This category details experiments with different types of fibers
Late this last spring I was fortunate enough to be able to attend a lecture given by Carol James, author of the book Sprang Unsprung: an illustrated guide to interlinking interlacing and intertwining. This is one of four books currently published on the subject. (I currently own three of the four). I was introduced to […]
Read more "Spring into sprang"Once the felt had been made, and was mostly dry, I cut out a large circle. Using my teapot, I carefully steamed the center of the circle until it was too hot to touch and then stretched it over the hat form, pulling it evenly on all sides. Then, since I did not purchase a […]
Read more "Mad Hatting Part II: The Hat"Some of you may remember that way back in March, I generated my first wool bats off of my drum carder (see “Never felt this way before”). At that time I was really excited about making felted hats, but I didn’t have a hat block, so I had to shelve the project. Turns out getting […]
Read more "Mad Hatting Part I: Making the Felt"This week’s craft was silk painting. Unlike my previous post, this is most definitely not stupid simple, and I can safely say that I learned a great deal including several things in the “what not to do” category. Still, I think I can be said to have been moderately successful. This silk painting, unlike what […]
Read more "Sun-day"As those of you who know me, or who read me on any kind of regular basis know, my professional training is in science. So when faced with a problem, in this case, my less than enthusiastic feeling for my last knitting project, my immediate approach to figuring out what went wrong, is to experiment. […]
Read more "Science of Knitting"The problem with knitting, for me anyway, is that it is a cold weather activity. I never think of starting a knitting project until after it begins to get cold (not cool, cold). And since, I start most knitting projects by spinning the wool, and I am not a particularly fast knitter, I never finish […]
Read more "The Problem with Knitting"In my last post, I left you wondering what had happened to the other 2 and a quarter pounds of my Finn fleece. Admit it, you’ve been worrying about it all week. So here is how it breaks down. 12 ounces of the fleece, I didn’t even bother to wash. The fleece had not been […]
Read more "Never felt this way before"My birthday was last month, and rather than sock the money I received away to justify all the little extra craft purchases I make, I decided to splurge on a somewhat larger toy. Enter the Drum Carder. A Brother Drum Carder to be precise. What is a drum carder? It is a mechanism for preparing […]
Read more "Batting a Thousand"Well, the passion for this week, (or actually two weeks ago, since I am running a few weeks behind in posting) is tatting. Inspired by the pattern for the paper roses that I posted around Valentine’s Day, I decided to try a tatting a rose. Tatting, by the way is a series of very tiny […]
Read more "Ratta Tat Tat (Part I)"The family has left after Thanksgiving. It was a really wonderful visit. And since my dad’s birthday is in early December, I was able to give him his present early. This should have been his present two years ago, but I got so frustrated with it that I put it away. It was an illusion […]
Read more "Deceptively Difficult"