Using offset square knots I made a pouch beneath the macrame design I did earlier to hold a tongue drum.
The idea is to create more storage for small musical instruments on either side. Knotting continues.
Macrame storage part 1
Author: Caryn
Suspicious cat
I put American Bison wool insoles from the Buffalo Wool Company in my shoes to help give them some cushion, and I knew I would need to keep them up and away from the cat. Thor the cat loves natural wool, and he loves my shoes, so I was taking a large gamble combining the two. For a couple weeks I was very good about keeping the shoes up on the shoe rack, then I was reminded why when I set my shoes on my chair before my morning walk and came back to a suspiciously happy cat cuddled in next to the shoes.
The insoles remain unmolested, but I must be vigilant.
Not as nice
So doilies are round and flat, and berets start out round and flat, so if I find a pretty doily pattern that might work for a beret, right? Um, depends. I found a pattern with a flower center that was quite attractive as a doily. When translated to larger yarn, I had the necessary width before the center flower was done, resulting in a beret with symmetrical holes, rather than a lovely lace.
Back to the drawing board. I’m starting to see the end of the bag of gifted acrylic yarn though!
Egyptian cotton 3-ply
I finished spinning Egyptian cotton single spun yarn onto three bobbins on an Ashford Traveller spinning wheel (Yes! I spun cotton on a wheel using a high speed whorl.) I found the largest diameter on the high speed whorl, the one that matches the bobbin end diameter, worked best for me. The smaller diameter gears went too fast and I over spun. I also had the wheel set up with Scottish tension with a very light take up on the bobbin. I prefer to dictate the amount of spin in my yarn rather than have it controlled by the wheel.
The next task was to ply the cotton. I was nervous about this because the singles had a high degree of twist, and liked to kink up. If a strand broke I would also be dealing with the rapid unwinding of the single, which results in a whole sale unbinding of a large section of yarn (ask me how I know). I did let the singles sit on the bobbin for a few days to set the twist a little. Remarkably, I was able to ply the yarn from the three bobbins with no breakage and only a few missed kinked knots.
My spinning definitely looks like homespun, but as I practiced, my technique improved and there were some sections of smooth and even spun yarn.
Lace beret
I’ve intentionally made a beret this time, rather than another beanie mishap. The idea was a lace beret with a solid band, like a head band with a lace topper. It is Texas and it just doesn’t stay cold for long, so this would be something to stylishly keep the ears warm. I started with my favorite crocheted lace coaster pattern, then instead of finishing it off with shell stitches, increased it using a mix of V stitches.
I finished the beret with a single crochet ribbed band.
This was a try-as-you-fly kind of project, so I’ll work on a written pattern with another go. I really am pleased with how it came out.
Critters and Craft 