There is a better way to do this thing I'm doing, but I'm going to go ahead and do it this other way anyway. This sounds crazy and yet with almost every design I undertake, I find myself thinking this kind of thought. It's different from second-guessing or some sort of crisis of confidence, but rather my brain telling me that there is another way of doing the thing I'm doing that would be even better. I will ignore this intelligence and continue on, very often wasting some of my own precious time as well as yarn which I would argue is also precious.
Case in point, my current project is a baby blanket for my nephew's first. My idea is to take a classic doily pattern and make it up in a soft, baby yarn, modifying it just a little to take out some of the larger spacing in the design so that it would serve well as a blanket. The idea is sound, even kind of fun and appropriate for my vintage loving nephew and his wife, but as I work up the blanket, I know it would represent better in a solid yarn and better still in one with a less fluffy texture. Yet here I am, ignoring my own reasoning and working through with my initial yarn purchase. The best thing you can say about this variegated, furry yarn is that the colors will be appealing to the indented recipients and it has an impressionist air which will probably even present the suggestion of lace when complete. Even so, I know deep down that I will end up crocheting the whole piece over again and this will become something taking up space in my studio or at best, donated to a charity which will have no idea what it is supposed to be.
Why do I do this?
Do I want to prove myself wrong?
Is it because I can't abandon a project once I've begun?
Will writing this phenomena down create personal change?
Honestly, I think this is just a shout into the void, an existential "why?" and one of many I have about myself and my creative brain. Perhaps I'm just wondering if anyone can relate.
I'll come back and share my finished baby blanket, both of them.
A couple days ago I talked about frogging my Lapis Wrap for a Solomon's Knot lace vest that I'm designing on the fly. (frog/fly... too much?) Well, today I went to a scary place. I cut off a piece of my fabric from the beginning rows.
I guess I need to explain that better. I'm working my drape front style vest in one piece beginning from the left front, continuing across the back and then the right front. I have already crocheted the second armhole so I'm nearing the finish line.
I tried it on to make sure that I liked the width of the back and that is when I decided that the left front was a little longer than I wanted. The proportions just looked a little off. At this point I had three choices. I could live with it, start all over again, or I could cut a few rows off from the beginning. I knew I couldn't live with it and I didn't want to start over, so I went for the scissors.
I don't think I've ever cut into a project before unless I was using part of it for something else. In this case, I want to shorten the length without changing the look. Since I care about appearances here, I was pretty nervous. I say was because now that it's all said and done, I think I'm going to be okay.
I was able to place a safety pin through the loops of the stitches that I'll be working into when I re-create the first row. *Deep sigh* I tried it back on and now the length looks much more in proportion, so I feel like my project is back on track. I guess life is good if scary is cutting my crochet!
I haven't talked about my Lapis Wrap in a while. Here's the thing, I'm about 8 rows from being finished and I've decided to frog the whole thing. I'm cringing as I type this because I'm afraid you'll think I'm crazy. Maybe I am. The sizing has worked out just fine even though I completely played around with the gauge. The only reason I can offer is that I can't get the idea out of my mind that I would rather it be more lacy and light.
I went browsing through one of my crochet stitch dictionaries to find a pretty lace. I found myself drawn to the Solomon's Knot lace. This has happened before. I have made one other project using Solomon's Knot lace and that one turned out pretty, so I think I'm going for project #2.
This means I'm going rogue and making up my pattern as I crochet. This is always a little risky, but it makes it kind of fun too. I've crocheted around 10 inches worth so far and I love how light and airy the fabric feels. It also has a nice drape and a stretchy quality that appeals.
I still like the Lapis Wrap pattern and maybe next fall I'll go for it again and use a lighter yarn and the proper gauge. With the temperatures already warming here in my part of the country, lace seems like the way to go!
This afternoon I sat down with my son and we made these woven paper hearts. He's doing a school project on Sweden and these popped into my head. It seemed like good timing to mix a Swedish paper craft with Valentine's Day.
I know I have a template for these in my house somewhere, but my quick search this morning came up dry. So onto the internet I jumped and I found some pretty nice links if you would like to make these with your kids.
If you are wondering about age range, my son is 12 and he made the red and purple one completely on his own. These things always depend on the individual, but I'd say maybe 8 and up unless you just have a super handy little person in the house.
On to the links! Family Fun has a tutorial complete with video. That's always nice. Their template is cute too. It's the green and blue one in my photo. It creates little hearts within the big heart. I found that this template prints better with a horizontal paper orientation.
I also stumbled upon the Daughters of Norway Nordic Paper Crafts page. How's that for a mouthful? As a Scandinavian, I found this whole website pretty awesome, but looking specifically for our woven hearts, they have some seriously cool templates. The pink and purple heart I made up above came from the third link. It's the one in the upper left hand corner on the template page. I found out quickly that this can go from a simple craft to a challenging one very fast! I should also note that I altered the template by cutting all of the lines up to the same height. How you would weave it otherwise, I have no idea!
There's still time to make homemade valentines and this is a pretty fun project. I guess I should also mention that they open up like little baskets. You can cut a strip of paper and tape or staple it into place. You could slip a sweet note into the basket or even a little treat. Once again, if you look at the Family Fun page, they have a picture of one with a handle and some red stuffing. Gee, I just realized that our hearts our sideways instead of right side up. I guess we'll have to make some more!
My inspiration for this hat was threefold. First and foremost, Craft Hope's Project 16: The Littlest Warriors energized my creative juices. There's no better feeling than creating with a purpose and supporting kids through their cancer treatments is very motivating. As a mom, my heart really goes out to those families and how difficult it must be. My inspiration for the style came from my love of 20's fashion with a little 70's flower power thrown in the mix. I also kept in mind that this hat would be worn by a girl who will be spending time in bed or on the couch recuperating.
As you can see, the back of the hat turns up like a traditional beanie. The brim is soft and flexible, so even if one is laying on their side, it will feel comfortable. The more angled shape of the crown, gives this hat some stylish flare while still keeping it cozy and practical.
I have a couple busy days ahead, and then I hope to get this pattern written down. I have a little niece that I think would look adorable in this hat, so I think I have to make one more. I also have another design rolling around in my head. This one will be keeping for the boys. If I can manage to make what I see in my mind, I think it will be fun and a little funky!
It was a strange feeling to hand my son a few ornaments and ask him to trim the tree. After all, it is January and I don't usually have a tree in my studio!
Since I started the 2012 Ornament Project, I figured I may as well keep my 6' pine from Terry's Village in my studio. That way, as I design a new ornament each month, I can go ahead and see how they look.
Each time I create a new design, I tend to make a handful of them. Sometimes I play around with the sizing and other times I just get caught up in the process and can't resist making several. By December, I should have a fully decorated tree. I think it will be a fun, ongoing project!
PS ~ You can find the free crochet patterns for my ornaments on the Crochet Patterns Page. This one is called The Flower Wheel.
Yesterday Craft Hope announced Project 16: The Littlest Warriors. This time we'll be crafting for kids fighting cancer. Craft Hope is collecting beanie hats for babies through teens and bags for the kids to take to the hospital. You can even fill the bags with crayons, coloring or activity books and anything else the kids might like.
I couldn't wait to get started, so last night I got to work on a larger version of my Spiral Baby Beanie. I've always liked this hat and I knew it wouldn't be hard to enlarge the size. I need another day or two, but I'll be posting a free pattern for this beanie in youth to adult sizes.
For this particular hat, I picked colors that I thought would look cute on a little boy, but half the fun is making them in different colors every time. You can get creative with embellishments too. On my Crochet Patterns Page you'll find a couple free flower patterns and a little leaf. You could also buy sew-on decals for boys and girls at most craft or fabric stores. Novelty yarns can also take this beanie to the next level. Imagine a fur trim or a nice bouclé.
I like to get the kids involved in these projects too, so I'll be designing an easy sew fleece hat or something that we can do together. My boys just don't want to learn to crochet. Can you imagine that?
Our Japanese garden is complete and on display in our family room. This project was so much fun. My son and I enjoyed making all of the elements and took extra joy in some of the smallest details. We studied our stones and separated them into five categories based on shape. These different shapes represent wood, metal, fire, earth and water. We were also careful with our placement as we turned our stones into a retaining wall for our river.
I'm glad I wasn't able to find a small bridge or stone lantern because it was more gratifying to make our own. We used Crayola Model Magic which is my favorite clay for school projects. It's so easy to mix the colors and it sticks to itself so you make individual shapes and fix them together. We made small round rocks and stuck them together to form a stone bridge. I used a glass tumbler to make a perfect arch. My son made the stone lantern freehand style and it turned out so cute. We even hid a little nesting bird in the moss.
I can't say enough about how much fun this was. If you are looking for a rainy day activity or just some good, crafty entertainment, look no more! We made a Japanese garden, but really you could design any little world of your choosing. Oh, one last bit. I used a 15 inch plastic tray for the base. These are sold at Home Depot to put under planters for just around five dollars. I used regular garden soil as my filler under the moss. Okay, I think that's all the details you need to get started. Anyway, thanks for letting me share. Now, what was I crocheting again?
I'm off to a good start on my Lapis Wrap. Of course I've already made things a little more complicated for myself by working in a different gauge. My natural stitches must be quite a bit larger than the author's, but I have decided not to change hooks or yarn.
I went back and forth on this decision. I think that if I switched to a smaller hook, my double crochets would be smaller and closer together which would help the lace stand out. I think it would probably be a little prettier than sticking with the H hook, but I chose the H hook anyway. This will create a vest that is lighter and more open. I can't help but favor breezier garments living where I do. I'm thinking I'll go ahead and make this one with the larger gauge and then maybe I'll choose a lighter weight yarn and a smaller hook and make another to the pattern specifications.
Basically, what this means is that I'll be doing more mental math as I crochet this Lapis Wrap. I'll also be depending on the schematics to help me accurately place my armholes and work the front of the piece. The pattern seems to be very well written, so I don't expect to have too much trouble. I really like the "tulip" rows or lace. They are very pretty and fun to crochet too. I feel like I'm zooming right along!
It's not often that I go off topic, but every once in a while I can't help myself. This post has very little to do with fiber unless you count the dried moss in the background. It is creative however, and a fun project to do with the kids.
My son is reading about Asia in geography. A particular section on Japan discussed their beautiful gardens and even listed the elements that you find in most gardens. There's often a teahouse, a stone lantern, water, a bridge to an island or stepping stones. I started thinking that it would be fun to create our own miniature Japanese garden.
Here's my plan. I have a large planter that is about 18" in diameter. This will be the home of our garden. A visit to my local hobby store produced this unfinished wooden birdhouse. I think the shape looks a little teahouse inspired. I also found some unfinished benches and chairs. Some sparkling blue rocks will represent water and I also picked up some moss for ground cover. I bought stones too, but after doing a little reading, I see that we'll have to be careful about the stones we choose and how we place them. This Historical Japanese Gardens website will help with that and will enrich the educational part of our project. I couldn't find a small stone lantern so I picked up grey modeling clay and we'll make our own and maybe a bridge too.
I'm looking forward to spending an afternoon making a Japanese garden with my son. It will be fun to design it together and make all of the elements. Maybe we'll stain our teahouse and the garden benches. Maybe there could be a little fiber after all in the form of a felted bird's nest with some tiny eggs. Who knows? Mainly, I want to have fun with my son and learn along the way. I think a lot of kids would enjoy a project like this, so I thought I'd share the idea. I think it would be fun to do with live plants or maybe in a terrarium. There are plenty of creative possibilities!
I'm getting ready to crochet the Lapis Wrap by Yumiko Alexander. I love the style of this vest and lately I've rediscovered the simple joy of crocheting from a pattern. Sometimes I can get caught up in designing or free forming. It's a relaxing break to just follow along.
I'm trying out a new yarn for this project. I'm using Uptown DK by Universal Yarn in the color Majestic. I don't often use acrylics these days, but this is the right weight, it's soft and the words "anti pilling" carry some appeal. The pattern suggests using Universal's Renew Wool, but I wasn't feeling the colors and 100% wool can get a bit toasty here in the Phoenix area.
Once a year I pack up my trunk and head down to the Chandler Multicultural Festival. I attend with my guild, the Telaraña Weavers and Spinners. This year I brought along a special guest, my son Wes. Wes does one service oriented project each month as part of his education. The festival provided a great opportunity to be out in the community, spending time with others and sharing our love of the arts, in this case fiber arts!
I should refer to Wes not as my guest, but my secret weapon. You see, I always take a bunch of wool and drop spindles to this event. I spread a blanket out on the ground and sit at kid level. I want them to know it's okay to touch and play. After all, there's no better way to pass on the joy of your craft than by teaching the next generation. When other kids saw my son sitting with a lap loom weaving, it really got their attention. I think it made them feel like it was okay to ask questions and try out the loom and spindles for themselves.
I spent a wonderful afternoon, surrounded by boys and girls and their parents. At one point I had two brothers and a sister all learning how to work drop spindles together. Whenever it was time for the kids to leave, I would unwind the yarn they had spun and give it to them as a little keepsake. So many people asked me if I teach classes. I don't have any official classes that I teach, but I gave them my card. If someone really wants to learn, I can't say no to that! There aren't many yarn shops or community centers that offer classes just for kids. It's a shame especially when you seen how interested they are.
It has been a fulfilling day of teaching and sharing. Days like this are rare treasures. Why can't every day be multicultural day?
My new Ashford Joy spinning wheel arrived in the mail yesterday. That's good news right? It's exciting to get that big box on the porch and when it relates to one of your favorite activities, even better. So, after dinner last night, even though I was feeling tired, I thought I would at least open the box and check it out. It comes almost entirely assembled so I found myself putting the few finishing touches together so I could take it for a spin.
That's when I hit the bad news. I picked this wheel in particular because whenever I'm spinning with a group of people, the Joys seem so quiet and smooth. Now I realize I probably should have looked more closely. I suspect those quiet Ashford Joys were single treadles. The reason I suspect this is because my double treadle is not quiet. There seems to be a flaw in the very design. The wood pieces attached to the treadles rub against each other creating a knocking sound that gets louder with speed. I had a few minutes of disbelief. Could this really be the design? Was it assembled incorrectly. After triple checking everything, I hit my low of last night.
I hate returning things and I just refused to accept that this wheel couldn't be made to run smoothly. That's when the tinker in me came out. It's also how this story has a good news ending. Here's what I did. I changed the connecting tube on the right treadle (exhibit A). Instead of running straight into the hole like you can see on the left treadle, I rearranged it by removing the screw (exhibit B) and then brought the tube up from the bottom of the treadle. There was enough length in the tube and by reversing the direction of placement in this way, the wooden leg is held back and no longer rubs against the leg of the other treadle.
That's not all I had to do. I also discovered that the leg of the left treadle was rubbing against the right treadle. I actually got out my wood whittling tools (I guess it's strange that I happen to have wood whittling tools) and I carefully reshaped the wood in the offending spot (exhibit C). At this point you are either thinking that I'm quick and clever or just plain crazy. It did feel a bit nuts to take a knife to my brand new wheel, but if I sent it back, it would just become a problem for someone else. The good news is that it now treadles very smoothly. The only sound is the whirring of the wheel which is as it should be. I'm a little less than impressed that I had to tinker to get these results, but I'm happy to have solved the problem.
I have a goal for myself this year. This coming Christmas, that's right, just under 12 months away, I want to decorate a tree with ornaments that are all handmade. Specifically, I want them to be crocheted and/or possibly tatted. The rules I have made for myself are as follows:
1. The yarn must be handspun by me.
2. If I choose to add color, then I have to dye the yarn or finished ornaments. (I haven't decided whether I want to add color because I think a tree all decorated in ecru would be pretty.)
3. I have to design the ornaments. They will probably be uncomplicated, just shapes that I find appealing.
4. I will share the designs each month here on my blog, so if you like something I design, you can make it too!
The next post on The 2012 Ornament Project will be labeled "January" and then each month to come will also have an ornament post.
I've already started preparations for this month. Yesterday, I spun the Merino yarn pictured above and let me say that this is the skein that finally pushed me over the edge with my spinning wheel. I've been thinking about replacing my Louet S10 DT for some time now and I keep talking myself out of it. By the time I began spinning the second singles for this two ply, I was fed up. In fact, I paused in my spinning, ordered a new wheel online, and then finished up this skein as quickly as I could. I just can't stand how noisy my Louet wheel has become and it's more than just a squeak that I could lube although there's that too. It's the bobbin sliding and knocking around the all of the superfluous movement that the wheel generates. Argh!
Sorry about that. I needed to rant. Still, I managed to spin about 115 yards of 2ply Merino. I plied this skein a little tighter that I often do and I like how it looks and the springy feel. I think it will make pretty ornaments.
To the left of the yarn is January's ornament. I've already come up with the design using the yarn I plied from my Turkish drop spindle the other day. Now I just need to write up the pattern and make an ecru version. I think the dye free yarn will be better for my post. The stitches will be easier to see and I'll take some photographs along the way.
So this is my plan. I'll be designing 12 ornaments over the next 12 months and you are welcome to come along and join in the project. The designs will be quick and easy, so they might be nice to do with the kids or a beginning crochet class. Now I just have to stay on task and make my goal!
I promised myself that I would take down my Christmas decorations today. For the few of you who have visited my home during the holidays, you know that this is a pretty big job. Feeling the desire to stall, I took a detour into my studio looking for a distraction. You see, I can justify putting off chores if there is fiber involved.
That's when I thought of my Turkish drop spindle. I guess I've had spindles on my mind since spending a recent afternoon with a spindle enthusiast. I have a Turkish drop spindle that I have taken on numerous outings. I've been working on this ball of yarn, bit by bit for a long time. I decided that today, at long last, I would remove the yarn and ply it.
I originally bought this spindle because I liked the idea of being able to ply from one ball using the center pull, beginning strand and the outer ending one. The wool that I've been spinning has sentimental value as it is a carded blend of some of my earliest wool purchases. It mostly began as raw fleece and I did all of the washing, dyeing and carding. This was back in those wonderful experimental days before I really knew what I was doing. Also, I had yet to come across my favorite wools with which to work. As a result, this yarn is a funky blend of Rambouillet, Mohair and I can't remember what else. There's even a little leftover grease as my washing could have been better.
Today is the first time I've plied yarn from my Turkish drop spindle. I pulled the center end out from one of the larger side holes. At first I was thinking I would put it on a lazy kate and just go for it. Then I realized that it 
would probably need to roll free. I was worried about the two strands twisting together as they unraveled. Then, as I started plying, I discovered that although they did twist as the ball rolled around, this really didn't interfere with the plying process.
Typically when I ply two singles, my I hold the two strands separately in my right hand and control the twist with my left. When I plied this ball, I just held them together and fed them right in. No muss, no fuss!
In the end, I find myself with about 95 yards of medium weight yarn. Since the colors are sort of Christmas-like and the texture is more coarse, I think I may use it to make ornaments. This year I was thinking that it would be fun to decorate a small tree with nothing but crocheted or tatted decorations. Of course one needs to plan ahead for such things. I think starting in January might give me just enough time!
Happy New Year! I'm feeling more productive than philosophical on this, the first day of 2012. Yesterday I started the Aslan Shrug pattern from the winter 2011 issue of Interweave Crochet. It's a fast moving project. By the time I put it down in the early evening, the shrug was nearly complete with the exception of the finishing rows. It took no time at all to work the armholes and end rows this morning and now I'm wearing my new shrug!
The pattern calls for a bulky yarn and a size K hook. I don't keep a lot of bulky laying around, so I just used worsted weight Merino and kept my stitches nice and relaxed. The gauge worked out fine and I was able to create the whole piece from remnant skeins. I decided to use three colors, but perhaps the pineapple theme would stand out more in a single shade. Pineapples are supposed to be lucky aren't they? Maybe this is a good way to start the new year!
A couple weeks ago I decided I to tat a mandala. I have a drawing of a mandala that I like and I could see bringing it to life in fiber. Designs always seem simple enough once they're complete, but I have to confess, I worked on this little 4.5" by 4.5" piece of fabric for a long time. This piece represents the 4th do-over with some of the rows being reworked several times. As a result, the tension is not perfect, but I reached the point where I was determined to at least complete my project.
In the center of the mandala is a circle surrounded by four arched chains. These arches represent the four gates that you see on traditional mandalas. On my final row, I have repeated the gates with the four large rings that point north, south, east and west. They line up with the four arches in the center. As a matter of fact, I decided that I would use the number four as the core of my design, so every chain and ring on the entire mandala has either four stitches or a multiple of four.
A tatting over four inches wide is actually a pretty big piece, but it's small for me because my ultimate goal is to turn this into a large wall hanging. By the time I'm done, it will probably be closer to two feet in diameter. I also plan to incorporate more than one color. That way the center will be more of a focal point and it will also help the other features stand out.
I'm not sure when it will happen, this being the busy holiday season, but I'll be back to share pictures of the finished wall hanging.
What matters? In this case I'm talking about The Grey Matters Foundation. This is a "nonprofit organization created to support and empower brain tumor patients and their loved ones through encouragement and personal outreach."
I met the founder, Lanette, and her husband earlier this fall at an event. I spent a few minutes talking to Lanette's husband. I was moved by how he spoke of his wife and her journey after being diagnosed with an Anaplastic Oligodendroglioma. When Lanette discovered that there was very little support out there for people with brain tumors, she became that support for others. That's a short version of the story, but that's how The Grey Matters Foundation began.
Not long after that meeting, I found The Grey Matters website and signed up to be a Brain Buddie. I love that this is a way that my kids and I can help to support others. Since it's the holiday season, I sat down with my son Wes and we made some ornaments to put in Christmas cards. Can you guess which ones I made?
I know that the crafting community is full of big hearts and everyone finds such wonderful ways to give of themselves. I like to share the little things that my family and I do because you never who you may inspire. I know that I find myself inspired daily!
When I moved a little over four years ago, I promised myself that I was retired from elaborate decorating. My kids were getting a little older and I had already created a construction truck room, a farm themed room in which I painted murals, Madagascar (not the movie, but the country), and the emerald forest room. I guess I was feeling a little burnt out, but when my son announced that he wanted his room to look like the inside of The Great Boggly Tree, that was just crazy enough to spark my interest. I guess my basic approach to kids' rooms is that if you are going to decorate, go for it!
If you're not familiar with The Great Boggly Tree, it's part of the video game Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. This picture is of the outside. When you enter the tree, there are black trunks with white, arty lines on them and they're surrounded by water with bubbles floating up. It's pretty cool looking to tell you the truth.
My son's room was already painted a light blue which would represent the water well. I couldn't quite commit to freestyle painting all the trees, so I found some great decals at Dali Decals. I happily let Dali supply the trees and bubbles and this weekend I got to work. So far I have installed 8 trees surrounding three walls of my son's room. The fourth wall has a large window with shelves lining either side and his drawing desk in the middle, so we left that wall alone. Just doing the three walls has had a dramatic affect on the space.
Today I'll start adding leaves to the trees. The final step will be to have bubbles rising in the background between the trees. We also bought a little green, shag, area rug to represent the grassy floor. The best part is seeing his face light up when he enters his own space. I don't think he expected me to say yes when he asked for this particular room design. It's fun to keep surprising your kids!
The Christmas craft season is underway and with it the hunt for pure white fiber. It comes in handy for all sorts of projects from Santa's beard to snow dusted pine branches. Many customers ask me for white wool, but the truth is, unless bleached, wool in it's natural state is more of an ecru. If you want seriously white fiber, Snow Mountain is a nice product for crafting.
Snow Mountain is a nylon that is prepared into a top like wool. It's soft and has a nice staple length of approximately 4 inches. It's easy to spin and though it will not wet felt, it needle felts with ease. The fibers can also be teased apart to create a snow covered landscape. It's a very handy craft fiber to have around and right now I have it listed in 1oz, 2oz and 3oz sizes.
If you like the idea of Snow Mountain, but you also like a little sparkle, there's a new fiber on the block. It's called StarBright. StarBright is a high luster tri-lobal nylon product that has more luster than Snow Mountain. StarBright is a 3 Denier nylon. If we transfer Deniers to Microns, that would make StarBright a 19 micron nylon, so it's a very soft fiber. The staple length is approximately 3 inches. It's a nice way to add a subtle sparkle to your crafts.
If you feel that there is no such thing as too much sparkle, then Firestar is the fiber for you. Firestar is also a nylon and when it comes to sparkle, it's one of the best! It has about a 4" staple length and it too will needle felt just like StarBright and Snow Mountain.
If you're reading this and thinking to yourself that all this is well and good, but you really just prefer natural wool. I hear you and I'd like to recommend Falkland top. It's natural color is quite light and it has a very long staple length. It averages around 5" so you could give Santa a nice long beard. Sometimes using natural wool gives your crafts a more homey or vintage feel. Whatever fiber you choose, have a wonderful, crafty time!
