Sunday, March 28, 2010

PURPLES - and LAVENDERS - for Spring!!

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Internet Shop of Handmade Items In Fibers


Have read and heard in various places around - mostly on the Internet, but also on TV - this Spring is the season for various shades of PURPLE - and it being a popular time for pastels - LAVENDERS and VIOLETS!!

Since I started doing Thread Crochet, various shades of PURPLE have been one of the popular colors -- and I have made and sold a number of pieces in them!

I love to work in Shaded Lavenders and Shaded Purples - in fact I have a work-in-progress with Pansies in those colors!! I have a number of crochet threads in those colors - Daisy size 30, J & P Coats size 30 (both "vintage" threads in new condition) -- and, of course, the DMC Pearl Cotton size 8 threads and DMC Tatting Cotton Threads!!

Below a few of the finished items in these colors are pictured - if they sold on Etsy or are listed on Etsy, the photo will link!!












Sunday, March 21, 2010

A Spring Line of DESIGNS IN FIBER

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Internet Shop of Handmade Items In Fibers


I design and plan much of my work in Crochet and Knitting with the seasons and nature in mind - that is just me!

Some call this "Nature in Art"!

Here are several items made in a Yellow and a Light Spring-like Green!

Not sure if these are the most "trendy colors" this year -- but they were requested for Spring -- so I did make these!










CLICK ON EACH PHOTO TO GO TO THE LISTING WITH SPECIFICS!!

As I do Custom Orders and I have this thread in stock -- I can also do Special Orders to customer specifications, if requested!!

THREAD ARTISTS OF ETSY - An Updated FLOWERS AND BOTANICALS GIFT GUIDE for Spring!!

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Internet Shop of Handmade Items In Fibers


My Etsy Team, THREAD ARTISTS OF ETSY, has an Updated version of their FLOWERS AND BOTANICALS GIFT GUIDE -- for this Spring!!

I have a few things in it with a number of other Team Members!

Here is the You Tube video of it:




If you go to our Gift Guide on our Team Blog - you can click through and see the individual listings with particulars!



Monday, March 15, 2010

A "LUCKY" SPRING DESIGN IN FIBER!!

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Internet Shop of Handmade Items In Fibers





A-h-h-h!! The "LUCK" of the Four-Leaf Clover!!

Personally, I am not much of one to rely on "LUCK" -- though I don't mind if I have some time to time!!

According to "tradition" and "legend" the real Four-Leaf Clover (which does exist) brings luck to their finder!!

Actually, I do believe I really saw one once -- by accident -- in some wild place, though I will be honest, as there are some other plants that supposedly look just like it, I cannot say for sure it was actually a Four-Leaf Clover! (I have plenty of the more common variety of clover - the Three-Leaf one - in my front yard - and I am particularly fond of it -- it makes great green ground cover inbetween all my plants and pots!!!)

You can read about the Four-Leaf Clover some here on Wikipedia!!

The Four-Leaf Clover pictured above though is one made of Fiber - and is one of what will be 20 motifs in a Table Runner that is currently a work-in-progress (see the beginning 4 motifs below).



Some will tell you that no matter what form it comes in, these Four-Leaf clovers represent "LUCK"!! Therefore, this Table Runner, which will have 10 of them in it, will be quite LUCKY!!

Actually, I am doing it as a Nature-Inspired Spring-Themed item (also good for St. Patrick's Day if you so choose) in Shamrock Green (for the Four-Leaf Clovers) and Ecru for the border and alternating motifs.

The alternating motif (below) is actually a design of a flower or plant with a number of shoots - and I am doing it in Ecru beige as a background for the Four-Leaf Clovers.



The Table Runner will be a long and thin one - the type you put down the middle of a long table and often hanging over the sides some - either directly on a bare table or on top of a tablecloth. The overall design is my idea - though I am using various motifs from different places. When finished, it will be approximately 10 inches wide by 50 inches long.

And definitely for a Nature-type decor or decoration!!

Watch for it in my Etsy shop - it should be finished and listed within a few days!!

I have lots of ideas for motifs -- and lots of patterns for all kinds of motifs that I could make into a similar design - wider or longer or shorter - as I have said before - I DO CUSTOM ORDERS!! Contact me through my Etsy shop or private contact (upper right on this blog) if you want to discuss a CUSTOM ORDER!!

Sunday, February 7, 2010

ART (All Kinds) and What It Communicates

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Internet Shop of Handmade Items In Fibers


ART - well, when you get into the subject of ART, you get into an area that is actually very personal and very subjective.

I have been exposed to various forms and types of ART all my life - I believe since I was a baby.

I had relatives -- and friends of relatives -- who did various types of Arts and Crafts -- and, yes, some of it was "in capital letters", though some of it was just for fun.

  • Music
  • Drawing
  • Painting
  • Sewing
  • Needlecrafts (Crochet, Knitting, Needlepoint)
  • Mosaics
  • Writing

Also, when I was very young, I was exposed to some of those who are considered "Great Artists" -- mostly Musicians and Painters -- through musical recordings and classical music radio stations -- and I don't remember the first time I was taken to the Art Institute of Chicago, but I believe I was very young.

I was quite young - still a child, not yet in my teens - when I "fell in love" with the paintings of the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists I saw at the Art Institute of Chicago, such as Monet, Van Gogh, Seurat, Renoir -- these works so full of light and color, which I just adored!! To be seen there, for example: Monet's various landscapes; Van Gogh's vibrant - and what I would call dramatic - colors and images; Seurat's grand landscape by the water with dots of colors which together form almost an enchanting composition (to me) - I would stand entranced for a while; Renoir's delightful compositions - both of people and landscapes!

-- And then the works of later painters that I grew to love, such as Marc Chagall and Georgia O'Keeffe!

-- And the various sculptures and pottery and glass works!

-- And the music, as a child and in my early teens -- from Beethoven, Bach, Handel -- to the folk artists, such as Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, The Weavers, Buffy Sainte-Marie -- to the Musicals, such as "The Music Man", "Fiddler on the Roof" - I loved the singing of Theodore Bikel!

As I ventured out on my own -- my love of the Impressionistic painters and a few other painters (especially Georgia O'Keeffe) only grew. My love of music also grew and expanded -- and the musicians that I met -- and some I got to know -- added so much to my life!

As I got into studying Photography (I got my first camera at the age of 6, but never really studied it until my 30's), my admiration for (Alfred Stieglitz, Ansel Adams, Robert Glenn Ketchum, Freeman Patterson, David Muench) and interaction with various Photographers (Craig Fucile, Jan Pietrzak, Steve Cohen - and other environmental photographers) in various genres added so much to my life.

What it all comes down to -- there is something in what the works of these Artists commuicate that reaches me and adds such a feeling of joy to one's life!!

I think all Artists have some kind of message -- though that message may be interpreted differently by each person experiencing the art -- for me, it is that experience which adds so much to my life - and I can truthfully only speak of my own experience.

So, now I am involved online with some Artisans who do Handmade on Etsy -- from the Thread Artists to Painters, Photographers, people who work in Wood, Clay, Glass, Needlecrafts, Fibers .... as usual, there are always different viewpoints and different things that different people like, but I have found so many that I personally admire on Etsy!!

There is something in what these Artists communicate in their Art that brings joy into my life -- and I thank all of them for it!!

Friday, January 29, 2010

Irish Crochet Hearts -- a Variety of Color Themes!!

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Internet Shop of Handmade Items In Fibers


Been adding a number of the little Trinket Irish Crochet Hearts to my Etsy shop over the last couple of weeks -- I now am up to four all with different colors of 3D Roses in them -- and have sold a few over the months -- and years ....





My latest is a new color for my Irish Crochet Hearts - Shaded Lavender 3D Roses in a fine, heirloom weight 6-cord thread, which is some of the highest quality of threads you can find!


Took a little bit of work and experimentation to work out how I exactly wanted these to be -- though I have patterns and instructions for crocheting Irish Lace, I wanted these Hearts to have fine thread multi-layer Roses -- with contrasting colors for the Heart shape, which I feel really brings out the flowers and the Irish lace!!


I think these are exceedingly romantic and can be used in a number of different ways -- especially with the small loop on them, which makes them easy for hanging. It all makes them great Valentine gifts for an admirer of hand-made lace!!


Some years ago I made some that were slightly different in a thicker fiber for someone to decorate their wall with -- a custom order!


I really find it fun to work out these different designs!!