Sampler Column #1: Heyday Fashion
For a while now, we’ve had an arrangement with the lovely people over at The Sampler where they send us lots of cool samples, goodies and promos from indie crafters, record labels and zines from the world over. In exchange we offer the contributors a bit of free publicity in our magazine (stay tuned for our upcoming issue 13, for the column called “lipsters are doing it for themselves”).
Sadly there’s not enough room to feature them all, so I’m starting a weekly blog column, updated every Thursday, to help promote these wonderful creative people and their wares. And you, dear readers, get a chance to win every item we feature here on the blog.
Our lucky first Sampler contributer is…
Heyday Fashion.
We discovered these funky hand crocheted earrings in our very first Sampler, crafted by designer Denise Cozzitorto.
To win this pair of earrings, email us and tell us what about the most interesting, beautiful, ugly or weird crocheted item you have (or used to have) in your house. Responses will be posted in the comments section, but don’t worry, we’ll keep your email details to ourselves. Send in your response by midnight Wed 8 Feb. The winner will be picked at random.
Just passing through, hope you dont mind, wanting to make new aquaintances… I’ll have to stop back by…
It’s not so much an item… But as a teenager I had insomnia and used to wake up my parents complaining I couldn’t sleep. So, my mother taught me how to crochet to fill in those midnight hours and send me back to sleep. The only problem was, I never learned to do anything more than crochet one long line. Subsequently, I have metres and metres of green crochet and instead of having insomnia, I now have narcolepsy. But, crocheting ensured my parents got sleep during my high school insomnia.
My mum crotched me two dresses when I was 4 or 5-years-old. I’m 42 now, and I still have both dresses. My 7-year-old daughter uses them for ‘dress ups’ now and they look gorgeous on her.
Well, I was brought up by my grandma, meaning that I was pretty much learning to swim just to keep my head afloat in the land of crochet before I was six. Then in high school I decided to take it up myself – I ended up crocheting the biggest bed-spread you’ve ever seen in your life. I’d put it on my lap and just keep going and going (it actually kept me warm even while I was making it, during the freezing Toowoomba winter) with the only problem being that I put absolutely no forethought into the colours I was using – I’d just keep going til I finished one ball of wool, then start on whatever I had lying around. As a result, the rug is basically the most horrid combo of colour imagineable – blue followed by yellow, a line or two of red and then a purple followed by a while. It’s like Joseph’s Technicolour Dreamcoat except gross.
Crochet + bad colour = bad, bad, bad.
I remember one of my best friends growing up had a crocheted toilet paper cover that was like a big, tiered hoopskirt for a Barbie. It was absolutely hideous but I totally coveted it.
I have to say, crochet item that is my most priceless possession is my shawl which was made for me before i was born and still in my mothers womb. My shawl was crochet by my grandma mills, who shortly died after I was born, and the only thing she made for me, therefor my father never took it off me. So I slept with it every night until the age of 21 when it was annoying boyfriends, but on brake ups, and when I am upset, it is still there and is my comfort blanket. There are many stories connected to my shawl as it is part of my life, from being born!
Hey Michelle,
This comp thing is a great idea. What great responses we’ve received. Loved reading them.
My mom crochets and knits the most gorgeous afghans. She uses leftover yarn too, but her colours match. She has a few with strips of different patterns and colours. I miss having her afghans around my home. Was contemplating getting her to mail me squares that I could put together, but she never wants to do the patterns I pick out! Guess I’ll have to crochet myself one one day (I can’t knit). If I can give up the cross stitch…
Rachel F
My grandma went through a phase of crocheting mini blankets which were barely large enough to cover your legs. we had over 10 of them around the house, and since her sight isn’t brilliant, they were in the most disgusting colour schemes you’re ever seen. a still have a few lying around, and they serve for nothing more than a conversation starter when people come to visit.