Inspired by Stained Glass

In my last post, I indicated that I would post some pictures of items I have made that were in some respect inspired by stained glass.  I hope you haven't been holding your breath in anticipation of this event!

Here are some pieces I have made that have stained-glass-like elements to them.  The first is a beaded needle case with a spiral color pattern.  I love the way the transparent glass beads glow against the opaque black ones:

The next piece is a rather wild felted knitted hat with a stained glass motif:

Here's a closeup of a tam I showed in a previous post...the colors are really vibrant against the black:

Another hat with bright colorful bobbles and pompom against a black background:

And yet another hat, with blocks of color and stranded patterns interspersed with black:

Last hat--A Rose Window-type pattern in fair isle:

Here's a braided necklace with a glass pendant:

And next, a coin purse made from a recycled sweater with a stained-glass-like color pattern:

And finally, a double-knitted scarf with periwinkle blue and black patterning, which is reversed on the back of the fabric:

I hope you have enjoyed this little tour of my creations.  Coming soon, a free pattern or two!

Stained Glass

I recently realized why I like the look of leaves or flowers with the sun shining through them.  It's because their glowing colors remind me of stained glass!  I have always loved to see the sun shining through colored glass;  in fact, I remember having a little mosaic toy as a child, with little colored plastic squares that were placed in a transparent plastic grid, which could be held up to the light.  I loved to try different patterns and hole them up to see the sun shining through them.

I love to try to capture the beauty of these glowing colors in a photograph, when I see them.  So here are some photos that remind me of the beauty of stained glass:

I hope you enjoyed this eye candy as much as I did!  I had a few thoughts recently about transparency.  As the light shining on these somewhat transparent leaves and flowers causes them to glow, so God's love shines through us to others.  He takes our uniqueness, and shines through it to make our lives glow.  Like leaves and flowers, each of us has things that make us one-of-a-kind.  In the case of a leaf or a flower, it may be its shape, hue or texture that sets it apart.  In our case, it may be our unique experiences or gifts that make us special.  But each one of us is special in the eyes of God, and He wants to use our individual differences to glorify Himself, even as the light shining through the things He has made brings glory to Him.

Sometimes, though, we mar the beauty of His work in us.  When we refuse to obey Him, our sin mars the beauty that He has created in us, like the blemishes on the leaf in the next photo:

The absolutely amazing thing about this, though, is that, unlike this leaf, which will never be unmarred again, God gives us the opportunity to be renewed to wholeness and purity again.  Through His Son, Jesus Christ, we can be forgiven and have all our spiritual blemishes removed!  Thanks be to God.

In my next post, I plan to share some fiber creations inspired by stained glass and its glowing colors.

Cross-Pollination

Inspiration from Other Art Forms

Sometimes, I find inspiration in things that have been created by others, often in totally different media.  My husband and I recently made a badly-needed day trip to the Oregon Coast, and visited a couple of our favorite shops there.  We have been fans of these shops for over 30 years now, and always enjoy browsing the beautifully crafted products they contain.  Today's post is about the first of these shops.

Alder House is the studio of Buzz and Anne Williams.  They, along with a few other artists, create gorgeous hand-blown glass objects in their studio just south of Lincoln City.  The studio has windows at eye level, with wide sills for display of the glass, so that the light shines through it and makes it glow.

Seeing the brightly colored shiny glass glowing in the sunlight always inspires me.  I want to create this kind of glowing color in my textile projects!



Alder House is more than just a gallery of objets d'art, though.  It is a working studio, in which the artisans create the objects that will be sold there.  The artist demonstrates his craft in front of the visitors, explaining what he is doing and why.  As much as I enjoy drooling over the gorgeous glass display, I cannot resist watching the artist at work, even though I have watched this process many times over the years.  It is somewhat mesmerizing to watch the twirling glass at the end of the blower's rod take shape, almost always in a rather surprising way.

This time, we got to watch glassblower Treasure Collupy create a glass starfish.  Here he is heating the starfish towards the end of the process:

Here's another shot of the starfish.  In this one, I believe he's smoothing the points at the end of the starfish's legs.

Of course, the color of the starfish will be very different when it has cooled.  I believe this one will be green and blue!

And now, for a sampling of the vibrant colors and graceful shapes of Alder House glasswork:

I hope you have enjoyed the tour as much as I did.  The question now, is, how will this affect my creations in fiber and yarn?  How will it affect yours??

Light and Shadow, Part 3

In this post, I will share some of my own creations in which I have explored light and shadow.  This first photo is a clutch type bag, in a light lavender with a lacy. black flap.  I like the contrast between the black lace and the pastel fabric behind it:

I really enjoy beading, when I get the time to do it.  This next item is a beaded needle case in peyote stitch, with a stained-glass-like diamond pattern on it.  The shiny beads seem to glow, just like a stained glass window!

And here's another beaded needle case.  On this one, I was trying to portray the luminous colors of an ocean sunset:

This tam was the result of my explorations of the Domino Knitting technique.  Its pattern utilizes two shades of gray:

This short-row tam from handspun yarn also has a stained-glass glow:

In another technique, here's a kumihimo braided necklace, with bright colors contrasted with black.  I love how the black makes the colors "pop"!

Highly textured items create light and shadow effects, as in this Saxon Braid Cap:

Some fibers have a reflective quality, like the handspun silk embroidery thread in this embroidered pincushion:

This knitted scarf mixes shiny metallic yarn with matte and furry yarns to create an interesting effect:

Here's another scarf, crocheted with shiny, furry novelty yarn and matte wool yarn:

And finally, a mini paperweight made of shiny colored glass encrusted with crochet:

Most of these items are listed in my Etsy shop, if you would like to see more pictures or find out more about them.