Month: August 2024

Update: Twined bracelets

On By CarynIn Craft

I added a few more twined bracelets made from different natural materials and had a whole wrist full of test subjects.

Photo description: six twined bracelets with labels: Bark, Daylily, Corn, Daffodil, Iris, Grass

The daylily is the oldest at 12 days, corn a close second at 11 days, then daffodil, bark, grass, and iris all at 6 days. The bark knot didn’t want to stay tied, but they all survived showers and regular wear. What they didn’t survive was my sensory overload. It felt like they were getting tighter around my wrist, although photographic evidence doesn’t really show a difference.

Photo description: same bracelets six days later

Because the bracelets were bothering me, I subjected them to a pull test. The surprising result was that the daylily bracelet did not break. The others all ceased to be connected. The bark, grass, and iris all had the stop knot pull open, the corn leaf and daffodil broke along the length of the twining.

Photo description: twined bracelets broken from pulling

The lone daylily bracelet was allowed to remain on my wrist. I made this of dead and partially dried daylily leaves that were lying near the base of the plants. Because the leaves were not completely dried they were easy to twine without breakage, but they also had some shrinkage which causes the twine to separate and be a little spring-like. We’ll see how long it lasts on my wrist. It is light and not biding with a little give, so it has a chance.

Bird feeder reuse

On By CarynIn Craft, Life Hack

I repurposed the hanging chick feeder I made in 2019 to feed the wild birds. I do not plan on raising chicks again, and I do enjoy watching the birds come visit.

Photo description: Many things reused as bird and squirrel feeders: mason jar chicken feeder in a custom macrame hanger, old small tire tied up sideways to hold squirrel feed, parrot ladder leading to a mesh colander that now holds bird seed

Tatting: Number 3 cotton

On By CarynIn Craft

The urgent need cotton thread that I picked up on vacation because I ran out was a natural colored size 3. I haven’t worked with this size before, so it was an intriguing purchase. It didn’t take much thread to fill up my tatting bobbins, but the tatting work went well.

Photo description: three round tatted coaster using different sized Josephine knots, unblocked
Photo description: same tatted coaster after getting it wet and letting it dry flat (blocking)

What drives me crazy about crochet thread is how it is wound around a cardboard tube. I’m sure this is a marketing thing, to make it look like you are getting more yarn. I have not figured out if it is possible to center pull from the factory wrapped tube, which is frustrating, and pulling thread from the outside is vexing because the tube jumps around. So I rewound it. Next time I will use a nostepinne style wrap, but this time I really wanted to try put my new laser cut plywood spool.

Photo description: transferring the number 3 cotton thread to a wooden bobbin/spool/shuttle/holder

The thread is now much more compact and can fit in my small project bag.

Tatted bracelet

On By CarynIn Craft

Here is another item I couldn’t finish on the plane, but not because I ran out of thread, but in need of a button. (I actually worked on this before my critical thread shortage on my mini doily posted yesterday, and considered taking it apart for the thread, but opted to keep it intact.)

Photo description: rainbow variegated thread knotted into a lace bracelet, unfinished on one end

I found a small, probably vintage, black shank button in my button stash at home, and fashioned the end into the bracelet clasp. The inner circle below the button was too small for the tatting shuttle, but I was able to do the square knots with a needle to cover the threads and add structure around the button.

Photo description: finished end of the tatted bracelet with button
Photo description: tatted bracelet attached with a button on my wrist

I am getting better at estimating how many knots will get me the shape I want when I’m tatting. How tight I pull the center thread also makes a difference in shape and size. This bracelet is made of two opposing rows of basic Josephine knots.

Flying

On By CarynIn Craft

We recently took a flight for the first time (for me) in years. I was hoping to get some knitting done, but once I sat down in the seat, I could tell I didn’t have room for my paper pattern, yarn bag, and knitting with two circular needles. Nuts. I pulled put my emergency craft from my purse, which this trip was tatting shuttles and extra wound bobbins. This I could do within the confines of my seat. I pulled up my Pinterest Tatting list, and started on a round pattern. On the second round, I could tell I had a problem.

Photo description: tatting with white #10 cotton thread, the second round of Josephine knots is open

The way the pattern was laid out did not fit what I was doing; my second round could not lay flat and still connect to the beginning of the round. I could undo the second round and try something different, or clip out the center. Hm. I opted to clip out the center, literally, because I couldn’t have scissors on the plane so only had nail clippers.

Photo description: same work with the center clipped out, the picot loops teased out, and additional Josephine knots added until the project lay flat

After getting the second round to lay flat, I replaced the center with six loops done in rainbow thread, which worked out nicely and stayed flat.

Photo description: same work, but with a red, purple, blue, green, and orange variegated thread knotted into six loops and attached at every other picot to the outer round

I started on the third round with the colored thread to balance the center color. To my horror, I ran out of thread. During travel. Luckily, Walmart carries cotton crochet thread, and there are Walmarts nearly everywhere in the states. They did not have the colored yarn, but they did have something I could craft with (that will be another post). The little coaster had to wait until I returned home.

Photo description: partially finished cotton tatted mini doily

At home, I loaded up a bobbin with the same colored cotton thread and was able to finish the third round and weave in the ends.

Photo description: finished tatted mini doily on a calico cat that is very happy to be back on my lap
Photo description: small tatted doily made from #10 cotton thread in white and variegated thread alternating three rounds, blocked by wetting and laying it flat to dry

The finished lace is a nice coaster size, and it amuses me to see a bit of lace peeking out from under my cup. Apparently I am a lace person down deep (but not a frilly person). I am finding the tatting to be soothing now that my skills are developing.