I was looking for earrings to match my outfit this morning and picked these from my collection. Then I got to thinking about when I made them. After a little mental math I realized that these earrings are about 23 years old. I made them when I was single, living in an apartment. A mattress on the floor was my bed and I waited tables to make ends meet. I had pillaged other jewelry for the beads and ear wires. I used a regular sewing needle and thread to piece them together. I remember having fun making them and though they are just simple wooden earrings, I've always enjoyed wearing them.
I guess at 23 it's safe to consider these vintage, but vintage what? Vintage me? These are me before marriage and kids, before I started crocheting again and years before Wind Rose Fiber Studio. One of the reasons I'm attached to them is that I made them long before I thought of myself as a person who makes things. It makes me wonder about my crafting friends. Do you have anything like this, that you made long ago and still wear today? What's vintage you?
About 18 months ago I bought this giant cone of lace weight jute at a guild auction. Somewhere in my mind I thought that the crafting community would find uses for it. Maybe the primitive doll makers or scrapbookers would like it. On the other hand, I could wind up owning a giant spool of jute for the rest of my life. In the end, I think I bought it because there was something absurd about buying over 11 pounds of jute.
I brought it home and started selling 2.5oz, center pull balls of jute for $1.20. I figured the $1 was fair compensation for my time winding the jute into a ball and the .20 covered the listing fee. So for just over a dollar, you could have 225 yards of lace weight jute for... whatever.
To my surprise, the jute was a big hit. I found myself winding jute for people on a regular basis. Still, the cone was so big that no matter how many balls I wound, it seemed to stay the same size. Eventually, over time, my giant hunk of jute did shrink until one day this week a customer asked for $20 worth and I just sent her all I had left on the cone. All that remains of the original 11+ pounds are 3 balls of jute that I had already wound and stored with my other fibers.
It feels the the end of an era, the jute dynasty or something. Even my kids said, "Aw, the jute's gone?" Absurd! Well, even though this is a rather odd post to say the least, I wanted you to know that it's your last chance to buy 2.5oz of Lace Weight Jute for $1.20. When these last three skeins are gone, they're gone for good. Goodbye Jute!
I am very excited to share a new store on Etsy called Snowfall Studio. The owner of this shop, Kristen, is a good friend. We met when our oldest sons were both toddlers. Each week our little playgroup would come together and we'd spend a couple hours trying to keep the kids happy while we also tried to have adult conversation. Of course most of these conversations ended up being about our kids.
When Kristen joined the group, I admired her right from the start. She was quiet, but I could tell that she was tuned in to everything. The rug rat chaos often made me crazy, but if it bothered Kristen, her face revealed nothing. At coffee time with my husband, I would recount the previous play date and tell him that the wise woman of the group was certainly Kristen.
Over the years we've stayed in touch even though we have both moved away from the neighborhood where we first met. Kristen is the mother of four beautiful kids. The youngest is now in school, so for the first time in 14 years, she has a little free time. She is devoting some of these precious hours to making original, crocheted designs for children.
I love her mermaids with their Waldorf inspired simplicity and their whimsical details. The one to the left is my favorite because I like the colors. I guess I have a thing for brunettes. I didn't mean to saw her in half, but I want you to be able to click on the picture and see the details for yourself. I love the shape of the mermaid's tail and Kristen's stitches are so flawless. The starfish accents are the perfect touch to bring your imagination to life as you picture this mermaid in her magical home.
Kristen also makes kitties, turtles and birds. Quality is very important to her as she knows these will become beloved toys. They are made for play and though I may be getting a little old for dolls, I'm getting ready to place an order at Snowfall Studio. I can just see my mermaid, perched on a rock by the swimming pool or maybe on the chaise with a good book!
The Flower Wheel
Ch 2
Row 1: work 6 sc in second ch from hook, sl st to beg sc
Row 2: ch 3 (counts as first dc) 2 dc in same st, 3 dc in each st around, join with sl st to top of beg ch 3 - 18 dc
Row 3: *ch 5, skip st, sc in next st* 8 times
Row 4; ch 5, skip next st, sc in first unworked st from Row 3 (working in front of the loops), *ch 5, sc in next unworked st* 8 times, ch 5, sl st to first sc made in Row 4
Finishing: Pull loop on hook until it measures 2.25 inches. Cut off yarn leaving 4” for weaving. Tie the loop and the 4” piece using the beginning shoe lace tie. Weave in all loose ends.
Picture Notes:
It's a simple little shape and makes up very quickly.
To me it looks like a cross between a flower and a wheel, so that's why
I named it The Flower Wheel. I played around with the size by changing
the stitch in row 2 to a hdc or a sc, but in the end, I liked the look
of the dc best.
If you need a stitch guide or help with the abbreviations, Crochet 'N' More is a great place to find all of the basics.
I've been doing my best to get back into regular blogging this year. That's why it's killing me that I don't have a little more free time today to post the pattern for January's ornament. Instead I have a sneak peak for you. I made these last night while writing pattern notes. I played around with sizes and also made the attached ones on the left. I've always liked ornaments that drape over a tree branch. Give me another day or two and I should have the pattern posted.
I also have a teaser for the crochet fans out there. I just found out that a good friend of mine has opened a new Etsy shop. She is making the cutest crochet plushies. I can't wait to share her work with you!
That's what's coming up this week and I'm sure there will be more. My local multicultural festival is coming up, so I'll be getting ready for that too!
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'm still busy dyeing Merino to restore all of the color choices. Back in stock today are Sun Touched and Mediterranean. These are the two most popular shades from the skin tone line. Sun Touched is fair with just a hint of peach glow. Mediterranean is a soft brown with a very subtle olive undertone.
It's a drying party on the studio room floor as yesterday's dyed colors lay out and enjoy the sun coming through the window. They are about 90% dry after spending yesterday afternoon outside in the sun and fresh air. The weather is wonderful for dyeing in the Valley of The Sun this week, mid 70's and sunny. By tomorrow morning, this Merino top will be more than ready to ship off to new homes. As such, I've already listed them in the store. If you want to see their close-ups, click the color links: Russet, Bright Yellow, Crimson, Pink Blush, Golden Ochre and Happy Green!
Yesterday, a customer asked me how to place an order. Thinking she was new to Etsy, I explained how ordering works. Then she wrote back to clarify. She wanted to know how to order certain colors that didn't appear in the shop. If that's not a "get back to work" push, I don't know what is!
It was my idea to try to keep 40 shades of Merino in stock, so I guess I'd better get busy. It's so easy to slack off during the holidays, but it's time to replenish the inventory at Wind Rose.
I'm dyeing 1.5 pounds of Merino broken down into 4oz lots. Each will get their own color in their turn. Up first on the stove are the reds. Russet and Crimson are on the menu today. They take a little more time, thus giving me a chance to write. Waiting in cue are four more bowls of pre-soaked wool. They will be dyed Happy Green, Pink Blush, Golden Ochre, and Bright Yellow.
Depending on how fast everybody dries, they should be in the shop by tomorrow afternoon. Up next I'll be making sure the rest of the reds and pinks are in stock since Valentine's Day is the next big holiday. It might take a week or two, but I'll get all of the colors back in stock. Then I'm determined to get some Skin Tone Samplers dyed!
Well, that's what's on the stove at Wind Rose. What's cookin' in your kitchen?
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!
I'm back to work on my hairpin lace project and I feel like I'm in the midst of a fiber situation! Currently, I'm making the longest piece of lace for which my pattern calls, two thousand loops! I have no idea how other people handle their hairpin lace, but I feel the need to keep things organized and twist free. This is no small challenge when you are constantly rotating your work, especially as the lace gets longer and longer.
For some time now I've been in the habit of using safety pins. I have pins joining every ten loops on each side. This means I don't have to worry about the loops getting pulled out of shape and it makes for easy counting.
Keeping the lace free of twists has been manageable up until now. Even with pieces 600 to 700 loops long, it's not that hard to stop now and then and untwist the lace. With this piece however, the length is making things very tedious and my strip is only about halfway there. Finally, I got the idea to roll up the lace that I have completed so far. You can see that I have rolled it fairly close to the tool and I'm keeping the roll in place with a regular hair elastic or ponytail holder. Now when I need to untwist the lace, I'll be able to rotate the whole roll at once. As the lace continues to grow, I can just take off the elastic and roll more on. This will makes things much easier.
I'm getting close to having all of the strips ready for this Cardi Wrap. The next step will be assembling all of my pieces. I'm getting anxious to see how it will turn out!
Related Posts:
Crochet Master Class ~ The Latest Addition to My Library
Let The Hairpin Lace Project Begin!
The Hairpin Lace Project Continues...
How to Begin a Strip of Hairpin Lace ~ A Photo Tutorial
The Hairpin Lace Project ~ Part Trois
The Hairpin Lace Project ~ I found Yarn B!
The Hairpin Lace Project ~ Part IV
Hairpin Lace Project ~ My Personal Commitment
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!
