Crafty decor
July 31st, 2006 Category CraftM’Lyn Walther’s crafts are everywhere in her Ridgefield home: lined on her mantel, stacked on her CD holder, clustered on an end table.
But don’t get the wrong idea. These brightly colored knitted objects aren’t clutter. They’re home decor.
Not everybody has time for a 24-hour reality-TV-style home makeover or a $10,000 room refurbishment. But as a group of women that gathers weekly in Ridgefield has learned, anyone can create hand-crafted home decor. All it takes is time, creativity and the support of friends.
Crafters with a vision — from art nouveau to down-home style — are putting personal touches on their homes without spending a fortune.
“You probably won’t see our stuff in those million-dollar homes,” said stitchery group regular Dolores Dougherty, with a laugh. Then again, you never know.
Unofficially dubbed “The Stitchery Group,” these women have a standing appointment from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesdays at the Ridgefield Library and Community Center, 210 N. Main Ave. The youngest regulars are in their 30s; the oldest are in their 70s. Anyone of any age is welcome, including men, though so far meetings have generally been women only.
Bowls
Walther’s bowls may be handmade, but that doesn’t mean they don’t look high-class.
Brightly colored and round, each bowl features a one-of-a-kind swirl of colors.
The bowls are made through felting, an ancient fiber art that’s growing in popularity.
Felting takes one of the least-loved attributes of wool — its tendency to shrink after a hot water bath — and turns it into an advantage.
Walther starts her projects by knitting oversized bowls in wool. She then runs them through two hot water cycles in her washing machine.
“When a bowl comes out, it’s just a shapeless soggy mess,” she said. “You become a sculptor.”
She uses Tupperware or other bowls to shape the shrunken wool and let it dry.
Beginners should make sure all the wool comes from the same source, because different wools can shrink at different rates, said Dougherty, who learned the craft from Walther.
Cross-stitch
Long before she got her start in felting, Dougherty was putting her crafty energies to work at counted cross-stitch.
Cross-stitch, in which overlapping stitches form an X and a grid of X’s creates a picture, is one of the original American decorative crafts.
In the 1600s, pilgrim women used the art to create samplers, which typically displayed the alphabet surrounded by other flourishes.
More contemporary cross-stitch projects can feature virtually any picture. Craft stores sell computer software that creates patterns out of digital pictures.
At a recent stitchery group meeting, Dougherty displayed two completed cross-stitch projects. On a blue background, a shepherd with pointed shoes stood among his sheep. And in the other, a ram was surrounded by tartan plaid and a green frame.
“I keep one in the bedroom and one in the front room,” Dougherty said.
Blankets
Among members of the stichery group, blankets are another popular project. They can be knitted, quilted or crocheted. And they can be draped on the back of a couch, tucked in and around an infant in a bassinet, or used to keep a bed colorful and warm.
Feli Paul is making a king-sized patchwork quilt out of 3.5-inch squares of fabric.
“I gather whatever I have for materials, cut squares and sew,” Paul said. “I’m making it for my daughter. I thought it would be queen-sized, but then she got a bigger bed.”
Paul’s quilt features pinks, blues, purples, with images of flowers and of fish.
Bonnie Peck is also making a blanket for a daughter, but her crochet project comes in vibrant — sometimes florescent — yellows, greens, blues, pinks and oranges.
“My daughter likes bright colors,” Peck said.
And the kaleidoscope of colors she’s putting together would be difficult to find in a premade decorative item. Handmade art lets her make the gift exactly to her specifications, but it’s not a speedy process.
“This will probably take a good three or four months,” Peck said.
Other crafts
Though blankets, cross-stitch and felted bowls are the most prominent decor-worthy crafts under way at the stitchery group, the sky’s the limit when it comes to home decorating with homemade goods.
Paul once knitted a hot pad with a butterfly design.
“It could be used in the kitchen, but it’s too pretty, so I hang it on the wall,” she said with a laugh.
If you’ve got an idea that can be sewn, knitted, crocheted, felted or woven together, odds are good you can do it yourself. And odds are also good that you can find someone local to teach you how.
“We’re willing to teach so people can have art for their homes,” Dougherty said.
And it’s not an attitude limited to Ridgefield. Search for your desired project on the Internet, and you’ll probably find a free tutorial.
Prefer real-life help but don’t want to make the weekday drive to Ridgefield? Most craft stores have information about classes, and many also offer on-site lessons.
It can be scary to embark on a new project, Walther said, but it’s worth the risk.
“If it doesn’t work out, it’s not a failure. It’s still a beautiful design,” she said. “It’s art from the heart and hands. I can’t put a price on these things I make. They’re like my children.”
Getting started with crafty home decor
There are plenty of online resources for learning the art of do-it-yourself, including these sites from Vancouver-based Crafts Americana:
For knitters, www.knitpicks.com.
For quilters, www.connectingthreads.com.
For a quirky take on the world of crafting, www.getcrafty.com.
If the Internet’s not your thing, head to your nearest craft or fabric store. Many offer lessons, and those that don’t can often point you in the right direction.
On the Web: Examples of Doughtery’s and Walther’s work, and other crafts www.chicknits.com/yayafelt.shtml