Hot pink is sort of becoming my signature color. It all started with my Two Hands logo and has built from there. Whenever I am looking for items for my crocheting or other business needs I seem to find hot pink colored items catching my eye.
Such as the extremely portable Ott-lite that I keep in my project bag.
Or the protective cover for my Android Tablet.
Best latest Pink acquisition is my new set of Etimo hooks from the Tulip Company. I purchased these beauties at the Market during the Manchester Chain Link. In fact almost all of my shopping took place at their booth. Though these were the only Pink purchase.
I knew I had to have them as soon as I saw them in the booth. Not only is the case nice and sturdy, but each of the hook handles is a different shade of pink. I’m not as thrilled with the pale pink ones…but they are a huge improvement over the dark gray handles of the original Etimo hooks. The hook sizes are in Japanese sizes, which makes no never mind to me as I go by the millimeter measurements anyway.
And the metal of the hooks is a lovely pinkish silver color too.
So do you have an irresistible color, that makes you think you must have that ball of yarn or new tool? Look around your belongings and stash, you might get a smile realizing that certain colors seem to creep in when you are not thinking about it.
I just recently learned that this pattern is available as a digital version from Interweave. You can find it on their website in the E-patterns, along with lots of other wonderful patterns. Most exciting to me is that the pattern includes symbol charts as well as written instructions, so those of us that are more visual learners will find the instructions easy to follow.
Photo courtesy of Interweave Press
So if you missed your opportunity to purchase the “Crochet Accessories” issue that it was included in, or that issue didn’t interest you, here is your opportunity to acquire it.
This is a really fun pattern to stitch up, each triangle works up quickly and the next triangle is worked off the previous one. A bit like working in motifs, but minus the headache of sewing them all together later. You can use a solid color yarn, but I designed this with long gradual color changing yarns in mind.
The lace pattern lends itself nicely to adding buttons, as any of the openings can become button holes. So working fewer triangles can be a great way to make a quick neck cozy for gift giving.
Yesterday was was an indoor rainy day and was all about my children. Especially Thing 1 (Dr. Seuss reference for those of you thinking I’m a wicked mom to call my children Things).
My children see me playing/working with yarn All The Time. Yarn pervades the entire household. So there really is no way to avoid it. They both have expressed desires to learn to crochet, but it is slow going at times. So what is a Mom to do to share the yarn crafting love with them?
Why, teach them to weave of course. Particularly Thing 1, as Thing 2 is sticking with the crochet hook for the nonce.
Actually it’s sort of funny me teaching my children to weave, since my knowledge base isn’t a whole lot larger than their own. I’m just blessed with a nimble mind and a small bit of experience from over 30 years ago.
The basics to make our loom
The wonderful thing about weaving is it is so accessible, even for the utter novice. So I grabbed my trusty utility knife and an empty cardboard box from the recycling pile and declared it was going to provide the bits for a loom and accessories.
Without any real measuring I cut out a flat piece to use for the loom and made small slits along the top and bottom to hold the warp of the loom. Quickly warped it with some acrylic yarn. Then I dug out some oversized knitting needles to act as sheds.
Shuttles, with one needing notching
My son and I began to play with weaving a bit of yarn in, but it soon became apparent that we needed some more tools. Like sturdier shuttles for the weft yarn and a shed and sword. So more cutting on the box and I had made shuttles, shed and sword. I also grabbed a comb for him to use as the “beater”.
Then my son went to town weaving happily. He decided this is really a hobby he wants to learn more about. After he went to bed I did a little research about basic weaving on the internet and learned how to make a simple heddle to use to speed up the weaving process.
Today he and I are going to Boulder to visit “Shuttles, Spindles and Skeins”. This is a LYS that I have visited many times to purchase yarn for crocheting and animal fiber for felt work. As their name indicates, they also have wonderful supplies for weaving. So it will be a great opportunity to look at the various looms available and learn more about weaving from folks that know a lot about the craft.
Since Thing 2 is also expressing an interest in learning more about weaving I’m thinking we will be bringing a potholder loop loom home as well. They aren’t expensive and they are a super fun quick way to learn about weaving that both boys can enjoy.
Best part of this experience is it’s been a wonderful reminder of how much fun it is to do arts and crafts with my kids. Even if it is just paper-crafts, find some time to craft with your kids, they have a great time learning something new and you may surprise yourself with the new things you learn about them.
First off, credit where credit is due, the lovely Shari White came up with that title.
If you have never met Lily Chin you haven’t really lived. She is an amazing teacher who knows crochet, knitting and design backwards as well as forwards.
Her classes are not for the faint of heart, she covers a lot of material and your brain will be firing with loads of ideas…whether you are a designer or just love to crochet. But if you want to learn the ins and outs of crochet (or knitting) take a class with her.
If she isn’t teaching a class in your area, find her books. Her “Couture Crochet Workshop” is one of my very favorites, both informative and inspiring. And her Crochet “Tips and Tricks” book is full of information that even experienced crocheters can benefit from.
The other thing Lily can be is a complete riot. At Chain Link in Manchester this year she was toting around the most outrageous bag I had ever seen. So I said I had to get a photo of it. In response she gave me the pose in this photo. We were all laughing so hard that it is a miracle that I got a shot that wasn’t blurry.
Lily’s bag is named Hairy, it has a middle name too…but I’m too bashful to repeat it here for all my innocent readers. If you figure it out on your own you are clearly not as innocent as you’ve been leading me to believe.
Tomorrow I will share with you some pictures of my loot from the marketplace. I was pretty darn busy with the Design Competition stuff, so that slowed down my shopping. Of course I still managed to do some damage to my budget anyway.
Mamas2Hands 