Leather dopp kit

On January 7, 2021January 3, 2021 By CarynIn Craft

My husband has had the same dopp kit bag since before Iraq, and it has been falling apart since (and even has desert dust still in it). So I made him a leather dopp kit. I used finished leather because I had time restraints, a heavy duty brass zipper, and cotton lining. The leather was soft enough that my sewing machine could go through, so I was able to machine sew the zipper and seams (with an occasional boost using the band crank). I hand sewed the lining to the inside of the zipper.

I’ve been meaning to make this for awhile. It is ironic that I made the time to make it, but there is still no travel for the foreseeable future. I may try my hand at another one, but this time in stiffer leather, which will have to be all hand sewn and finished. I rather like hand sewing, so it won’t be a hardship. Especially now that I know how they go together.

Color play

On January 5, 2021January 3, 2021 By CarynIn Craft

I tried another hatching weaving with smaller squares and lots more colors.

Back of weaving with ends split and woven in

Things I like: The color play and overall look of the piece. Still a big fan of splitting the ends before weaving in, I had trouble telling the front from the back.

Things I learned: Keeping long lines straight needs work! When twining the bottom and top with multiple colors, I need to connect the strands.

Details: approximately 8”x8”, 100% cotton weft, warp suspected cotton (from stash), woven on an 8 sett frame loom. First and last pass twined. Warp drawn through piece to finish.

Shapes

On January 3, 2021January 4, 2021 By CarynIn Craft

This weaving had a two fold inspiration. My sister loves bees, and my daughter recently has been drawing the cutest simple bees. I did ask my eldest if it was OK that I borrow her bee style!

Things I like: My eldest suggested the bee abdomen have thicker stripes, which really turned out well with the thinner hatching stripes on the wings. Steaming also helped smooth things out.

Things I learned: I need to work on consistent angles. I used a cartoon (pattern), but decided to do the angle mathematically, up two over one, rather than follow the line. Or maybe I need to adjust my math.

Details: approximately 8”x8”, 100% cotton weft, warp suspected cotton (from stash), woven on an 8 sett frame loom. First and last pass twined. Warp drawn through piece to finish.

Curves

On January 1, 2021December 31, 2020 By CarynIn Craft

My next finished experimental weaving where I tried curves and hatching.

Things I like: Still like hatching. The curves are fun! I split the ends to be woven in, which made a huge difference on the neatness of the back.

Things I learned: Taking the time to do a continuous string heddle saves time and frustration especially when unweaving. Using a line drawing taped behind the loom as a guide is very helpful as well, however, I need to make sure I use the same viewing angle each time I reference the cartoon.

Details: approximately 8”x8”, 100% cotton weft, warp suspected cotton (from stash), woven on an 8 sett frame loom. First and last pass twined. Warp drawn through piece to finish.

Happy New Year! May this year be better than last (asking little). I have a few more wrap up items for posts from the holidays, then exciting new things for the new year!

Wooden ergonomic crochet hook

On December 30, 2020December 25, 2020 By CarynIn Craft

Well this was fun! I made a crochet hook out of a chunk of mesquite. Rather than a straight dowel (which are harder to hold and manipulate), I made a handle shaped to my hand, then chiseled out an indentation for my thumb. Then I shaped the actual shaft and hook. It took me a couple tries to get the length right (I used some scrap cotton to test), but found a good length and refined the head. I sanded down to 400 grit and sealed with tung oil. The shaft is a size K hook. I could probably have gone smaller, but we’ll see how this one performs. I sent it off to my Mom for the holidays!