A tiny bog coat for Albert Einstein?  Say What?
The other day,
on one of my fave lists,
someone posted a link
to Bog Coats.
Bog Coats are an
ancient style of
woven coat that
are rather like
a kimono.
They are made from a
rectangular or square
woven piece of fabric
and are simple to make
but offer endless opportunities for embellishment and exploration.
Because I have been playing with tiny vintage Magic Looms that a friend sent to me, I immediately thought-
Woohoo! I could use the Magic Loom to make a tiny bog coat that would work as a Christmas ornament…….
I knew that I wouldn’t be
able to cut into the fabric
made on the …read more

I’ve been posting about flower looms lately, because a dear friend sent me a box of flower and magic looms.
The flowers from
flower looms work
beautifully  in combination
with crochet.
I quite like using
unusual yarns with
the flower looms.
This is slubbly quite
hefty silk handspun
in a shawl.
Here are a
bunch of flower loom
flowers in another
shawl- also all
made in handspun yarns.
The rainbow  flower
was made with
spool knitted cord
on a flower loom.
The white flower
was made with chained
yarn…..
so you can really play with
your yarn before you use it
with a flower loom.
What are those flowers part of?
Well…
a wild and wonderful
freeform crocheted, spool knitted,
tatted, woven, sewn, sculpted
doll made with all manner of
found objects.
Yes…. …read more

A couple of days ago, I showed a quick and easy way to use spool knitting to embellish a handmade mask.
There are also tutorials
on the web
for spectacular
masks for
crocheters and
tatters.
Here are links for some dazzlers:
Have you seen the tutorial for the exquisite Tatted Mask on Instructables? Awe inspiring!
And, here’s a link for a gorgeous Hairpin Lace  Mask from Stitch Diva.
If you are looking for something a little more whimsical, then Melissa Mall’s crocheted critter  1/2 masks on Crochet Me might be just perfect: Critter masks
If you would like to be inspired  by the sculptural potential of crochet, then definitely check out …read more

Have you started working on making your Christmas presents yet?
I have 
A few weeks ago,
I posted about
finding a delightful
Sunbonnet Sue
Needle book in
a thrift store
while we were on holidays.
That’s her on the far left
in the photo.
I posted the link for the pattern  for my version of an updated Sunbonnet Sue Needle book  (the one in the center) at:
sunbonnet-sue-needlebook
Why would you want to use a needle book instead of a pin cushion? Needles don’t have the head on them that pins do, so when they are
stuck into pincushions, then can work themselves right into the pin cushion and get lost forever.
(And …read more

How do you store (and tote along) craft tools and treasures that are precious to you?
Last week, someone on the Tat-a-tat-tatting list on Ravelry asked how people store their shuttles.
That’s a good question, and it’s been fun to see how people have responded.
It’s been a wild and busy week for me, as I have been crazy busy launching  2 new pdf books….
1,2,3 Easy as Can Be Cute Critters To Weave on The Potholder Loom
and
Virtuoso Vests to weave on the potholder loom
(Note of explanation: 1,2,3 Easy as Can Be is actually a book that I wrote several years ago, but I …read more