Embracing Fibery Fiction

Me embraced in hand-dyed yarny goodness

In the early 1990s, a friend and I took a creative writing class together. Inspired, we set a challenge to each other: to write the sequel to a song we both loved. My friend was a song-writer and so she wrote her sequel as a song. I was more of a poet in those days, but I also enjoyed fiction-writing, so I thought I'd try my hand at a short story. I struggled with them, and this challenge seemed just the thing to help me practice writing one.

The story I wrote involved the young lady from the song and embroidery. I didn't actually embroider, but I had been cross-stitching since the late '80s, so I knew enough to get by. It was my first story involving handcraft. It wasn't a bad tale, but as it was based on copyrighted material, it exists now only in my memory.

In 2004, I attempted my second NaNoWriMo. The story I wrote and finished that November involved a weaver, a tapestry, and a sleeping god. I'd never weaved before, but I admired the craft. I'd also seen a full-sized fold-out picture of the Bayeux Tapestry, which served as part of my inspiration. It isn't woven but embroidered, but I was hazy on the distinction back then. If you haven't seen images of it, you should. It is breath-taking.

Then, in 2007, I met Laurinda Reddig. It didn't take her long to learn that I was an aspiring writer. Since learning of it, she has dropped not so subtle hints that I should write crochet fiction. Considering I didn't learn how to crochet until I met her, I merely grinned at the suggestion and put the idea away.

Until this year.

This year, Laurinda had the brilliant idea for a crochet kit club, something that would be both elegant and playful. Lovely hand-dyed yarns, carved hooks by our friend Monica, patterns that Laurinda would create for each type of yarn, and fun accessories that Monica would create. I loved the idea and offered to help however I could. So Laurinda did what she'd been trying to do for years. She encouraged me to write a crochet story that would tie all the elements together.

It was a lovely idea. I jumped on it. I started writing. And writing. And writing. And remembered that I'm not a short story writer. I write novels. And she still made it work. Part one of the first novel will be released in the first kit, shipping next week.

Writing that novel felt new, but at the same time, it felt like coming home. And I remembered that story back from college, with the girl and the embroidery. I remembered that first finished Nano-novel with the weaver and the tapestry. And I realized that I'd been leaning toward writing fibery fiction for some years.

So I have embraced being a writer of fibery fiction--not just crochet, but handcrafts of all sorts. And the ideas keep pouring in. I have the crochet kit story, which will be released in the kits in three parts, one in each of this year's kits. I have taken out that old sleeping god story and brushed it off, realized that there is actually a trilogy resting in its pages, and have started turning into something more. I'm adding spinning to it, as I'm learning to spin both on a wheel and a drop spindle.

And I have several other stories in mind, too. A crochet short story for the first of next year's kits, a western that will have crochet and perhaps quilting involved, a fantasy using wire crochet . . . and the idea keep coming.

I couldn't be happier!

I find myself looking through old story files, wondering how I can add yarn or thread to them. I'm playing around with different genres and how I can use crochet in them in a fun, new way. It's a blast, and I cannot wait to show you what I've come up with.

If you can't wait, we'll be opening sales for the Ficstitches Yarns Crochet Kit #2 in July. It's going to be a great kit. I can't wait to make the pattern myself. And I love how part two of the story is developing.

Or you can wait until next February, when the three-part story will be released as a novel, along with a new pattern by Laurinda centered around the story.

Or you can wait for book one in The Weaver's Trilogy. I don't have a release date yet, but I might aim for December. I'll have more news on that as it develops. I can tell you that book one will be called Tapestry's End.

Great writing days are ahead, and I hope, great reading days, too, for fans of fiber crafts.