There has been a resurgent interest in knitting today as you see more and more beautifully knitted scarves. There are these wonderful new yarns that have recently surfaced and are being used for a lot more than grandma's knitted baby blankets. The old craft of knitting blankets, socks and winter hats has expanded to beautiful creations using these updated yarns. Some of the names of yarns are quite interesting because they resemble these names: eyelash, firefly, metallic, railroad ties, ladder, flag yarns, squiggle yarn, ribbons and multiple novelty yarns with very interesting names. Also the mohair, cotton and wool yarns have gone to a whole new level in chic and unique. The prices, of course, have followed and the cost of knitting an eye-catching, show stopping scarf can be upwards of $55.00 and that is just for the yarn products. The labor is on top of that. Then there are the artists who have taken the elegant new yarn fibers and made them into exciting and new unique products like fiber jewelry, felted purses, hats, and slippers. Walking into a yarn store can be quite a surprise to anyone who has not ventured into this type of a specialty store. The items on display are amazing and wonderfully crafted such as knitted hats, junkyard (multiple colors and textures) shawls, scarves, sweaters, socks and endless other creations.
I love, love, love the yarns in today's world because they add a chic and unique flair in women's accessories. After knitting my fair share of gorgeous novelty yarn scarves, I decided to take these upscale yarns to a new level myself. I decided to experiment with the idea of taking these same beautiful fibers and textures in putting them (unknitted) into a necklace form with beads and clasps on the ends, about 28" long, using 4-7 different strands of fibers and winding them together to get a very interesting, eye-catching and distinctive accessory. I spend hours shopping for the fibers based on colors, textures and unique characteristics within each yarn until I feel I have the right and unique look I am after. Then through two different winding processes I wind these 4-7 fiber strands together and finish them with beads and either silver or gold clasps in the back. I make them long enough to wear under any type of a collar (blouse, denim jacket, suit jacket or coat) where they complete the outfit with just the right accessory. My slogan is Fiber Necklaces.....to make your outfit "pop". I also make Fiber Earrings using the same 4-7 fibers, keeping them between 2 and 4 inches in length. They are the only earrings I know of in the world that if they are too long, you can whack them off to your preferred length.
This is just what I have chosen to do with my new-found treasure in the beautiful fibers available today, but there's a lot more you can do. Next time you see a yarn store take the time to go inside and be blown away by the beauty of today's fibers. They are truly not only for Grandma.
Jane Ann Steiner
