as I only had a tiny amount of each of the yarns when I started it.

In real life, even though I have used both orange and pink yarns, the colours tone in much better than they appear to do in the photograph. For some reason the orange area on the right appears to have more yellow in the picture, and therefore looks more harsh than it actually is!

There are some natural fibres (wool, mohair, cotton and mulberry silk), some recycled Indian yarns (these were rayon, not silk), plus some synthetic chenille, a glittery eyelash and 2 types of man-made ribbon.

Some of the yarns were fairly new, but others had probably been in my stash for at least 20 years; a couple were the leftover bits from yarns I had received in an online group exchange a few years back.

There are 4 small areas of knitting, and the rest is crocheted. Even though both of the mohairs were bouclés, the chenille was softly textured, the eyelash and recycled silks were 'fringy', the wools were either slubby or hand dyed, and I used the smoother mercerised cottons for fancy bullions stitches, the scrumble seemed to still be lacking something until I added a few areas of surface crochet at the end, to give it a little more life.

As usual, I welcome your comments.

Scrumble # 43

2012-01-05T05:31:00.000-08:00

This scrumble was really interesting to make, and quite a departure from any of the previous pieces I have done for the blog.

I started by using a variegated yarn and crocheting the small central circular motif. Then I worked another circle around it, using the same yarn, doubling the number of stitches and making the second round of stitches into the back loops only of the previous round.

After I finished off the crochet I then knitted the area with the pink radiating bars of garter stitch. Working short rows in each of the brown/gold sections of stocking stitch, I shaped this knitted piece so that it would fit neatly around the crochet circle.

I intentionally cast the knitting off before it was long enough to totally surrounded the centre, and then I stitched it in place. The sewing was done into the back loops only of the crochet stitches, so that each of the circles now had a round front loops visible on the surface, and into these raised stitches I next worked the two rounds of crochet crab stitch.

Using a bulky multi-colour yarn I then knitted the 'tail' area, increasing and decreasing occasionally at the beginning or end of some of the rows, to shape it organically. Once it was finished off it was stitched into the gap between the beginning and end of the round section of knitting, and a row of crab stitch was worked onto the surface, lengthways down its centre.

Three little crochet domes attached to the edge, and a round of crab stitch right around the knitting, completed the piece.

All of the yarns used were either wool or blends with a high wool content, and were worked at a fairly tight tension, so the finished piece is quite firm and stable, and holds it shape surprisingly well.

Scrumble #42 - it's been a long time coming!

2011-12-26T22:56:00.000-08:00

Where did the year get to?

Last night I decided that it was definitely about time I added another scrumble to my blog...but on looking I discovered that I have only posted here once all year!

So much for the initial idea of blogging about a scrumble weekly!!

Oh well, at least I am back again with a new creation...and sincere hopes that I will get a few more done over the next few weeks (and hopefully months).

This scrumble started with a few tiny bits and pieces that had been kicking around in a bag in the cupboard, literally for years. There were five small sections, each with one or more areas of knitting, each with a couple of segments of crochet added directly onto their sides. I imagine that they had been samples that I had made during a workshop or display long ago, as I was demonstrating a few basic stitches to class participants or exhibition onlookers - but for the life of me I honestly can't remember exactly where or when...

Because they weren't necessarily the sorts of colours that I would have chosen to combine, I decided to draw the whole thing together using some oddments of black and blackish yarns. I didn't want the dark colours to totally outline or overpower the other colours, so I used short sections of random chain stitches to connect the pieces.

Once the pieces had been joined, a bit more crochet (including a few bullion scallops made with a variegated single-ply green yarn) helped to complete the design.

Hopefully you'll see me back with another new scrumble very soon...I'd cross my fingers, but it's rather hard to crochet or knit with them twisted up like that ;- )

Scrumble # 41

2011-01-14T07:19:00.001-08:00

ok, so i'm really not planning on making all my future scrumbles resemble anything in particular, but since i said last time that i had one that was sort of wanting to turn into a fish, i decided to go with the flow with this one, too ;-)

it started out ages back when i made the knitted 'body' (which was worked in short rows: 2-colour stripes in garter stitch with a dull and a glittery yarn). then i added various bits and pieces of freeform crochet directly onto the edges of the knitting (and a couple of sections onto the surface too). the crochet was done using some wool boucle, a smooth cotton, some ribbon, a stretchy cotton/lycra yarn, and a hand-dyed one that looked like a cotton/acrylic mix.

the unusual openwork area where the fish's 'head' should be was created using a crochet cord of the kind that is usually worked as the foundation for Romanian point lace.

once i had created a length of cord that was about 8" long, i twisted it around onto itself and stitched it together wherever it touched. then i added rows of crochet slip stitches to the edges of the cord, to give it a 3-D edging. the tail was added last; just simple fringing, using 2 different flat ribbon yarns.

and before you ask the answer is...no, it isn't actually underwater...though i hoped that the background would help to give the photo that impression! i finished working on it yesterday, and then photographed it sitting on top of some pigface (carpobrotus - a succulent plant) that was growing wild on a sand dune near Monterey, CA; i thought it made great 'seaweed'!

Scrumble #40

2010-12-28T13:32:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it just happens that freeform knitting and crocheting has a mind of its own. No matter what you try to do, some scrumbles seem to be intent on becoming something you were not expecting.

About half way through creating this particular mauve and purple piece I turned it around to add something to another side, and suddenly discovered that it was morphing into...

...a bear in a hat!

The crocheted lurex ruffle had become more like an eye than a flower, the knitted cable was now looking very snout-like, and the bullion clusters seemed to have positioned themselves just where ears and a nose should be.

Since that definitely hadn't been my intention, I started to think about the best way to detract from the impression I was getting...but each time I looked at the scrumble from a certain angle that blasted bear was still there, winking at me.

So don't laugh! In the end I just gave up and went along with it, adding a bobble for an eyeball, a crochet edging around the 'collar', and some purple bouclé ribbons streaming from the back of her hat.

Hope you like her ;-)

.

Scrumble #39

2010-12-14T16:36:00.000-08:00

Scrumble #39 actually started with a couple of small crochet doodlings that were made quite a while ago, but were only recently rediscovered amongst my stash - these were the little yellow area of Tunisian crochet near the centre of the scrumble, and the oval shape with spiral embellishment that is underneath it, near the bottom.

When I decided to use the yellow cotton Tunisian section in this scrumble, I knew that it would be too light a colour. Not wanting it to be too much of a contrast, I immediately wove a length of olive green ribbon yarn under the bars, so that it would blend better with all of the other autumn-tones yarns I was selecting for this piece.

I added a couple of knitted sections to both of these 'starter' pieces before sewing them together; then, once they were joined, I continued outwards in all directions, using tiny scraps of yarn to create other random motifs. Most of these small sections were finished off just because I was about to run out of that particular yarn.

The 2 green leaves and both of the flowers, plus the wool bullion circle (top left) and the round linen piece (top right, partly hidden under the bent bullion flower), were done last; these were all made separately before being attached (some with crochet slip stitches, the others sewn).

scrumble #38 - finally

2010-12-08T13:41:00.001-08:00

I'm finally back to blogging my scrumbles again...and I definitely do intend to keep it up on a fairly regular basis for a while, at least over the next couple of months, until I reach #52 (a year's worth, even though it will have taken me more like 2 years to complete them all)

I really love creating small freeform pieces, so this one contains 2 small hearts, one knitted and the other crocheted from the same dark lilac twinkly man-made yarn. They were created separately, and both were surrounded by a row of crochet using a very soft and slinky recycled sari yarn - then they waited patiently for the rest of the scrumble to evolve.

The main, central part of the scrumble was made as one piece, with random sections added onto the initial red knitted area... then the hearts were joined on using crochet (slip stitches worked from the back to join the top one, but 4 short sections of chain stitch for the lower, pendant one)

Along with the twinkly stuff, some of the other yarns used include wool (a lovely chunky single), cotton (various mercerized), silk (a soft but still 'crunchy' handspun mulberry silk from India) and acrylic (an ancient find in my stash - must be over 20 years old)

Reds and oranges always seem to be really difficult to photograph well, but the detail should show up a bit better once you click on the thumbnail.

(...and I'm already working on #39, so it shouldn't be too long before I post here again)

scrumble #37

2010-04-30T01:55:00.000-07:00

OK, I finally got around to doing my next scrumble for the blog. Sorry it took so long!

This one used just 3 yarns, and is all in crochet.

The central circle was created first, one round of treble stitches (US dc), surrounded with twice as many again in the 2nd round. Two different colour-ways of the same glittery thread were used for this, and all the other 'round-ish' motifs.

Each of the other oval or circular shapes had to be made separately (since they started in the centre), but when the second one was made I joined it to the first, and then later joined the others to each other, just using crochet chain stitches that were worked in a lime green wool yarn.

I then surrounded the piece with more lime green chains, added a round of slip stitches into those chains using the copper thread, to begin to create a 'frame', and then added another round of slip stitches into the previous round, this time using the black thread.

I will try to get the next scrumble done soon ;- )

scrumble #36

2010-04-04T13:18:00.000-07:00

the knit stitch...

...and nothing but the knit stitch!

what more can i say?

scrumble # 35

2010-03-21T18:26:00.000-07:00

here is my next freeform piece - the red leaf shape was knitted first, using garter stitch, then chains were crocheted through the knitting to create the 'veins'.

a few glass beads were stitched on (just because
i happened to run across them shortly after i had finished knitting the leaf and they matched). Then a piece of very old, hand-knotted Japanese fishing net was placed over the entire leaf.

i have added a close-up showing the net. i bought it once at a textile conference, ages ago - just because it looked interesting - but i hadn't found a use for it until now.

to hold the net in place i added lots of little areas of freeform crochet to the edges of the leaf; they were worked over the fishnet at the same time as working into the knitting, to attach it securely.

this piece measures approximately 36cm (14") in length x 18cm (7") at the widest part.

scrumble #34

2010-02-28T19:48:00.001-08:00

This week's scrumble is possibly not quite as unusual as the last couple, but it was fun to make all the same.

This piece started with the section on the right hand side...a number of different areas of knitted mesh, with various crochet stitches interspersed between the knit sections.

I then made the crochet black and white circle, and attached it to the edge of the developing scrumble using a few crochet slip stitches from the wrong side of the work before the black and white yarn was cut. A few more crochet areas were then added around the edges.

As usual, the yarns varied in thickness quite a bit. This piece includes 3 different boucle mohair yarns in various weights, a couple of regular mohairs, a hand-dyed wool single-ply yarn, a beaded cotton blend and a multi-coloured synthetic.

scrumble #33

2010-02-15T07:09:00.000-08:00

A Valentine's Heart!

I didn't really start off with that in mind.

The initial circles bore no resemblance to a heart shape as they were joined; but when I added some random crochet lacy stitches around the edge of the circles it suddenly wanted to become that shape, so I built it up with the novelty yarn around the outside.

this one measures 25cm wide x 20cm deep

scrumble #32

2010-02-05T08:19:00.001-08:00

here is my next scrumble - again a little different to any of the others so far.

the 3 pink and mauve flowers at the front started with the knit section that made up the stems - reverse stocking stitch, worked in short rows and 'pleated' to make tubular sections by working a row of stitches every so often through both the stitch on the needle and at the same time through a loop at the back of the work a few rows back.

i then crocheted around the wide ends of these tubes to form the pink flower heads, and added other crochet circles and ruffles around the other 2 sides of the triangular shape to complete the design.

mostly worked in synthetic sparkly yarns, this organic little piece would make a great freeform addition to a plain handbag, or would stand alone as a brooch or hair ornament.

Week #31

2010-01-31T04:17:00.001-08:00

here is my latest blog scrumble. am visiting NYC at the moment, and heading out shortly for a class...so no time to write about it at present. if you have any questions about how this one is made feel free to ask, and i will get back to reply in a day or two.

scrumble # 30

2010-01-24T02:23:00.000-08:00

This week's scrumble started with the crochet spiral flower in the centre.

Similar to those described in my 'never too many Handbags' book, it has a single colour base, then surface stitches are worked into the back loops of the stitches in the previous round of the spiral.

Once it was the desired size, I worked rows of slip stitches for surface embellishment.

The first round was worked into the 'free' front loops of the base stitches, then another round of slip stiches was worked into these slip stitches, and then another into those. Ruffles were formed by increasing as these embellishments were made.

I then picked up stitches and knitted various small areas outwards from behind the spiral.

Other crochet stitches were added between the knitted areas, and onto their edges.

Yarns used included wool, mohair, silk, various synthetics and a wool and linen mix.

week 29

2010-01-15T15:54:00.000-08:00

Gosh, I just realized that the 2nd week of January has flown by already...

...so much for the new year's resolution to try to keep this blog on track! Will have to aim to do better next week; but anyway, here is my next completed scrumble, and this time it is a combination of both crochet and knitting.

Lots of bullion circles, crocheted in a commercial cotton and a hand-dyed wool that was a gift from someone who has taken a number of workshops with me over the years (many thanks, Sheryl). Both of these yarns had just the right twist to work wonderfully for this tricky stitch, and so they easily produced lots of nice, neat rolls (using the best yarn for the job isn't really cheating!!). I also added 3 other circle motifs made with block stitches.

The other yarns are all very fine in weight; the green cotton used in the small knitted areas contains what looks like its very own bullions - little slubs of cotton in other bright colours that came twisted into the yarn at random intervals...this yarn came on a cone and has been in my stash for at least 15 years!

I finished this scrumble off with lots of small ruffles, crocheted with various paper yarns and silk embroidery threads.

I'm back...with Week 28

2010-01-08T08:34:00.000-08:00

Yes, I'm actually back!
and I'm going to do my best to find time to create and blog about another scrumble each week

...for a while, that is...hopefully at least for the first few months of 2010!

so here is week 28, the first for the new year

This is a scrumble that is 100% knitting - not a crochet stitch in sight! I have used a variety of different knit stitches including garter, rib, moss, double moss, slip and reverse stocking stitch.

This scrumble was started with the small garter stitch rectangle near the top, the piece that is worked in the white cotton yarn with beads. From then on, each new area of knitting was picked up along the edge of a previously made section. Some of the sections were bent over and caught at the back of the work when the cast-off row was worked, forming small bumps and pleats and creating a more textural effect.

I added the white mohair border using a continuous strand of yarn, by picking up stitches along the side of each peak with the right side facing, working a single row of knit stitches, and then casting off on the following row. When I was back to only 1 stitch on the needle again, I picked up more stitches down the other side of the peak, or up the side of the next section, until the border completely surrounded the piece.

The finished scrumble measures approximately 23cm (9") wide, by 19cm (7-1/2") deep

week 27

2009-07-18T09:15:00.001-07:00

I created this scrumble in 2 separate sections then, using just a few stitches, I sewed them together in the centre. Each of the pieces began with a small slip stitch knitted square, worked in hot pink wool and a variegated mauve mohair.

Before they were joined I added some crochet block stitches and popcorns to each piece, and a little more knitting using an unusual ribbon yarn. A couple of gaps in the work were crocheted around a few times to produce the deep 'holes', and these were then finished off with a round of crab stitch.

Once the 2 pieces were joined, I worked some random crochet mesh into the upper and lower v-shaped dips to fill them, and then edged a couple of sections for continuity, using a thick mohair boucle yarn. Finally a little more crochet was added on the surface and at the edges, using a thin yarn that was both matt and glittery.

week 26

2009-07-18T08:47:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to taking some photos of the latest scrumbles! Here is the one I did for week 26... actually, I had even finished it early, and displayed it (along with weeks 1 thru 25) at the Craft & Quilt Fair in Hobart a few weeks ago, so it is definitely about time that I got the photo up.

This scrumble is pretty much all in knitting. Initially I cheated a bit, because I started it with an orange wool swatch that was kicking around from years ago. Onto the surface of the swatch I added a twist of tubular knitting, then I picked up stitches in various places around the edge and added a few random knitted shapes. Some of these were done with a fabulous, chunky, beaded handspun yarn - a gift from a friend at Ravelry. Finally I edged around the square with a little crochet, done with a recycled sari yarn from Nepal.

scrumble for week 25

2009-06-23T17:23:00.000-07:00

This week's scrumble is all in greys and browns, and actually is much more alive than it appears in the thumbnail, so be sure to click on the photo to see the enlarged version too.

The other day I ran across a scrap of knitted-then-felted soy and wool fabric that had been used last year to create a hat for my latest book. The felting was actually done by Jonelle Raffino from South West Trading, as she co-authored the book with me. For the designs in this book I have added a wide range of different freeform embellishments to Jonelle's basic creations...and for the hats, wraps and cape that we jointly created, she mailed me many different pieces of felted fabric, which I subsequently cut up, and then crocheted around. Here is a picture of 'Hat and Soul', the hat in question from our new book, "Freeform Style".

So as I said, the scrumble for this week started with a scrap of that left-over felted Karaoke yarn. It was a strange double triangle sort of a shape, so I just folded it over and then picked up stitches and knitted into the edges or onto the surface to create triangles, ridges and ruffles. The yarns I used for the embellishments this time were mostly slinky ribbons, mohairs and a wool boucle.

Consequently, this scrumble is around 90% knitting - the only crochet is the random mesh overlay that I finally added above the felted sections, and this was worked in a similar manner to what I did for the hat.

Week 24

2009-06-12T11:46:00.000-07:00

I finished this week's scrumble a few days ago, just in time to display (along with all of the scrumbles from the previous weeks) at my stand at the Sydney Craft & Quilt Fair. The display is getting a lot of interest, and I hope to be able to continue showing the growing range of scrumbles at other shows around Australia throughout the year.

This one is a mixture of both crochet and knitting; there are some knitted slip stitch areas plus some knitted ribbed sections, together with many different round-ish crochet motifs, and some ruffles. The yarns were in various thicknesses - from a rather chunky, looped blend to some quite fine synthetics; they included mostly mohair or man-made glitzy stuff, along with some wool and a few scraps of cotton.

The purple flower motif was finished with a little embroidery to give definition to the petals, as they didn't appear to show up so well once the other crochet had been added around that particular motif; then I also finished off the centre of this flower by stitching on some commercially made floral art stamens.

week 23

2009-06-04T12:22:00.000-07:00

My 23rd scrumble started with a couple of cables, knitted from a variegated slub cotton blend yarn. Then I added various crochet sections to the edges of each cable, using scraps of mohair and cotton. The blue floral motif was made next; I crocheted it in linen and edged it with a very fine mohair, then I hand stitched the 3 sections together.

A few stitches were then picked up into the crochet using a knitting needle, and I knitted the grey and brown striped section on the left. Next came 2 random circular crochet motifs; when completed these were joined on to the sides of the knitted square, using crochet slip stitches, before the yarn used for the outside rounds of the crochet was finished off. The round open floral motif on the upper right was also crocheted separately and then joined.

To give balance to the scrumble, a few small cups (crochet 'dome' shapes used upside down) were made and stitched to the surface, and then four 'fairy wing' variations (like those found in my 'Freeform' book) were also created separately and then added around the edge.

Week 22

2009-05-22T13:39:00.001-07:00

see, I promised I'd have this next one up soon after the last! so I'm pretty much all caught up again now, I think.

So, what's a girl to do when she finds a ball of lovely lofty wool yarn that has been spun as a single and dyed a gorgeous purple...why, crochet lots of bullions with it, of course!

you have to admit that this type of yarn really is ideal for them. overuse of the crochet bullion stitch - who, me??? ;-)

Week 21

2009-05-21T19:21:00.001-07:00

This week's scrumble is made with cotton, wool, silk, hemp, a few odds and ends of a Japanese paper yarn, and some man-made fibres. The rough hemp twine gives an interesting contrast to the other yarns, whether crocheted (as in the beaded flower on the right) or knitted (the sections at the top and left-hand edges). I am currently working on a much larger project that incorporates this yarn, and even though it is a little difficult to work with (a bit rough on the hands and overtwisted) I am enjoying seeing how it reacts to different stitches.

I was running a little bit late with this scrumble, but I almost have Week 22 done, too, so that one should be up by tomorrow!

20th week

2009-05-10T10:22:00.000-07:00

This week's scrumble is all in crochet, and I'm again playing at bullion spirals. The pink one in the centre was done using 3 different pink yarns; the base was made by working a 2 colour spiral made up of tr (US dc) in a thin wool boucle and bullions in a thicker wool crepe, all stitches worked into the back loops only of the stitches in the previous round. The front loops were then embellished with sl sts in a shiny, variegated pink rayon ribbon yarn.

The purple double circle (which alternates bullions with tr in the outer round) was attached to the edge of the spiral using a few crochet slip stitches (this slightly distorted the spiral's shape). Then more random crochet was added around the central motifs - I used a bit of cotton, some wool, a soft looped mohair and some dark green manmade sparkle, but mostly it was with a handspun recycled rayon-mix yarn from Nepal.

The yellows in the variegated looped mohair actually blend in better 'in the flesh' than they appear to do in the photo.

week 19

2009-05-04T18:21:00.000-07:00

Last week while travelling I came across a reference to psiloceras planorbis - ammonites from the Jurassic period that can be found fossilized in rocks in the south eastern areas of Wales....so for week 19's scrumble I have incorporated a crochet ammonite-like spiral shape set amongst a loose interpretation of some of the shapes and colours of the Welsh countryside. Mohair and other soft, hazy yarns were used to mirror the muted blending of even the stronger colours that were often apparent in the spring landscape.

week 18

2009-05-03T12:07:00.000-07:00

I have spent the past couple of weeks in Wales and England, where the colours of the landscape have varied from the muted browns and greens of misty hills to the more vibrant greens of new folliage and the various colours of spring flowers...but one of the small bags of mixed yarns that I had brought with me has insisted on working itself into a more tropical ocean theme - as I have noticed many times before, freeforming sometimes just has a mind of its own!

Week 18's scrumble began with the crochet spiral motif in the centre, worked in blue cotton and later embellished with slip stitches in pink. A row of softer blue chain stitches were worked between the points, and then a very thick yarn was threaded through some of the chain stitches, leaving large loops sticking out from the edge. I then crocheted around the perimeter using a thinner blue and pink mix yarn, using short stitches with chains in between. These stitches were worked from the wrong side of the piece, as were the green and blue mohair additions around the edge and the majority of the dark blue and lurex lacy sections, but the bullion stitches in between were made from the right side, using a chunky pale lime single-ply wool.

I imagine that a much more 'English countryside inspired' scrumble will make its appearance here in a week or two ;-)

week 17

2009-04-23T00:07:00.000-07:00

This week's scrumble again features a flower motif...this time using a length of French knitting (i-cord) made with some left-over sock yarn. The rest of the ball of yarn hadn't been used for socks, either, but had been incorporated into other previous freeforming. First the base area was completed all in one piece, then the knitting was done and twisted up and stitched into place so that it held its shape. A small crochet bobble completed the flower. The rest of the scrumble is mainly crochet, using lots of ends of fine-weight novelty yarns, sometimes used single, but often doubled up for added texture and subtle colouring. Once again, too many thin fuzzy yarns made it difficult to get a clear photo, so click on the thumbnail to take a look at the larger image for a bit more clarity.

week 16 scrumble

2009-04-18T01:34:00.000-07:00

The yummy red and orange left-over yarns that I used in this little scrumble positively glow like molten lava. Again, the photo doesn't really do it justice!

Much of the background and the base of the 3D flower on the left are knitted; the stars, the other flower and the edging around the lip of the 3D flower are done in crochet.
Measures about 18cm (7") x 16cm (6.5")

week 15

2009-04-18T01:15:00.000-07:00

The fine sparkly yarn that I added on the surface of a few of the motifs in the week 15 scrumble also made it a bit hard to photograph; everything seemed to come out either too light or too dark. The pale yellow block stitch motif was totally washed out in the first photos I took, so I stitched the small sun charm to the centre, to help give it more definition. The yellow and apricot spiral dome is actually hollow at the back; the slip stitches that were added to the surface help to stiffen it sufficiently so that it holds it shape well.
This scrumble measures about 25cm (10") x 18cm (7")

week 14

2009-04-18T01:08:00.001-07:00

Week 14's scrumble features 2 crocheted spiral motifs, embellished with surface slip stitches, fillet mesh, limpets and bullion stitches. Mostly worked in ariegated and hand-painted yarns in mohair and wool, along with a few man-made odds and ends.
Measures approx 23cm (9") wide x 18cm (7") deep

week 13 scrumble

2009-04-18T00:39:00.000-07:00

This week's scrumble was actually finished on time, as were the next few that I will also be posting shortly...it just took me a while to get around to taking the photos, but I will soon be up to date again with the blog posts...as far as Week 16

This piece is almost totally crochet. Yarns used include mohair, wool, cotton and various synthetics, including a pretty sparkly nylon yarn that didn't photograph very well. The 3 little flower motifs around the edge are from my 'never too many Handbags' book.
Measures about 25cm (10") x 18cm (7")

a lacy floral crumble for week 12

2009-03-30T12:13:00.000-07:00

I created this week's scrumble around the purple flower motif - it is simply long chain loops worked in a circle, and then covered from the wrong side with enough half treble stitches (US: hdc) to firm up the edges of each petal. Next the green/yellow random crochet was worked outwards from either side. The smaller flower and the slip stitch embellished star motif each started separately, and were joined to the main piece with crochet slip stitches wherever the points touched. A single small bobble was made and attached, then the scrumble was turned over to the wrong side and the crochet continued to edge just one side. A few rows of random lacy stitches were worked around the lower edge with a varieagated lurex yarn. Finally two dark purple sparkly cupped flowers were added to the surface.

Week 11 - a mainly cotton scrumble

2009-03-21T00:45:00.001-07:00

My scrumble for this week began with the circular crochet motif that alternated bullion with regular crochet stitches. More crochet was then worked onto the edge of the motif, using two different shades of green. I then added some surface crochet around the edge of the circle, and continued it outwards to create a spiraling effect. Next I picked up stitches with my knitting needles, and added first one, and then a second rectangular knitted motif - each was done in a two-colour slip stitch pattern. Finally a little more crochet - popcorns, shells and a bullion cluster.

Week 10

2009-03-14T14:15:00.000-07:00

I had a short length of red French knitting (i-cord) left over from the Week 2 scrumble, so decided to work with reds again this time. Began by making the crochet spiral and randomly joining on a few more crochet motifs, added the cord, then a couple of knitted triangles, and finally more crochet, including domes, popcorns and various mesh areas. I always like the look of scrumbles with 'pointy' edges. They work well when fitting pieces together, too; the 'sticking out bits' help the pieces interlock, sort of like a jig-saw puzzle, and also make the seams show up less than when joining longer straightish edges.

Week 9

2009-03-06T05:18:00.001-08:00

This week's scrumble definitely thinks it is a tidal rock pool. If the photo seems a little small and you can't see all the detail please take another look next week; I will change it to a better size next week when I am back to my own computer.
edited to say photo is all fixed up; click on the thumbnail to see this scrumble in all its glory ;-)

Week 8

2009-02-24T09:39:00.000-08:00

This week's scrumble surprised me by looking rather like some sort of little animal in the photo; I hadn't actually noticed it as I was working, but this way up it certainly has a face! Lots of textured wool and yummy looped mohair; it started with the pale stripey knitted section; lots of wrong-side crochet was added, then a bit more knitting, and more crochet.

Week 7

2009-02-15T04:39:00.000-08:00

OK, I realize this week's scrumble is a very much a 'typically Prudence' effort , but I have been pretty busy, and I still seem to find kniting garter stitch leaf shapes a relaxing way to start a piece . The coarse wool yarn used for the leaf that started this one must have been in my stash at least 20 years; the yellowy-lime sections were crocheted with 2 very thin yarns together - an ultra-thin cotton thread which periodically morphed into short sections of bright, thick slubs, held along with a very finely fringed, sparkly nylon yarn. The centres of the blue circle motifs were crocheted with a French rayon tape, and the lurex yarn used to decorate the leaf is probably almost as old as the wool it embellishes...see what treasures a good clean out right to the back of the stash can unearth!
size approximately 28cm (11") x 15cm (6")

week 6 - running a little late

2009-02-10T04:36:00.000-08:00

Just realized that I had finished my scrumble for Week 6, but I didn't have good net connection when travelling last week, and then I forgot to post it when I got home...so here it is...looking a little dark with all its brown woolly knitting and deep blue crochet. I liked the way the rib shifted itself about sinuously to accommodate the added cup-shaped embellishments, which were crocheted around some (yfwd, work2tog)-eyelets in the knitting.
size approximately 20cm (8") x 15cm (6")

Week 5

2009-01-27T14:47:00.001-08:00

Even though it's mostly blue I feel as though I want to call this week's scrumble a Purple People Eater (...blue people eater definitely doesn't have the same ring!) I think it is because the little inverted domes on short crochet cords, a la 'Romainian point lace', remind me of the eyes of space creature drawings from my youth.
size approximately 20cm (8") x 18cm (7")

scrumble for week 4

2009-01-19T22:55:00.000-08:00

This week's scrumble started with the lime green crochet spiral. Before cutting off the yarn I added points around the edge. The stitches were worked in the back loops only, so that further embellishment could easily be added onto the surface. A row of slip stitches was then worked, from the wrong side, around the outside points of the spiral motif. Then a couple of knitted slip stitch triangles were added - they were begun using a combination of both casting on and picking up of the stitches, each onto 3 of the points of the spiral. Other random crochet was also added to complete the piece.
size approximately 38cm (15") x 20cm (8")

week 3 scrumble

2009-01-11T15:56:00.000-08:00

only black, white and red yarns were used in this week's scrumble...they were of varying thicknesses, and are mainly man-made fibres. a combination of knitting and crochet; parts of it are quite 3D -the red sparkly bauble is a crochet circle that has been drawn in over the top of another smaller bobble - the small bobble became the padding for the larger ball, which in turn was covered with white crochet mesh.
size approximately 20cm (8") x 15cm (6")

my week 2 scrumble

2009-01-04T12:35:00.000-08:00

My 2nd weekly scrumble. This one started with a length of french knitting (I-cord), randomly twisted around and then stitched and embellished with a contrast yarn where it touched or overlapped. Small areas of freeform crochet were added around the edge, using short scraps of many different red yarns. The crochet bullions were made with an unusual, velvety artificial suede cord - sometimes difficult to work since it stuck to my fingers and had absolutely no stretch whatsoever, but it worked nicely for bullions when I persevered since it was a round single strand.
size approximately 28cm (11") x 14cm (5.5 ")

Week 1 - scrumble the first

2008-12-29T16:26:00.000-08:00

Not quite the beginning of the new year yet, but this is my first weekly scrumble. Made using both knitting and crochet, it contains a few fine-weight handpainted yarns (including a silk chenille), along with other chenille, a bit of cotton, a few synthetics for glitz and some sock yarn. The crochet bullions were done in a single ply silk. The yellow and gold yarn outlining the bullion clusters was still in my stash, bought in Germany in the '80s.
size approximately 15cm (6") x 17cm (6.5")