Knot Knecessarily Known Knitting

A third approach to adding beads with crochet is a hybrid method. This involves pre-stringing, so has all the caveats about stringing multiple colors in order, difficulty in fixing mistakes, and fraying yarn. It also has the advantage that if you strung correctly, the beads are not going anywhere. This method is slow because not only is the bead secured by being strung, it is secured again by pulling a loop through the bead. You'll need beads with large holes for this technique. In technique video 5 the hybrid method is used in between stitches. The result in double crochet is a horizontal bead that is very secure. In single crochet, the result is more angled. Also, this method means the bead is on the chain, and can interfere with making the next row of stitches. This method is best suited to adding beads on a final edge or adding looping swags of beads in a chain stitch edge. In technique video 6 the hybrid method is used in the middle of making a...

If pre-stringing beads for crochet is unappealing, then maybe adding loose beads as you work is better? Once again, there are advantages and disadvantages. On the upside, there are greater options for improvisation and creative freedom. You can change your mind, rip back, fix mistakes. And you aren't dragging yarn through lots of beads, so less likely to damage yarn. On the downside, you have loose beads. Have you ever tipped over a container of beads? It is amazing how far they go! Another positive is since you are pulling a loop through, two strands of yarn pass through the center of the bead. It feels more secure. In my series, technique video 3 shows adding an unstrung bead in between stitches.  The result in double crochet is similar to a pre-strung bead between stitches — horizontal orientation that is reversible. There is a little piece of yarn that goes underneath the bead but the bead has two strands going through the center. Single cr...

Like many fiber artists, I am multi-craftual. I don't crochet a lot. But I know how to crochet. For some projects, crochet is the appropriate choice. Crochet is stiffer than knitting. For items that take hard wear, crochet can be a good solution. And there are a lot of lovely lace patterns in crochet. I decided to investigate adding beads to crochet. Since I like crochet lace patterns and beads go well with lace, this seemed like a good idea. And I found I wasn't always happy with what I got. Specifically, I was often unhappy with little strands of yarn that went around the outside of the beads. In knitting, beads are often reversible. In crochet, sometimes so and sometimes not. And I was specifically unhappy with how there didn't seem to be a way to thread a bead on to a crochet stitch. A double-crochet is a nice sturdy post. Surely there must be a way to get all of that post through the center of a bead? My experiments resulted in a series...

Earlier this month, I quickly knocked out a hideous crocheted dumpster fire ornament. South Cobb Arts Alliance hosts a Christmas House arts and crafts show each December. With it, they also have a tea room and silent auction. I believe Friends of the Mable House are also involved. Truth be told, I'm not sure which parts are executed by and for which organization. This group of events is a major fundraiser. The Mable House Arts Complex has a historic home, the art center with workshop and gallery space, and a concert venue. Throughout the year there are opportunities to gain skills in various arts, view and purchase art, attend concerts and live theater, and attend historic re-enactment. Sometimes the arts complex is just a good place for my local community to gather, such as for the farmers' market or food truck night. I made the hideous dumpster fire ornament for the silent auction. I figured someone would connect to it. For many people, 2016 has not been a favorite year....

I can crochet. I don't always remember I can do this. I learned to crochet when I was about nine or ten years old. I can remember working on crochet in school when I was in fourth or fifth grade. Both of my grandmothers as well as my great grandmother were crocheters. And when I was in college, I used to crochet snowflakes. That was a great way to learn the basic stitches, because snowflakes usually incorporate a variety of stitch heights to create their patterns. I would hang the snowflakes against the large sliding glass windows of my dorm room. As we know, Ravelry is the Internet Wonderland of knit and crochet. On the Woolly Thoughts board was a thread titled " Amish Puzzle Ball ." What's that? For an adult, the puzzle ball isn't that difficult. But for a child, it would be an interesting object for learning three dimensions (width, length, height or for pilots, pitch, roll, and yaw). I followed links over to this website , where I learned what a puzzle ball ...

In addition to being involved with both knitting guilds in Atlanta -- and occasionally one in Maryland -- I'm also a member of Textile Appreciation Society of Atlanta. If the guilds are the artists, then TASA members are the patrons. I love attending their quarterly events just to see what everyone is wearing! This quarter's event was an excursion to a pair of wonderful textile exhibits at The Ernest G. Welch School of Art and Design Gallery at Georgia State University . Yes, this in downtown Atlanta. I took MARTA to the Five Points Station. If you exit towards Peachtree Street, just cross the street and walk a couple short blocks north towards Woodruff Park. Turn right and walk west a couple blocks on Edgewood Avenue. The gallery is on the corner of Peachtree Center Avenue SE and Gilmer Street SE. They both sort of intersect Edgewood Avenue at one of those strange multi-street intersections that seem to be too common in Atlanta. You'll notice the gallery off to the right...

This blog has been a much quieter space than I prefer. My Cuddly Hubby has settled into his Maryland man cave. While it would be nice to think I now have two residences, the reality feels more like I have half a residence in two places. My used knitter's cats, my friends, my studio, and my familiar stomping ground are in one location, and my Cuddly Hubby is in another. I've been making the 650-mile all-day drive every two weeks. I've put 5000 miles on my car in two months. This and other factors are leading me to conclude that commuting back and forth every fortnight is not sustainable. Some of those other factors include little things. For example, there is no food in my refrigerator. If you leave for two weeks, then anything you left behind will have spoiled by the time you return. And if you are about to leave for two weeks, then you only purchase what you think you can eat before you leave. Also, keeping two kitchens is confusing, as it is easy to forget you boug...