May 2010 – Mamas2Hands

Three Things I Love

May 30, 2010May 31, 2010Celebrating, Creativity, Crochet Design, Health and Self Care3 Comments

I may not be the most knowledgable person on these three things, but I am passionately interested in all of them.

Crochet, Math, and Healthy Crafting

Everyday I am thrilled to discover there is more to learn and explore in each of these subjects. Very likely I will spend the rest of my life happily doing just that.

In the world of Crochet I am growing as a designer. Yet there are still stitches and techniques I’ve not mastered. In fact, there are many I haven’t even tried— Hairpin Lace comes quickly to mind.

That’s why I enjoy going to conferences like the Knit and Crochet Show in New Hampshire this July (AKA Chain Link). It is great fun taking classes and talking with other crocheters. I am so inspired by seeing the work of others and learning new techniques and approaches to crochet.

In the world of Math I am a dilettante. I haven’t any mathematical degrees or other honors attached to my name. I just love exploring math theory, especially quantum physics and applicable geometries. I am not a human calculator; in fact it is shameful that I often have to grab the calculator to do fairly simple equations.

Much of my passion for math and geometry has been revived by my work as a crochet designer. I use math for figuring yardage requirements, shaping and garment sizing almost every day. Geometry is also often a source of inspiration for me in creating designs. A prime example of this is my “Lace with a Twist” wrap, which is a mobius.

In the world of Healthy Crafting I love to discover ways to maintain the health of my hands and body and then to share that information with my fellow crafters and artists.

Ever since I took my basic anatomy and physiology classes in massage school I have been fascinated with how the human body functions and malfunctions. During my time in school I found myself thinking that someone needed to translate the technical information so that everyone could understand simple and effective ways to maximize personal health. I retired from massage therapy this Spring with the goal being to concentrate further on this mission.

My career as a massage therapist enforced the value of taking good care of my body and particularly my hands. My hands are still important tools in my work as without them typing and crocheting would be difficult. Working with yarn and at the computer can challenge the strength and endurance of anyone’s hands.

One could say that some of my expertise in healthy crafting has come about thru my own pain. I’ve frequently overworked my hands while crafting. Then halfway thru my pregnancy with my oldest child I started developing carpal tunnel symptoms. I had to modify my lifestyle fairly severely and that included advice from my doctor that I would have to stop crocheting.

I did take a sabbatical from my massage work, but there was no way I was giving up my crochet (!!). The solutions I came up with during that time are the foundation that I am building on now. Writing and teaching on these methods is a passion, because I know how much richer my life is having crochet in it…and I want to help other’s avoid losing crochet (or knitting) from their own lives.

I have been writing articles on healthy crafting for the online quarterly magazine “Crochet Uncut” for a year now, and hope to one day publish a book. You can find links to my articles here.

Tomorrow evening I will be talking with Mary Beth Temple on her Getting Loopy Podcast about Healthy Crafting, so come have a listen. If you miss the show you can always download it later.

Angels in My World

May 24, 2010Art Projects, Celebrating, Creativity1 Comment

I have been a member of the International Free Form Crochet Guild since Fall 2008. Each year they have a challenge to create a freeform piece based on a particular theme. This year’s challenge theme was ” Somewhere in my World.” I decided to enter a piece for the first time since joining the group.

Angels-in-my-World — Angels in my World - Finished Challenge Piece

It took me a while to decide how to approach the challenge. I only had three months to design and complete my entry and to send a photograph to the coordinator (the lovely and talented Myra Wood). So I knew I wanted to keep it small.

I thought about the theme for quite a while before being hit by inspiration. I have been blessed during the past 20 years of my life to be surrounded by amazing, supportive and inspiring women. Some are close friends, others are teachers and mentors. Some may have moved briefly thru my life, but all have left huge impressions in my world.

As I pondered the richness of having these women in my life I hit upon an idea. Angels! In fact I knew just the angel drawing I wanted to use. I didn’t want something too cutsie or twee.

I had been thinking about creating a mixed media piece utilizing FreeForm crochet for some time. I started gathering yarn and paper with an eye toward this challenge.

Angels-in-my-World-material — A Palette of Yarns and Paper

My starting place was a graphic I had drawn years ago for an abstract angel. I sketched and fiddled with the sizing until I had a size that I felt would work with the time constraints as well as the materials I had chosen. The finished Angel is slightly smaller than an 11″x14″ canvas.

I used a combination of paper and cardstock cut to the shapes I wanted. Then I crocheted fragments of various yarns and thread that were either worked into holes punched into the paper or sewn on. My color palette was taken from a lovely handspun yarn that another fiberartist traded me for my first hand carved wooden crochet hook. It is the multicolored yarn you see repeated thruout the final piece.

I plan to create a series of Angel pieces over the next few years using various mixed media, including fiberarts, painting, papermaking and wood work.

If you want to see more of the pieces in the show, you can visit the online gallery. International Free Form Guild Show – Somewhere in My World

Getting Closer

May 21, 2010Celebrating, Creativity, HumorLeave a Comment

I’ve been working on my office re-arrangements, but ran into a bit of a roadblock in the past two weeks when my whole family came down with a nasty cold virus. Mother’s Day weekend I finished moving and re-assembling the work counter from my friend and got most of the major pieces of furniture in place.

May20b — Computer Desk in it's new corner

Now I need to get my books sorted and back on the shelves, and bring over the many crochet books that are still in the house. They will now be living in my office.

It’s a daunting task to go though all my books. So I am chipping away at that project a bit each day. I may have to have a reading frenzy soon, as many of these titles are begging to be opened again. I’ve amassed a great reference library for much of my health-related interests, and I am well on the road to doing the same with my crochet/knitting books.

I still have more projects to complete for the office transformation: installing shelving over the work counter, installing 2 large bulletin boards for tracking schedules and projects, sorting and taking inventory of yarn and fabric, and finding new homes for the massage supplies that I don’t need to have on hand. And of course, some plants remain to be re-potted.

Yikes, I’m tired just thinking about it.

Finally Celebrating Springtime

May 17, 2010December 3, 2011Celebrating, Crochet Design, Pattern4 Comments

What most folks consider spring weather is a bit different from what it is like here on our mountain. In fact we had 14 inches of snow and temperatures below freezing on May 11th and 12th.

Today was sunny and the temperatures are on the rise. According to our local climatologist we should be seeing real warming trends for the rest of the month. In celebration of this I have a fun little pattern to share with all of you.

During those cold days I was comforted by my hanging basket of miniature petunias that my sweet boys had gotten me for Mother’s day. They inspired me to create this little crocheted flower.

Pretty Petunia

This pattern is text only currently, I may add a hand drawn stitch diagram later. I worked the sample in some scraps of Caron’s Simply Soft with a G-6 (4 mm) hook. My finished flower is 2 inches in diameter across the open blossom and about 1 inch deep.

The flower is worked in the round starting with the base and creating a trumpet shape. I began with an adjustable slip knot, though you can do Magic Ring if that is more comfortable for you. Each round is slip stitched to the first st of the round instead of working in a spiral.

Blossom:

Round 1: Ch 2, 5 sc in 2nd ch from hook, sl st in first st.

Round 2: Ch 1, 5 sc worked evenly, sl st in first st.

Round 3: Ch 1, 2 sc in each st around, sl st in first st. [10 sc]

Round 4: Ch 1, 10 sc worked evenly, sl st in first st.

Round 5: Ch 1, (sc in next st, 2 sc in next st) 5 times, sl st in first st. [15 sc]

Round 6: (hdc in next st, 3 dc in next st, hdc and sl st in next st) 5 times. Fasten off.*

Stamen:

Ch 2, work 5 sc in 2nd ch from hook. Fasten off.

Finishing:

Weave tails in both pieces. Use needle to pull tails of stamen thru bottom of blossom trumpet. Snug up stamen into bell of trumpet.

Back-of-Flower — Tails pulled thru Base of Blossom

*You can use a needle finish for last round of blossom for a neater look, just skip last sl st in pattern instructions.

I hope you enjoy making a garden of pretty petunias.

Sometimes Ya Just Gotta Wiggle

May 12, 2010Health and Self Care, Humor1 Comment

I was reminded of this basic rule by my 4 year old son the other day. He had been quietly playing with a book and then coloring in his sketch pad. Suddenly he jumped up and was moving all around, wiggling his body.

I was very entertained and after I stopped laughing, and he did too, I asked why he did that. “Sometimes ya just gotta wiggle,” was his answer.

And he is completely right.

Our bodies are built to be in motion. That old saying about “Move it or Lose it” is quite on target. I’m not a huge fan of the avid exercise regimen. It may be fine for many folks, but I don’t do anything to extremes (with the exception of the consumption of chocolate…which is not a subject for today’s post). But regularly moving about can help your brain be more alert and your body avoid injury.

Often when discussing preventing hand injury with crocheters and knitters I talk about taking breaks during your stitching time. I’ve given suggestions on what to do during that break time. Walk about, get a drink of water, maybe stretch…but wiggling works as well.

So the next time you take a break from your stitching try this.

Stand up and move away from your seating area so you have a bit of room around you. Stretch your arms up above your head then let them flop down by your sides. Then wiggle your shoulders front to back and let your arms flop around like limp noodles. Don’t worry about looking silly…trust me, you will look silly. But you will also feel great afterward.

Just a few minutes of wiggling gets your blood flowing and helps your muscles re-balance from the restrictions of typicial stitching postures. Plus it will make you smile, possibly even chuckle…and laughter is always good medicine.

Lace Hat

May 9, 2010Celebrating, Crochet, Crochet Design, PatternLeave a Comment

I’m excited to announce that my Lace Hat pattern is now available on the Coats and Clark website.

I designed this Hat to go with the Crochet Lace Fingerless Mitts. The great thing is that 2 balls of the Heart & Sole yarn are just the right amount to make both patterns. You can work the mitts first doing 2 at a time using 1 ball for each mitt, then use the left over amounts to stitch up a matching hat.

The pattern is for a deep hat that can be worn slouchy or pulled down “Cloche” style with the ribbed band providing a bit of extra warmth over your ears. The open work of the stitch pattern in the crown means that this is a great hat for transitional seasons. Like Colorado’s unpredictable mountain spring time.

Construction Zone

May 6, 2010May 7, 2010CelebratingLeave a Comment

Time keeps marching on as I work toward converting my former massage office into my design/writing office. Currently it is a bit of a construction zone.

Office-in-Transition — The Jumble of Transition

A generous friend is getting rid of some office furniture and has kindly offered it to me. So part of the work has been to dis-assemble it at her house, which I did the last bit tonight. Next will be to transport it to my office and re-assemble it. Of course before I can re-assemble it in my office I have to get things shifted about.

That table under the window is one of my new additions from my friend. It is a wonderful drafting table that can be tilted numerous degrees from horizontal to vertical. I will be getting lots of use of it as a tilted drawing surface and a work table. Especially as it is a lovely waist high work suface at one of it’s settings. I got it moved in this past Sunday.

Office-in-Transition-2 — Work Counter before Disassembly

Hoping to have the entire furniture thing done by the end of this coming Sunday.

Being Invisible

May 2, 2010May 3, 2010Book Reviews, Crochet, How Tos2 Comments

Do you ever get annoyed with that pesky bump that comes from joining the last round of a motif when you are crocheting? Even if you are the only one that sees it, you know it’s there.

I’ve always loved working in the round. But I went thru all kinds of hoops trying to find a way to join the last stitch of a round to the first without it looking unsightly. I wanted a join that would hold up to use and yet would not be too obvious.

In fact, what I was really searching for was something invisible. I happily found some great solutions in Edie Eckman’s book “Beyond the Square; Crochet Motifs” and Suzann Thompson’s book “Crochet Bouquet.” Like many of the tips you learn in crochet, it was so obvious once I’d learned it.

In Edie’s book she talks about Tidy Joins on page 17 and has lovely clear instructions and illustrations for a couple of different joins that are invisible. This is also a fabulous book to learn many refining techniques for getting the most out of your crochet, as well as lots of clearly illustrated and charted designs for more motifs than you can imagine.

Later on I acquired Suzann’s book. On page 14 she shows step-by-step the instructions for doing a Needle Join that has become my favorite join to use, particularly on hats as it is nearly impossible to spot. This is also a book that will have you itching to make all kinds of crocheted flowers to embellish anything and everything. My only complaint with this book is it does not have any stitch charts, all the patterns are only text.

If you are looking for an invisible join for ending your crochet work, take a look at either of these books. Both are great additions to your crochet library.