Cotton Ribbon Basket Prototype

Basket, cotton ribbon, crochet, size G aluminum hook

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I began with a vaguely square bottom and then stopped increasing at about 4 in. x 4 in. or 10cm x 10cm

At this stage the bottom wasn't very stable.

I added a foot, so it's a footed basket.

The cotton strips that make up the ribbon are knotted together, which meant a lot of cute knot tails, but not a nice inside for the basket.  How to finish?

I untied all the knots and sewed the ends down with running stitch. It was very labor intensive, to the degree that I probably won't use the same techniques again.  

In profile - there may be embellishments of embroidery or applique.

If you want to see more everyday photos of what I am doing I post frequently on Instagram @journalofathousandlives

 

Little Hands Studio News - November 15, 2022

 This is the group of work I'm using to see if the Shelburne Arts Cooperative will accept my work for their lovely gallery in Shelburne Falls, MA. They ask for an email with photos of five works with descriptions and retail prices, a bio and statement of what level of membeship I'd like.

I'm not submitting any works involving paper at this time, although I am thinking about switching to more paper things or household items.  

Or should I do that for another gallery? I'm also looking at the charming gallery in the town next door as a possibility. I should probably concentrate on SAC first.

I've been preparing for a popup show and sale in my studio for the past month and things were busy in the knitting chair. Now I'm looking at different stitching possibilities, perhaps more like needle and thread. I saw some small fabric bowls that sent my mind spinning out into about a hundred design ideas. Then there are handbags and fabric jewelry that have piqued my interest all year.

Shelburne Arts Cooperative website: http://shelburneartscoop.com

Filet Crochet scarf

Filet crochet scarf

Filet crochet scarf with a double crochet border; one circle embellishment,;72 in long x 8 in wide; size 2mm hook; the yarn is one strand/ply of linen with one strand/ply of kid mohair.

The crochet involed here forms a grid by spacing double crochet stictches along the row and in each row stictch the double crochet only into the double crochet from the previous row.  It builds a very open lacy fabic quickly. The linen in this fabric gives it body and weight.

Crochet motif scarf

My first square motif construction in crochet.  It seems over the years I've made many motifs but this is the first time I've ever put more than a couple together.

I love the huge needle.

So that's the four color combinations and I'll repeat until the scarf is 72 inches.  I'm thinking about a black border right now.

Crochet net shawl

Requested by a friend, who already had the yarn.  I had to give it three tries to make the yarn amount work with the design I had in mind, so I'm glad filet crochet is extremely flexible!!  It looks much more sparkly and gaudy in person.

Crochet blocks from a gradient set

It has been amusing to play with the gradients and work out something that is more dynamic than static. The photo makes the holes a very strong part of the pattern due to the light background.

In the Studio January 2015

These are the works that have been taking up my knitting time over the past couple weeks since I finished up all the 2015 Holidays knitting

Cotton, viscose and tencel tapes for a summer scarf

Silk cord in a small gauge crochet

Silk worsted weight yarns

Cotton in spring colors

Sari silk ribbon and yarn

Finished neutrals capelet

Capelet, stockinette stitch with crochet shell stitch trim at the top and double crochet ruffle at the bottom, mixed fibers: cotton, linen, mohair, silk, viscose, size 10 cable needle, 24 in., size e crochet hook

This took two attempts. I was using about six neutral tone yarns of various weights and fibers., but the values are quite different. I got about four inches up from the bottom and realized it just wasn't working, then decreased the needle size and used a lovely putty color Kidlin yarn between each of the other colors consistently though the fabric.

So I started with yarn A, then switched to yarn B, then C, then B, then D, then B and so on, always returning to B after each of the other yarns.  It evened out the fabric tones and took care of the herky-jerkey color transitions that I didn't like in the first attempt. The Kidlin is also a lace weight yarn, so it gave the fabric a lovely airy and lacey feel.  It's a great spring light weight capelet.

Finished - mohair capelet

Capelet, mohair, kid mohair, silk, lurex, stockinette stitch, size 8 cable needle, 24 in.

This capelet is very soft and fuzzy, with a sparkly filament going through the fabric about every fourth row to give it a little bit of shine.  I used three types of mohair: kid mohair with silk core, fine mohair boucle and mohair with a filament of lurex.  They were each a slightly different tint, and I changed yarns every row to keep a regularity about the color throughout the fabric.

I knitted it in stockinette stitch from the bottom to the top and then cast off while crocheting a row.  I added two more rows of single crochet around the neckline with the sparkly mohair and made a little picot at the very top edge.  So it evokes the idea of a necklace. At the bottom I added a gentle ruffle of double crochet using the darkest gray yarn, which was a very fine boucle.  To make the ruffle curl just a bit more I added a row of single crochet with a pattern of more frequent increase. The capelet bottom edge falls just at the elbow.

The piece measures about 50 inches around at the bottom, about 20 inches around at the top and is about 15 inches long.

This is an original design.

Cowl in gray alpaca silk

Cowl, rib stitch, with crochet edge and crochet applique flower; alpaca and silk blend yarn,  size 7 cable needle

In the studio - "red" afghan

I've taken a lot of time for this because trying to select colors that will play well with the red and others is challenging.

In the studio - the afghan grows

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

In the studio - spring colors

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

In the studio - natural fibers afghan

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

In the studio - huge crochet

Afghan, mixed fibers - no synthetics; single crochet, size 5mm aluminum hook, estimated finished size: 6 ft x 8 ft

This is an attempt to get at that lolapalooza effect of the huge folk art afghan.  I have a monster size cone of red hemp and wool, so that ia every other row. All other rows will be any color I intuitively  want at the moment.  I have two large bags of possible ones.

It strongly reminds me of rag rugs.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

In the studio - pink and green cotton

The border is almost finished

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

In the studio - the pink ruffle grows

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Crochet bag - ready for embellishment

The straps will go into the slots.  I'm thinking about lots of tassles.

In the studio - black filet crochet

Scarf, filet crochet with added tufts, mixed fibers and aluminum, size H crochet hook.

This scarf is going very quickly and will be light for early fall.  I'm tying the tufts in randomly and they have shiny spots that will provide coppery flecks of brightness.  It will go in the washer and dryer to be fulled, which I think will bring out a wonderful fuzziness and sort of obscure the individul stitch shapes and make the tufts more fluffy.

In the studio - linen with bobble edge

Scarf,linen, crochet, size a bamboo crochet hook

This bobble edge is versatile and makes a lovely dynamic edge on a plain narrow scarf.  A new entry in the "school colors" series.