Yesterday, I posted a video of how to crochet a bracelet (for a Mother’s Day gift, perhaps?) using irridescent cord and the bullion stitch.
Today, I am posting a video tutorial showing how to add the closures, by crocheting them to the ends of the bracelet.
As I was taking the pics of the bracelet, my small dog hopped up on the bench. He  helped by gently placing his little paw right beside the closing hooks and loops to point them out.
How could I resist a photo op like this?
Choosing the hooks and loops to close the bracelet took a bit of …read more

Happy Almost Earth Day!
I hope you have had a wonderful day that included lots of lovely green living
and eco projects, and that you are going to do something special for Earth Day tomorrow.
We are going to plant some baby trees.  That’s them in the pic to the right.
The Spool knitter is one that I made from a chunk of old wood that we found in Jim’s Dad’s workshop 10 or so years ago. Jim’s Dad was a champion recycler.
He would upcycle stuff in the neatest ways…. nothing much got thrown away around Mum and Dad’s house. If it could be …read more

Of course, I couldn’t stop at just one bracelet…
so I made a second one:

Because I had a plan…. bangle bracelets look better when there are more than one….
(BTW, the flash does nasty things to the bracelets…. in real life, they look smooth and kind of irridescent. The flash seems to expose their undies. How rude!)
AND, because I love Furoshiki.
What’s  Furoshiki?
It’s an ancient and elegant Japanese solution to carrying things in the greenest possible way.
Here’s a link: FUROSHIKI
I’ve impressed the heck out of all kinds of people by whipping a headscarf out of my purse and tying a couple of knots …read more

My husband started it all. He bought me a bag of mystery synthetic cheap and cheerful thread at our favourite second hand store, and then magically made it appear in my studio.  (He’s such a romantic! He knows that I am addicted to thread in all it’s manifestations – even cheap and cheerful mystery thread! LOL)

Part 1- upcycling a bag of funky mystery thread
So, I got out some of the tatting shuttles that I love to carve and filled them up with multiple strands of the threads:
Part 2 – Choosing colors and loading tatting shuttles
Now, some folks might say that …read more

In Part 3, the tatting finally began!
This is a rather unique approach to tatting…. there are no lacy bits, no loops, picots, chains, just plain Josephine Knots over a simple flat wooden bracelet with upcycled funky thread.
(Feel free to do this with gorgeous thread! It will be – well….. gorgeous!)
Now…..
What if you want to change colors?
Easy peasy….
1 choice is to cut the first color, leaving a few inches to spare.
Just pick up the next color, and hold the thread end from it together with the last  thread end, and carry on as if you were in your right mind.
When …read more

Once I had all the tatting shuttles full of the mystery thread, I started working on the bracelet:

I didn’t tie the thread to the bracelet (by the way, this would work on any bangle bracelet).
I just took the thread through, and pinched it to the bracelet with my left thumb.
Then, I started making Josephine knots over the bracelet. What’s a Josephine knot?
Basically, it’s the blanket stitch.
∞The tatting shuttle goes through the bracelet, from the front to the back, and a loop of thread goes over your left index finger.
The shuttle comes up through the loop and then is pulled …read more

My lovely husband, Jim, brought me home a goodie bag of mystery thread from the Sally Ann.
Not primo for sewing… so what to do, what to do….
Hmmmm…. good for spinning… yes! Will set some aside to use when spinning ‘designer yarn’.
Wait a minute…. this is T H R E A D, right?
T H R E A D !
Thread = tatting……yessssssssssssssssssssss………..
And, then I HAD it!
I decided I would  finally get around to finishing some wooden bracelets that I made last summer.
My plan was, cut out plain wooden circle bracelets and crochet yarn around them.
Good plan…. but – I have a …read more

The other day, this treasure magically appeared in the studio.  Woohoo! Obviously my Hunnybunny had paid a visit to our fave 2nd hand store. Mmmmmmmm yum! a bag full of fun…… now what to do with it….Obviously, it’s super cheap and cheerful mystery synthetic thread – and I don’t trust it to hold together anything vital. Visions of dissolving garment or accessory being lifted out of washing machine in pieces after cheap and cheerful thread goes ‘boink’.
(You weren’t supposed to WASH me, human! I no hold together when wet!)
Loved the colors, tho’, so had a little think about it……

(image source: …read more

Fun Advertising & Junk Mail Art
Check out Sandy Schimmel Gold’s take on some music legends.
Memory Pillows & Throws From Neckties
Quilters share queries about using neckties for quilts and fabric art.
What’s the Best Craft from Recycled Materials?
What’s best for you depends on whether you craft solely for fun or also for profit, as well as what recyclable materials you have access to. But here are a bunch of recycled craft ideas from Eileen to get you started.
Bloggy giveaways on Hankeringforyarn
My contests to win butterfly and dragonfly earrings as well as a handmade tatting shuttle continue until Sunday. Be sure …read more

 
These earrings are ones that I have just designed and made.
Congratulations Anne Phelen! Your number was 42 and that’s what came up! Please send me a response to the email that I sent you, so I can mail your treasures to you!
Hope you will enjoy them!
Image source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright