In February 2015 I finished a crochet project for my Dad that has a basket weave looking texture for a hat and scarf.
The technique uses front post and back post double crochet stitches in sets of three. It is actually an easy texture to achieve, but I recommend not using black yarn while trying to learn to count the stitches and rows. Also, size up any wool hats, as wear causes light felting, which shrinks the hat.
I sent my Dad four reed coasters for Father’s Day. He sent back data on preferences for hot and cold drinks.
Dad reports that his favorite coasters for hot drinks are ranked left to right, and for cold drinks, right to left. The shades of orange coaster on the right made with several plies of hemp string absorbs the most condensation, so is best for cold drinks with condensation.
In January of 2015 I was examining the construction techniques of Irish crochet, a type of free form lace that has a rich texture.
Padding in crochet is carrying a thicker cord, or multiple cords, along inside the crocheted stitches. The padding cord also gives more control of the shape of the crochet because it can be pulled tighter and lock in curves.
This week I found out that sparkle paper works in my button maker. Nice. I designed an “All Star” graphic in Cricut Design Space and cut it out with the electronic cutter.
The vinyl doesn’t stick well to the sparkle paper, at all, so positioning the decal was tricky, but not impossible.
Including the mylar cover was a must, both to keep the decal in place, and prevent glitter from shedding.
I quite like the finished button, it has flash and glitter, without shedding flash and glitter. Leaving trails of glitter is on my “very rude” list.
In May I received a mysterious fiber package. There was a tickle in the back of my brain, a shadow of a memory from the previous summer, when I talked with a woman who said her dog’s fur looked just like the Shetland sheep roving I was using for a spinning demonstration. She said she would send me some dog fur, and I gave her my address. I reached out to confirm, and yes! My mysterious package did contain the results of numerous brushings of her Samoyed dog, Sugar.
Samoyed dogs have a thick double coat that is usually white and naturally dirt repellant with very little smell. The fiber was very clean, and did not have much VM (vegetable matter), so I decided to comb and spin it straight from the bag, without washing or scouring. The staple length of the undercoat wool is about 2-3 inches, but the guard hairs can be much longer, I measured one guard hair at 9 inches long. I did not attempt to de-hair the wool.
The Samoyed wool was very easy to spin, and I was able to get a relatively consistent single. Combing produces more waste than carding, but the results are worth it. The waste fiber goes outside for the birds and squirrels as nesting material.
I chose to chain ply my singles to make a three ply yarn. The Samoyed wool also performed well in plying and I didn’t have any breakage.
I’m going to give the three ply yarn a gentle wash and hang it up to dry!
Critters and Craft 