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Sometimes I Feel Like I Have ADD or Something...Posted by on Thursday 13 September, 2007 11:21 AM Seriously though, I don't have ADD, I'm just totally out of practice with editing my website (and concentrating on anything) after spending three and a half months spending every waking moment sewing the suffolk puff quilt. So, having said that, here's what's flitting around my brain at the moment! First of all I had an urge to blend some of the fibres from my stash.
I started by drum carding 400gms of fine merino/baby alpaca that my sister gave me. It was already carded and mixed in the packet but the two fibres weren't blended together much so I put it through the drum carder once to mix it up a bit. I'm not going to spin it yet because I haven't decided what to make with it. Next I decided to card together some "little bits and pieces" in order to turn them into a usable amount of yarn. I took some absolutely divine natural coloured combed merino tops that Jenny from Virginia Farm Woolworks sent me as a sample when I bought my cotton hand cards and lace whorl from her last year. This stuff is so divinely soft, it's amazing. It had been sitting in my stash awaiting a project that would do justice to it, but I couldn't figure out what to use it for because there was such a tiny amount. It suddenly occurred to me last night that I should combine it with some silk that my sister gave me, because the silk had been sitting around for exactly the same reason.
This is the result. I ended up combining pale grey and dark grey tops from Virginia Farm, a scrap of 22 micron merino (about 10-15 grams I had left from a 1.5 kilo bag!) also from Virginia Farm, 10 grams each of blue, dark brown, medium brown, burgundy and gold silk, and 5-10 grams each of several other shades of brown silk. I ended up with 120gm of gorgeous light as air wool/silk, about 50/50 in volume. I'm going to spin this laceweight. It's so incredibly light that I should be able to get some amazing yardage out of it. Have a closeup.
I envision that it will change colour slowly as I spin, but I better not think about it too much right now or I'll find myself having started another project :P And it is soooo tempting to start more projects around here because look what has arrived in the post over the last 3 or 4 weeks! I was browsing ebay a couple of weeks ago when I saw an amazing crochet book from 1946. I felt it was far too expensive considering I couldn't look at it (over $30 including postage) so I had a look at abebooks.com just in case there was a copy for sale. It was a long shot considering the book is so old, but I found a copy for $3! Including postage from the US, it ended up costing me roughly AUD$12 and now that I've seen it, I would have to say it was worth the $30 I saw it for on ebay. :-) It's called "The Complete Book of Crochet" by Elizabeth Laird Matheson and was published by Greystone Press in 1946 (mine is a 1947 reprint) It's full of amazing doilies and tablecloths like these
and also has some really incredible deco style pot holders. At the time of writing this there are 5 copies available on abebooks, if you love vintage crochet go and snap one up! If that weren't distracting enough, I also found this tatting book from the 1950's on abebooks with about a zillion edgings and several doilies that I want to make:
and this booklet that I want to add to the knitting wiki:
That one came from an auction site (not ebay). This book did come from ebay though :) Una-na dolls. It's in Japanese but, having had a thorough look at it, that won't be a problem as it has great instructional illustrations.. I fell totally in love with these dolls when I saw the book on ebay and I can't wait to make one! But I will wait because I'm feeling overwhelmed by all the projects I have on the go, and by how far behind I am on updating the website. Speaking of which, I found something new to add :P We went to visit my Dad on the weekend to deliver his father's day present (it arrived a week late but he loves it so that's cool). He gave me this scrapbook that he bought at an antique shop. He'd purchased it for an article that it had about a steam engine, however the rest of the scrapbook is about spiritualism and since he has no interest in it he gave the rest of the book to me.
The entries date from 1907-1930 and it contains letters, the owner's thoughts on the upcoming war (WWI), photographs, prayer cards and many articles about spiritualism, ghosts, clairvoyants and possession. It's incredibly fascinating so I'll be adding that to the site as well. In an attempt to get back into the swing of things, I'm off to do the housework. Then I'm going to start work on adding the new categories to the website. I intend to put the framework for the new sections up with a single article each, upload those and then add an article at least once a fortnight to each section. To recap what I have said in earlier posts the new sections will be: Hairpin lace I need staff :P All Over the PlacePosted by on Thursday 23 August, 2007 11:19 AM I'm a bit allover the place with my needlework projects at the moment so I thought I'd give a quick pictorial update as to what I've been up to. My keyboard is also dying, which is beginning to make typing difficult (half the top row of keys won't work and the shift and control keys seem to have a life of their own!) I received this in the mail this week (I love the ring-only edging on the cover):
and have decided to use this motif out of it for the doily I wanted to make, instead of the one from Modern Priscilla which I had decided on before. I prefer this one because it's a bit more complex than the one I was originally going to use, which will make it a bit more challenging.
I've been working hairpin lace samples for a couple of articles, plus about half of the first strip for my shawl (the white thing at the top)
I've been learning to use the Singercraft tool to make pile fabrics
and finally, I started a piece of teneriffe lace on my Koppo cushion
The cream thread is size 40 and the "random kingfisher" is size 20. If anyone knows where I can find more random kingfisher in any size thread please let me know! I bought one ball at an op shop so it's probably vintage but it's my favourite colour and I'd like to stock up on some more. Suffolk Puff/Yoyo Coverlet UpdatePosted by on Thursday 9 August, 2007 02:27 PM
No, I'm not trying to trick you! I couldn't resist the shiny pretty sparkly photos on the online tatting class website so I bought some birch creative button forms when I went to Spotlight yesterday and I made one. Since I would never wear anything this outrageous I thought it would make a nice decoration for the top of the box when I wrap up the coverlet*. Oh, and that thing that it's sewn to? A suffolk puff. You can't get away from them around here lately! *Speaking of which, I had better get back to sewing it together. Hairpin Lace FringePosted by on Monday 6 August, 2007 08:26 AM I'm still sewing the suffolk puff/yoyo coverlet together, enjoying my Farscape marathon and taking breaks with a little hairpin lace experimentation :-) After seeing pictures of hairpin lace fringe forks in The Young Ladies Journal (downloadable from Google.com) I thought I'd have a go and see if I could find the best way to make fringe and I think I came up with a nice technique. Here's what a traditional fringe and fork would have looked like (from the Young Ladies Journal):
so I set my Clover loom up like this to imitate the traditional fork:
Here are the fringes I came up with.
Top: 1 double crochet (US single crochet) worked in the regular way (through the stitch) and then the short loops were chained together as a cable edge. I tied some loops in a knot, then snipped the ends and fluffed out the fringe for another look. I don't like this fringe as I find the header to be all floppy and unattractive. Middle: This is the technique I like for a plain fringe. I worked one double crochet per row again, but instead of working through the middle of the loop, I worked under both threads, trapping the whole loop within the stitch. You do have to put a thread through the small loops when you take it off the loom or they will threaten to undo. I threaded the small loops like a cable edge on this sample again. This made a nice tidy and firm header. Bottom: The same as the middle sample but worked with two novelty yarns held together and a larger crochet hook. The purple yarn shrank when I soaked it overnight. I would have preferred if they had remained the same length. Now I guess I should try some fancier fringes like the ones in the Victorian needlework books! I will be documenting these techniques properly by adding a new section on hairpin lace to the website. Eventually... I've also decided on a motif for my next tatting project!
It's from the Priscilla Tatting Book #1 and I think I'll make it in size 20, blue thread. I don't have much blue size 20 thread left so I'm going to see what they have at the needlework store on Thursday. Now, back to sewing all those suffolk puffs together! Today's Blog Entry is Brought to You by the Letter "T"Posted by on Friday 3 August, 2007 11:00 AM for "Tatting" and "Torchwood". I finished #4 for the 25 motif tatting challenge. I used Sunshine's antique edging pattern and crocheted along the top. I had planned to do a fancier crochet heading but the simple row of chain looked just right to me so I left it at that.
I think I'm ready to make a small mat made from motifs. I just added some size 70 tatting thread to my thread collection but I think I'll search through the op shop stash and see what I have in sizes 20 or 40 for my first attempt at making a larger project because I haven't had much experience working in the loose ends of the thread yet. I'm not sure what pattern I'll try, there so many available for free on the net and in vintage books that it's difficult to choose! I've gotten back into sewing my suffolk puff coverlet together (with a vengeance) because there are only 16 days left until the wedding and I still have to sew myself a skirt and make a shawl to go with my outfit. I'm not a very girly girl at all and I hate trying to put outfits together. The only shirt I could find is nice but not very dressy so I'm hoping that a nice skirt and hairpin lace stole will dress it up. Luckily my brother and his fiancé are very informal types so they won't mind. OK, that turned totally off the point. While sewing together the suffolk puff/yoyo coverlet I've needed something to keep my brain occupied so I've been watching Torchwood DVDs on my computer. It is so nice to finally see a TV show that is willing to admit that there's more to human sexuality than being straight or gay. I was so pissed off when Williow in Buffy the Vampire Slayer "turned gay" in the show because the shows writers (creators?) couldn't bring themselves to have a bisexual character. The world sure has come a long way in the past 15 years. When I started the Gay, Lesbian, Bi & Transgendered knitter's email list about 10 years ago I copped a lot of flack and several nasty emails telling me that "discussion of my sex life" was not suitable for my website and I should remove it immediately (the only reference to sexual preferences I had on my website at the time was the glbt knitter's list. Don't ask me how that was a discussion of my sex life...). 10 years later and now there's queer craft lists everywhere, the queer knitter's webring and nobody batts an eyelid. As it should be. :-) I Should Get Back to My Suffolk Puff/Yo-Yo CoverletPosted by on Tuesday 31 July, 2007 03:14 PM but I haven't :-) I picked up my tatting last night and got into "the zone". Before I realised it the bobbin was empty and my 3rd "motif" for the 25 motif challenge was finished.
It's actually a really pretty variegated orange but my old digital camera hates photographing the correct colours half the time so this is as close as I could get, even after photoshopping. At the bottom of the photo you can see the beginning of my next edging, Sunshine's antique edging which I'm working in the size 20 variegated turquoise thread that I used for my first one. I must admit that I've been a very, very bad shopper this week. I also bought a Clover brand hairpin lace tool. I love the look of hairpin lace and the way it can be used with some many other needlework techniques, from tatting to teneriffe lace and, of course, regular crochet. So I thought I'd give the Clover tool a go.
It feels a bit awkward to hold at first but I found that once I got used to it, it's as easy to use as regular pins. The bit I really like is that you can thread your lace onto two pieces of waste yarn as you take it off the pins and it stops it from twisting when you're joining pieces or working other needlework onto it. Twisting is the main reason I haven't been terribly into making hairpin crochet in the past so now I can get stuck in with confidence :-) To use it, you take the clamp off the top and work until the pins are full. Then you replace the top clamp, take the bottom one off and release the lace down onto the waste thread, or just off the pins if you don't want to use the waste thread. There's also an optional central pin if you want to put a thread down the middle for gathering or as a tie if you're making a 19th century style headband. 25 Motif Challenge #2Posted by on Sunday 29 July, 2007 08:15 AM
I finished my edging for the 25 motif challenge. I'm very happy with it, even though the treads between a couple of the rings are a bit long. I discovered it isn't possible to tat well and watch Torchwood at the same time :-) My next edging will be a slightly more complex ring only edging from Rebecca Jones' book I've postponed playing with my Singercraft until I have a few current projects out of the way. It's far too tempting to start yet another thing and then suddenly find out that I have 5 unfinished projects lying around. Things that must be finished first: A Bit of TattPosted by on Wednesday 25 July, 2007 08:53 AM Since I ended up five days ahead of schedule on my suffolk puff/yo-yo coverlet I've decided a break from it for a couple of days and practice some tatting because I've been dying to make something lacy. While I was at it, I thought I'd join the 25 motif tatting challenge. I want to get past tatting little "bits" and work my way up to making things like Jon's Diamond Square and Emma Crew's Daisies and Clover Doily. I'd really like to make the clover doily in a rich blue and light green. First I emptied my shuttle bobbins to get back into the swing of how it's done because I haven't tatted anything for about a year and even then I was only a beginner. These are made with size 8 and 10 perle thread. I count these as a single motif for the challenge because I just wanted to remind myself how it's done and work on my tension while using up the thicker thread that was on the shuttle bobbins. I'm going to use these with embroidery.
I want to get used to using finer threads because I feel the 8 and 10 are a bit chunky for tatting so I reloaded a bobbin with some size 20 thread that I just bought at the op shop and started one of the beginner's edgings from Rebecca Jones tatting book. I'm going to keep going with this until the bobbin has run out. With this edging I'm practicing my tension, keeping all the rings the same size and the threads in between the same size as well. I think it's going pretty well so far. It's also going to be used for embroidery.
Almost all of my threads come from the op shop, some from sales and one lot from an auction a very long time ago. Most are a bit thick for tatting but I do have some vintage (dare I say "antique"?) size 80 that I'd like to try and one ball that I'm not going to use as it has a note in it saying it's rationed thread from WW2 and I think the inclusion of the rationing note makes it too collectible to use. Well, I'm off to have a cup of tea, tatt for half an hour and then it's a day of Spring cleaning (in Winter) because I really need to do an enormous pile of laundry, vacuum, clean the oven and all that boring stuff. |
worked with size 40 thread, after which I may invest in some coloured #70 and 80 from 
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