DianeHamillFiberArt

I hope you get a hole in your sweater and you decide to give it to me.  Working with fiber art is an addiction.  Any quilter, knitter, spinner, weaver, etc. will tell you they are an addict.  Even though their closets, storage sheds, and under every bed in the house are full of yarn, fabric, patterns and all of the accompanying tools; they are not able to pass up a fiber sale.

Recently I have been working with cashmere and wool sweaters.  While I am really recycling this fabric, the more “upscale” term is “up-cycling.”  I guess up-cycled sounds more classy or gives the impression you are not making things from yesterday’s newspaper or plastic shopping bags.

Here are just a few of the cashmere sweaters I purchased in one day of sweater shopping.  You see…..I told you it was an addiction!  Part of the fun in the excitement of “the hunt.”  I love finding a perfectly good cashmere or wool sweater for a few dollars.  I can’t wait to take them home, wash and felt them and starting cutting them up.  Yes, it used to give me pause to take a pair of scissors to a perfectly good cashmere sweater, but it is also fun to turn someone else’s trash into a treasurer.  I soon got over the remorse of cutting up cashmere and delighted in the creative process and the final product.

Here is a stack of pieces ready to be sewn into something new.  Cashmere is sooooo soft and cozy.  Who wouldn’t want to snuggle up in a throw made from 100% cashmere?

I often like to add embellishment on something I’ve created.  Making something that is unique is the goal of every artist.  So, you see, I hope you get a hole in your sweater and think about sending it to me!