Fiber Artist Myra Wood recently published a book on freeform lace. While freeform can be intimidating at first, Myra provides great photos and clear information on how to get started with this unique art form! Myra agreed to sit down for an “e-interview” to talk about her new book and give some suggestions on how to freeform!

ALVB: When did you first get the idea for the book?
MW: I love books on needlearts and have every book I can find on creative crochet and freeform as well as tons of conventional stitch guides, pattern books and books on lace crochet.

I realized a few years ago that none of them really focused on freeform crochet lace. There are incredible books on creative crochet dating back to the 70s that I love but they didn’t addressed the openwork, lacy crochet I love so much. I figured someone had to write it!
 
ALVB: How long did you work on the designs shown in the book?
MW: I really wanted to present a wide range of projects using different sized hooks and yarns so I spent years developing different techniques that incorporated various traditional styles of crochet lace. The ideas for the 5 different styles of Creative Crochet Lace in the book germinated over a few years as I’d do new pieces and finally came together over a 2 year period. The nice thing about self publishing is that you can make your own deadlines and not rush the work. I also wanted to offer a good variety of styles and projects to show people the wide range of possibilities using these techniques.
 
ALVB: What is your favorite piece?
MW: Kinda like asking which is your favorite child! I have different favorites for different reasons but my favorite thing about each one is remembering the journey and the discovery that went along with making it. The wonderful thing about freeform is watching it evolve and discovering the fabric as you make it. It’s always an adventure!
 
ALVB: Why free form?
MW: I think, as fiber artists, we are very lucky to be able to express ourselves in so many incredibly different and unique ways. Just look at the range of artistry from the International Freeform Guild: http://www.intff.org. I actually love patterns and traditional crochet and knitting too but they’re very different from immersing yourself in discovering the fabric as you go along. Nothing speaks to me or allows me to express myself like freeform!

ALVB: What would you recommend for stitchers new to free form? How should they get started?
MW: First, join our list! The most amazing freeformers from all over the world including the top teachers and artists are all on the list and are willing to help anyone interested in getting started. We have an enormous amount of resources listed in our files and archives: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FFCrochet/. There are also wonderful books by Prudence Mapstone, Margaret Hubert and Jenny Dowde available on their websites and through Amazon along with some of the great out of print books from the 70s for inspiration. There’s a list in the files of all of the great ff books you can imagine. For inspiration you have to visit: James Walter’s site: http://www.crochet.nu/ and http://freeformcrochet.com. Prudence has a wealth of information on her site as well: http://www.knotjustknitting.com/. Click on What is Freeform to see an amazingly clear demo on scrumbling. She also has long list of links for all things freeform and beyond!! Bonnie Pierce also offers a wonderful tutorial on her site: http://www.elegantcrochet.com. Scroll down to Free Form and follow the links to the tutorial for making a follow along scrumble. I’ve added a tutorial to my site at: http://www.myrawood.com/pages/demo.html. That is an alternative method. The most important thing is to experiment, use lots of different wonderful yarns and have fun scrumbling!!

Thank you Myra for taking the time to tell us about your book and your perspective on freeform! If you would like to order Myra’s book, you can click on the widget above.