Breaking Traditions is an art quilt exhibit that hangs at the American Sewing Expo every year.  This exhibit is curated each fall by Lynn Krawczyk.  Breaking Traditions has become a community effort, helping to support the fund raising projects of fellow fiber/mixed media artists. This years exhibit at the American Sewing Expo focuses on a quilt exhibit called “Home” .

The 2009 exhibit will benefit Bernie Berlin’s dog rescue  A Place to Bark.   In honor of Mr. Berlin’s efforts to find permenant homes for displaced dogs, “Home” seems to be appropriate.  The American Sewing Expo is to be held at The Rock Financial Showplace in Novi, Michigan Sept. 25 – Sept. 27, 2009.

The exhibit features 12″x12″ art quilts. Participants for the 2009 show will express those things, memories or emotions that define home to them. This is an open call exhibit, everyone is encourage to participate. Prizes are donated for those in the exhibit and an Exhibit Favorite is chosen.

Time is running out to enter your quilt square.  Quilts due to Lynn Krawczyk by Saturday August 15, 2009. This is the RECEIVE BY DATE!  To see how many packages have been arriving at Lynn’s house, check out her blog.

The exhibit will travel during 2010 to other venues, not yet determined.  To view the guideline for submission, click here.  This is a pdf file not very large.  The 2009 Entry Form can be downloaded here as a pdf.  Prize information can be found here.

Not just any plastic, but perfect, “cool” bags, especially neon green bags.  The bags must be good looking as White has no use for ugly bags.

What does this artist, who by day teaches English as a second language, do with all these plastic bags?   She crochets!  White takes her coveted bags and crochets hats, totes, dresses and more from strips cut from plastic shopping bags.

White doesn’t use any patterns to create plastic designs, such as the vintage-style, one-piece bathing suit she recently completed. To date, White has made several dresses from these bags and started another using  soft white bags for an evening gown crocheted from more than 70 bags. The dress, with a lace-up back, took months to stitch, and it’s unusually stunning for a gown made of plastic.

Because she doesn’t add any material, White’s products are 100 percent recyclable and can be placed in the recycle bin when they wear out.

There are several sites that show you how to make plastic yarn, or “plarn”.  [tag]GooseFlesh[/tag] blog has very good instructions and pictures, [tag]My Recycled Bags[/tag] is another good sourceand has many good articles about green crafting.

Using your imagination, who knows, maybe you too can become a plastic design artist like [tag]Betty White[/tag].

Jennifer is an illustrator/designer by trade with a concentration in painting and weaving. That must explain how she arrives at her beautiful color combinations.

This coloration is THE MOTHER EARTH COLLECTION – Fire – Lava flow on Etna.   The colors are taken from a picture of the lava flow on Etna, Sicily, Italy. The colors of deep, dark blackish blues and firey reds make this sock weight yarn pop!

There are several other color combinations  in this collection that are just as stunning.

Then there is her birthstone collection.  Gorgeous col orations showcasing the jewel colors of each months birthstone ranging from the hot  red of a July Ruby birthstone to the cool colors of  the February Pearl.  You will not be disappointed.  Jennifer’s yarns are 75% Superwash Wool, 25% Nylon for durability, approximately 450 yards–enough to knit an average size adult pair of socks using a Gauge: 28-30 stitches/4 inches with a needle size of  2.5-3.0 mm / US 1-2.  As with all superwash Wool, hand or machine wash gentle-cold; lay flat to dry.

Jennifer also has a blog[tag] Good Coffee, Puppies and Knitting[/tag] where she talks of her life:  coffee, her dogs and of course, Knitting.

Take a look at [tag]Rebecca Danger[/tag]‘s patterns at [tag]etsy[/tag]. There are monsters, and bears and bunnies, and so many more! One of Rebecca’s patterns looks just like her pug and is called Wasabi the Gregarious Pug!  Sooo cute!  Many of Rebecca’s patterns use less than one skein of yarn and are good for stash busting.  To make these patterns safe for small children,  I would embroider the eyes instead of sewing on buttons.

The prices are reasonable, about $5.00 for a pdf download.   Rebecca also offers multiplepacks of patterns for $20.00.

If you visit Rebecca’s blog, you can download a free [tag]bunny nuggets pattern[/tag].   This little bunny nugget uses 30 – 50 yards of leftover yarn.

So, I turn to[tag] etsy[/tag] for my fiber ideas.  Today, I want to introduce you to Phyllis.  Phyllis has an esty store called[tag] Spin, Knit and Life [/tag]and a blog with the same name.  In this store you will find handspun yarn, hand knitted scarves and hand spun Ditty yarn.

Phyllis writes “I really enjoy making Luscious Ditty Batts. My favorite fibers for blending Ditty Batts are : Alpaca, Tussah Silk, Merino, and Blue Faced Leicester. Occasionally I’ll throw in some Llama or Mohair. I keep a drop spindle next to my drum carder so that I can test spin each new Ditty Batt.  If I can’t spin it I won’t list the Batt on Etsy. Most of my Ditty Batts will come in 6-8 ounce increments.  The color in the Ditty Batts usually comes from the dyed merinos that I purchase from http://www.bluegooseglen.etsy.com . “

According to Phyllis, you can also special order a Ditty Batt with your favorite color blended into the batt.

The Yummy purple batt at her etsy store is my favorite, or maybe its Emerald Isle that is my favorite?

Phyllis also lists dome things she is destaching, so take a look and make a purchase!

[tag]Creative Designs Unlimited[/tag] makes shawl pins from natural materials such as bone, wood and shell. They also make ebony sticks with charms, shell flowers or vintage buttons attached.

[tag]Knitting Notions Online[/tag] hand turns wood shawl pins. The pins are made in the same woods that they use to make their swifts; Mahogany, Cherry, Walnut and Exotics. These are NOT made from ready made dowels. They are all individually designed and turned on a lathe in their own shop, with great attention to detail and quality.

[tag]Leslie Wind[/tag], a fine handcrafted jeweler, makes her pins with metal. Made of either sterling or bronze they look well on plain or patterned garments.

[tag]Ruby Vegas[/tag] shawl pins run the gamut form wrapped wire to blown glass. Gorgeous designs and use of materials. She describes them as Sophisticated & Sassy to Funky & Sculpted – and they are!

Another unusual type of pin is created by [tag]Designs by Romi[/tag] .Romi has a rosewood stick with a sterling silver ball of yarn on the end that is just made for all knitters! Romi’s other designs incorporate Cloisonné, beads, natural amber, Turquoise nuggets, and other precious stones.

The [tag]Festival Season [/tag] is in full swing with events across the country. Included at many of the events are competitions in hand-spinning yarns, knitted garments from hand-spun fibers, as well as knitted garments from commercial yarns and machine knit garments.

This picture is from the [tag]Maine Fiber Frolic [/tag]. The Festivals are also a good place to shop, also. Many independent fiber artists travel to these festivals to sell their products. These products can be fleece, hand-spun yarns and even spinning equipment.

The Festivals also have a list of classes available running the full gamut of crafts – from crochet to knitting to spinning and weaving. Festivals are a good place to get hands on knowledge and pick up some pointers if you are struggling with your hobby.

To see a Festival in you area, check out my Festival and Knitting Event list in the sidebar. I keep adding events as I find them.

“[tag]Freshly Squeezed[/tag]” cup of yarn is just one of the “yarn and knitting needles in a cup” that is manufactured by this company. This is a really cute concept – a cup that has knitting needles and holds enough yarn to make a multi-colored baby hat ! Kit includes 105 yards of fluffy acrylic yarn, a pair of 14″ bamboo needles and a knitting instruction booklet. The finished hat is shrink-proof and machine washable and is made in the USA. You can choose Apple Blueberry Burst – creamy mix of blues and greens, or Raspberry Mango Magic-creamy mix of pinks and light green.

The company also produces [tag]Szechuan Scarf [/tag], [tag]Cap-puccino[/tag], and [tag]Cup of Yarn[/tag]. These products can be purchased at the Tigo Gifts website or at a variety of yarn shop and gift shops including amazon.com

I just might need one of these, or all of these, LOL

The shop is a feast for the eyes with an abundance of color, texture, beads, yarns, jewerly and fun items!

This is one talented individual! Love the beads!

Here is a novel idea for the knitting lover, a small version of your needles with your favorite color of yarn to wear on your lapel.

Pavia Lewis lives in Cleveland, Ohio and knits the cutest little pins, complete with knitting needles. and available at $35 each.

Miknitures are handknitted pins on tiny handmade decorative needles. Pavia creates miknitures in many colors, and the needle styles are ever-changing. These one-of-a-kind miniture pins are available in a wide range of colors available at Pavia’s website, Miknitures.com.

Pavia will also custom craft a mikniture to your color specifications. You may also find Pavia’s pins in a few stores around the county, and she will be at Stitches West at the Interlacements Yarns booths: 611, 613, 710 & 712.