#Fiber art

[reasonsforhope]

"According to National Coalition for the Homeless, 40% of the country’s homeless youth population is comprised of LGTBQ+ teens. 

When New York native Austin Rivers took up knitting during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was this staggering figure that drove him towards action. 

“I don’t have the capacity to build a shelter, the network or the connections to help in that way, but what I can do is knit,” Rivers told NBC News. 

“And I know that New York City is cold, so I decided I would start knitting and create this nonprofit.”

That’s when he founded Knit the Rainbow, an organization that distributes free handmade garments to those in need. 

And nearly five years after it was first created, Rivers’ knitting collective isn’t just serving the queer community in New York City.

Their nationwide network links local yarn stores and local nonprofits with over 550 volunteers from 45 states. 

As of 2024, they have collected and distributed over 25,000 winter garments — including sweaters, hats, gloves, scarves, and socks — throughout homeless communities in New Jersey, Chicago, Detroit, and beyond. 

Once clothing items are shipped to Rivers’ apartment, he works with volunteers to unpack boxes, tag and sort donations, and pack and deliver them to local shelters that provide housing to LGBTQ+ and HIV+ homeless youth. 

Although the organization’s impact is wider, and the piles of mail have grown higher, Rivers still has a hand in day-to-day deliveries. 

“We’re going to do it whether it’s rain, or snow, or shine,” Rivers said in his NBC News interview, pulling a handcart topped with boxes. 

Those clothes could be the difference between frostbite and hospitalization, especially in cities that often drop below freezing in the wintertime. 

But Rivers also noted that every handmade item — knitted, crocheted, or stitched — has a dual impact, because every piece of clothing is made with love. 

“A lot of the times, the reason that they’re unhoused is because they were kicked out by their families,” Rivers said. 

“We’re not just providing warmth, but we’re also providing that love and that compassion that they so often don’t have.” 

To the members of the community Knit The Rainbow served, he had a clear message.

“There are thousands of people out here that are constantly thinking of you and using their hands to make things for you,” Rivers emphasized. “So don’t give up. Keep going.”

To download free knitting [and crochet] patterns, donate a garment, or sign up to volunteer, you can visit the organization's website to get started." 

‍-via GoodGoodGood, December 23, 2024

[jovialtacosharkzonk]

My god…you’re insane, mate! That’s incredible though!

AT LAST....... I'M FREE

Approximately seven months and almost 12,000 stitches later...... behold :') I don't even know what else to write anymore gfdsgsd just look at it. Please.

Feeling brave enough to try it yourself? You can buy the pattern here for as little as $1 👍

[magefelixir]

a good bit of fiber arts are

40% calming and creation

30% oh shit undo undo

30% i fucking STABBED myself and im gonna KEEP stabbing myself because i ENJOY this hobby

[justthreadyall]

i’m going to lose my mind ohhhhhhh my god

RIGID HEDDLE LOOM

[onbearfeet]

UPDATE: Here's the quilt on the rack in its new home!

A conversation at a wedding, beside the gifts table. There is a large box wrapped in violently purple paper sitting beside the table.

Guest: That's a big box. Wonder what's in it.

Me: A custom handmade quilt on an oak quilt rack.

Guest: Really?

Me: Yup. Wanna see?

Guest: Sure.

Me: *shows pics on my phone*

Guest: Wow. You made that?

Me: Yep. Finished it last night.

Guest: That's amazing. Very purple.

Me: Yeah, (bride) asked for that.

Guest: Oh, she knows about it?

Me: I worked with her on the design. But she hasn't seen the finished quilt yet. It's a surprise.

Guest: So you take commissions? Could you make one in, say, two weeks?

Me: That depends. Do you have ten thousand dollars?

Guest: What.

Me: Materials, labor, overtime to make that deadline--yeah, it would start at 10K. Might be higher if you wanted expensive materials or some really fancy technique.

Guest: That's a lot of money!

Me: It is.

Guest: Did you charge (bride) that much?

Me: No. Hers is a gift.

Guest: A ten thousand dollar gift?

Me: Well, to the extent that I am part of a quilting tradition at all, the tradition I'm part of is that quilts can ONLY be given as gifts. Anyone who could casually afford to pay for the amount of work involved in a quilt is probably not someone to be trusted with art.

Guest: Art?

Me: ART.

Guest: ...

Me: I also made her a nice satin dressing gown, which she wore for hair and makeup earlier.

Guest: Is that art, too?

Me: I mean, it's got pockets.

[green-green-grass]

fell into embroidering stuff on this pair of pants and I'm pretty proud of how my solar system turned out

[bigpoppashawarma]

Got commissioned to make this as a gift for known Togepi aficionado @finalfantasyvii! Very happy to be finally able to post it lmao

[1968bullittmustang]

OP, this is amazing and brilliant!

To any followers, since they debuted in 1971 you might not have any idea, here are the sesame street yip, yip muppets, sometimes referred to as the yip, yip maritans, or yip, yip aliens.

Trying to cause an asthma attack at my family's gift exchange. The gobbler. I made 3 of these bitches.

[annaplexis]

The Norwegian purl

Often, when I post a video with the Norwegian purl, the Icelandic bind off, the German twisted cast on etc, I get comments saying: “But I’m Norwegian and I don’t purl that way”, “I’m Danish/Finnish (or whatever) and I do the Norwegian purl”, “This is not how we cast on in Germany”, “I’m Icelandic and never heard of that bind off” etc.

‼️⚠️ Do not take these denominations literally ‼️⚠️ They are usually inaccurate, if not wildly misleading. Furthermore, knitting stitches, like so many other traditions and techniques rarely stop at borders.

Thought of the day: Nationalism makes you proud of things you didn’t do and makes you hate people you’ve never met.

[cicada-heart]

some of the custom pet portrait commissions i’ve made for folks in 2024! 💖

watercolor and hand embroidery on muslin, with felt flowers 🌿

etsy

[lil-leviathan]

It's gone to its new owner so I can post this now! My first sewn object using my handwovens. It's a tote bag for my partner!

The bag is RH woven and lined with light canvas, and the handle is one continuous inkle woven band!

[deosilplanarglitches]

aaaaaAAAAAAAAAA

I've been thinking about this amazing pattern for days....

BEHOLD

rainbow croak army

there is a black one that looks like an orca and one color of leather bag

[undeadenn]

Make It Wild

A needle felted doll of Joel to celebrate his victory in Wild Life.

commission info

[sycamorefibers]

Here’s a friendly reminder that I hand dye wool for hand spinning! If you happen to be a spinner, or know someone who does, you can see what’s in my shop here https://artisans.coop/products/chromapop-hand-dyed-polwarth-wool

[pseuddamntired]

Huh. Funny. I used to say that semi-advanced origami felt an awful lot like really precise crumpling.

When you really think about it, crochet and knitting are just organized methods of tangling yarn