Category: Craft

Worry worm

On By CarynIn Craft

Here is a cute project for yarn scraps: worry worms. This is my first worry worm, but if you plug in “crochet worry worm” into your preferred search engine, you’ll get a whole host of the springy creatures in many interpretations.

Photo description: pink crocheted worry worm with sewn on googly eyes, two black dogs in the background

The crocheted spiral has been around. It was very popular in the 70s especially. It is dead easy: chain 30 then do three stitches in each chain. It coils up on its own. For this worry worm I used single crochet for the body, then did 12 double crochets in the same stitch to make the head. I’m not sure I care for the flat head look, I’ll try something different next time.

The worry worms have a super power, they can listen without judgement. The idea is that here is a little pal that you can tell all your worries, and not worry about it going farther. Many crafters put a little poem on the card with the worry worm and put them for people to find or give them away.

It is a philanthropic use of yarn scraps, and the googly eyes cinch it. They make a nice fidget too.

I wonder how many I can make before the election results.

Throwback Thursday: Halloween

On By CarynIn Craft, throwback

Going back to a pumpkin contest in 2016, here is my hand crafted pumpkin cover of Mama Bear of the Berenstain bears.

Photo description: crocheted bear head with latch hooked “fur”, half ping pong ball eyes, black pom pom nose, and blue mop hat sewn from an old t-shirt hand painted with polka dots

It probably really isn’t in the spirit of pumpkin carving, but at the time we lived in such a humid environment that pumpkins started rotting on day 1. The library would host an uncarved pumpkin contest (paint and glued decorations only) to avoid the rot. I rather like the crocheted cover, it is reusable.

Happy Halloween.

Macrame storage part 1

On By CarynIn Craft

Using offset square knots I made a pouch beneath the macrame design I did earlier to hold a tongue drum.

Photo description: green tongue drum hanging in a macrame pouch and gathered tassel with unknotted cotton cord on the sides

The idea is to create more storage for small musical instruments on either side. Knotting continues.

Not as nice

On By CarynIn Craft

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.

Photo description: light pink beret top with deliberate holes, sort of in a star pattern, cat feets for the photo bomb
Photo description: brim side of the beret with single crochet ribbing

Back to the drawing board. I’m starting to see the end of the bag of gifted acrylic yarn though!

Photo description: cat photo bomb of the light pink beret, she went to sniff the hat when I put it down. Must have been close to feeding time.

Egyptian cotton 3-ply

On By CarynIn Craft

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.

Photo description: three wood bobbins with cotton singles on the lazy Kate built in to the Ashford Traveller

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.

Photo description: three ply Egyptian cotton yarn on a wood bobbin of an Ashford Traveller spinning wheel

My spinning definitely looks like homespun, but as I practiced, my technique improved and there were some sections of smooth and even spun yarn.