Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Part II

My apologies in advance for all the photos! I visited the Smithsonian Natural History Museum this weekend (after we determined we could not see or hear anything at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Feer!) to check out the crocheted coral reef exhibit. I went in expecting to spend a lot of time trying to find my one little piece, but I found it pretty fast! Enjoy the pictures and I look forward to posting about my upcoming holiday projects in the coming days.

History of the project:

"Healthy" coral angle:

More of the healthy reef:

And....my piece was just behind the railing from the picture above: (hint - my piece is light green with an orange fuzzy accent!)

Crochet Coral Reef

This summer, I was browsing through my local yarn shop's weekly email and noticed a very cool project - a crochet coral reef! The Fiber Space had sessions throughout the summer to teach folks how to crochet pieces of coral for an exhibit at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. I was so impressed with the skills of all the talented people making pieces for this exhibit.

Mine is just a small coral inspired by my first experience snorkeling in St. Lucia this summer:

The exhibit is now open and runs through April 11, 2011. I haven't had a chance to see it yet, but I hope that my piece is visible among all the crocheted coral reef pieces. This project was a community effort - local yarn shops, schools, and the museum all worked together to create a coral reef out of yarn.

If you are in D.C. between now and April, I hope you will check it out!

Colorwork Crochet Bag

I had been working on this colorwork crochet bag since last spring and I finally finished it last weekend! My first goal was to finish it before my wedding (June 5), then before the start of law school (August 30), but October 11 just had to do! I found the pattern for this "Finest Hops Bag" in the Summer 2008 issue of Interweave Crochet (near the bottom of the page). I wanted to try experimenting with many colors in one piece and also different embroidery techniques.


I plan to use some of the embroidery techniques in future crocheted and woven projects.

I love the Lantern Moon handles for this bag! Also, there are two outside pockets on this bag under the embroidered flowers. I definitely plan to use the pocket techniques in future projects as well. Thanks to Millicent's Yarn in Cumberland, MD for all the supplies for this project!

Woven Rag Rugs!

I know it has been a very long time since I have posted and I probably don't have any readers. Last spring I was busy planning a wedding and this summer I got married, traveled a bit, and I recently started going to law school at night (in addition to my day job!). However, I somehow managed to weave a couple of rugs along the way.

I have always wanted to try my hand at a rug. I got tired of making scarves! I had no guidance on this process and just made this up as I went along. I used an unmercenized cotton warp and strips of cotton sheets for the weft. You may not be able to tell from the photo, but it is about the size of a doormat. I love the way they look and as a result, do not want to use them!



In addition to my weaving, I always have a few crochet projects in the queue. I hope to post more on those in the coming weeks and months. Until then, for all my DC readers, Crafty Bastards is this Saturday! Also, a great new yarn shop opened in Dupont Circle - Looped Yarnworks. Enjoy!

Weaving Nook

Since I moved last fall, I have enjoyed having a space for my loom in the bedroom, but last week, it got even more like an official weaving "nook." Jon installed a shelf above my loom to display some of my more attractive yarns. It adds some great color to the wall, and it makes my space feel more official. I still envy the wonderful studios of my fellow weaving bloggers, but this is what you get when you're a poor urbanite! Now if I could just find the time to actually weave!

This weekend we made our way to Western Maryland for a mountain getaway. I had to stop at a yarn shop along the way called Millicent's Yarns in Cumberland, MD. I highly recommend this shop to any knitters/crocheters/yarn enthusiasts. Not only was the selection wonderful, but they had a large library of books and a wonderful staff. The shop was packed with the young and old alike, yet the staff was still able to help everyone in the store. I picked up a number of items for a complex crochet project that I hope to finish before the summer.

Snowed In Projects!

I have been snowed in since Saturday in two (!) freak blizzards that have hit the D.C. area. I have taken the time to relax, catch up on sleep, and of course, make things! I managed to get to the ArtSpace yesterday to work on my new rag rug project. I'm all warped up and will be ready to weave next week. I also wound up some yarn to make an overshot scarf on my LeClerc at home. We are snowed in again today, so I will be starting that project today.

Here are some items that I have crocheted over the past few days:

For some reason I am having trouble uploading the rest into blogger, so you can check out the other items I have made in my crochet photo album.

What are your favorite snow day projects?

ArtSpace Fundraiser

I learned how to weave at the New Community ArtSpace in Washington, DC. Today, the ArtSpace needs your help to continue to provide community art classes. AIGA DC is sponsoring a fundraiser to raise money for the ArtSpace and I have donated a woven chenille scarf for auction.

Read more about "Dollars For Degas: An AIGA DC Party to Benefit New Community Artspace" here.

This is what I will be contributing:

Scarves are Done!

I finally finished my multi-fiber warp scarves! I bought beautiful chenille and ribbon last winter (pictures here) and managed to finish the scarves in time for winter and the holiday bazaar at the ArtSpace. So... here's a picture:

I was hoping the ribbon would really pop out because of its shine and unique texture compared to the chenille, but instead it just compressed in with the design. The red ribbon is mixed in with the silver stripes. You can definitely tell there is ribbon in the scarf by the fringe, but not in the actual pattern. I didn't get any close-up shots, but will try to post more pictures later.

I am going to explore some old issues of Handwoven to see if I can find some techniques for using different fibers in a way that allows the texture to come through. My guess is that I should not have woven the ribbon in every pick, and instead let it float. I would love the advice of any experienced weavers out there!

I'm Back!

So I have no real explanation for why I haven't posted in SO long other than I was busy getting engaged, buying a house, and applying to law school. But now that those things are just about done, I can get back to the more important things in life like fiber arts!

In the past few months I have continued to make progress on my multi-fiber scarves (they will be complete on Tuesday, woohoo!), crocheted my first pair of socks, and experimented with sewing in preparation for the ability to sew my own woven fabrics. I seemed to have misplaced photos of the socks I made, so I will have to take some more pictures and upload them another time.

Here is a picture of a small tote bag I made on the sewing machine:

Here are two crocheted bibs I made for a girlfriend's (soon-to-be) twin boys: (this was my first try with crocheting images and I think they turned out pretty well!)

I will post about the woven scarves on Tuesday when I complete them at the ArtSpace. Speaking of the ArtSpace, we are having our annual Holiday Bazaar on Friday, December 4. The ArtSpace is in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, DC, so if you're in the area, save the date!

Summer Fiber Blues

DC is so hot and humid and it makes me lose my motivation for weaving/crochet/anything fiber related! I know a lot of folks can work on their projects in the comfort of AC, but just looking at yarn makes me hot. Having said that, I did finish this crochet bag from Interweave Crochet:

I also bought some new cotton yarn from the newly opened Fiber Space in Alexandria, VA (which is fabulous, by the way)! I have two friends who are pregnant, so I want to make some fun baby items. Any pattern ideas out there??

I am hoping to make it back to the ArtSpace soon to finish up my red chenille scarves, but I will be on the road for the next two weeks. I need a road project ASAP! Any crochet baby patterns are very warmly welcomed!

Too Long + 1 Year!

I can't believe it has been a month since I last posted on this blog. In that time I have been from East Coast to West Coast, but still working on projects! (I promise) I also hit the one year mark of the blog, so that's exciting!

I was in New England for 10 days and managed to check out two yarn shops: The Wool Pack (in Littleton, MA) and Sheep to Shore (in Nantucket, MA). Both of these shops were spacious and the ladies who helped us were warm and friendly. This seems to be a trend in all of the yarn shops I have visited in New England!

In Nantucket I also met Karen Sheppard of Island Weaves. She inspired me with her wonderful towels and blankets with colors of the sea. She also made me want to move to Nantucket and weave full time! I hope to return to the island to learn the production method from Karen.

It has been a busy month, but I am close to finishing my multi-fiber warp scarves at the ArtSpace and I am close to finishing a crocheted bag with new yarn from the Wool Pack. I hope that I still have some readers despite my long absence!

Back to Business

After a long hiatus due to LSAT prep, I am back to work on my various projects. During my time of non-posting, I continued weaving my multi-fiber warp scarves at the ArtSpace, but neglected projects at home. But I finished my exam on Monday and now I'm back to work!

I am almost done with my crocheted sweater: (just one sleeve left to crochet!)

I also warped my inkle loom for some bookmarks in the colors of my Alma mater:

I have also drawn up some plans for cotton towels for my tabletop LeClerc at home. I am hoping to make it to the ArtSpace this week to wind the warps for those. Jon asked me why I don't just buy my own warping board. I would love to have my own to speed up my projects, but my apartment is about 300 square feet. I can barely have looms in here, not to mention all my yarn, bed, desk, dresser, etc! Hopefully my next home will have room for all the necessary weaving accessories.

I am counting down the weeks/days for my trip to Massachusetts in July. We are planning a visit to WEBS in Northampton, the Fiber Loft in Harvard, and any yarn shops in Nantucket. I better start saving my money!

Multi-fiber Warp Scarves

I have made some more progress on my multi-fiber warp scarves. I used chenille and ribbon in the warp and am using the same chenille for the weft. I had no idea how the ribbon would look once I started weaving, but I am pleased with the results.

If you look at the close up of this image, you will see the stripes of ribbon really packed in nicely with the weft. It does not bubble up or create any strange lumps/bumps in the scarf. In fact, I don't think you can even tell that it's ribbon!

Although I am really happy with how these scarves are turning out, plain weave after plain weave is getting really boring! I have enough for two scarves in this warp that are each two yards long. I will be weaving until it is warm enough to actually wear them...

Special thanks to Kristian Whipple at the ArtSpace for taking the photos for me!

I would rather be weaving...

It has been a long time since my last post, but sadly, I do not have any progress to report! I am taking the law school admissions test (LSAT) on June 8, and every spare moment I have outside of the office has been going toward studying. It is really sad.

I still attend my weaving class at the DC ArtSpace on Tuesday nights, and am happy to report that I have finally started weaving my multi-fiber warp scarves. I will have photos ASAP. These scarves use both chenille and ribbon and are so soft! I have enough warp to make two scarves - I will definitely be keeping one of them for myself.

This is my first experience using a floor loom, and I have mixed feelings about it. I am very short (5"1"), so I have trouble reaching the pedals unless I sit at the edge of the bench. However, after about 30 minutes of this, my rear gets a little numb!

Are there any petite weavers out there that can offer some advice on using the floor loom? We have limited bench options at the ArtSpace, but I am definitely open to suggestions!

Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival!

Today I experienced my very first Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. The rain was pouring down, but we made it! Almost my entire weaving class enjoyed the festivities in Howard County, Maryland. My favorite part (aside from all of the tempting yarn) was watching the border collies chase the sheep around! If it had not been pouring, I could have watched them all day.

I am proud to report that I managed to leave the festival with NO new yarn purchases. I bought a couple of small gifts for folks, but no yarn! I'm actually disappointed because the reason I did not buy any yarn was that the majority of vendors at the festival were incredibly unfriendly. Given the tough economic times and the fact that it was raining cats and dogs, you would think vendors would be especially keen on selling their products. It seems I did not fit the profile for the ideal shopper, because my interest in the products was met with very rude vendors. So I bought nothing.

I did manage to take a few photos of the sheep, however!

Crocheted Sweater Update #1

I received a couple of requests to post about my crocheted sweater project. This is my most ambitious project as a beginning crocheter. I am making the "Big Bow Cardigan" (without the big bow) from the Winter 2008 issue of Interweave Crochet. Because this is my first clothing item, I decided to use a less expensive yarn, so I'm using the Lion Brand Vanna's Choice in Olive:

The green is a little brighter in person than in the photos. In this picture you can start to see the shape of the sweater (3/4 length sleeve on the left):

I have been diligently working on this project bit by bit each day in the hopes that it will be ready in time for sweater season. :) I'm really excited about making something more complicated AND I'm actually making it for myself! I hope that I get the sizing correct (otherwise it might be for sale in a couple of months).

In the weaving world I have made no progress. Between a bad head cold and a busy couple of weeks at work, I haven't been able to plan out my next project for my loom at home. My loom at the ArtSpace is dressed and ready to be wound on Tuesday. I will be weaving my mixed fiber scarves in no time!

Jon's dad did some rehab on my inkle loom last week, so I am also planning to get some inkle pick-up weaving started again. I need to evaluate my yarn options and find some patterns for that project.

I am also excited about the upcoming Maryland Sheep and Wool festival! This will be my first time attending, and I can't wait! My birthday is coming up, so I may be buying myself some early birthday gifts.

That's all from Desiweaver-land! As always, your comments are welcome. I love hearing from strangers and realizing that people actually read my blog!

Lunch Bags Complete!

Wow, it has been too long since I last posted! I have been busy, though. I finished my second round of woven bags made from plastic bags. I made small bags suitable for carrying lunch to work. Jon has already claimed one bag and most of the others have been claimed by a former colleague. I made a total of 5 bags:




You might not be able to tell from the photos, but I also made the handles. The blue handles were woven using my inkle loom and I crocheted the green handles. Once again, my mom helped me sew up the bags with the family sewing machine. Here is a close-up of a bag using Target bags (I did stripes alternating between regular white bags and Target's holiday red bags):

Here is a close-up of a bag with an orange accent:

I have also started crocheting a sweater! I have never taken on an ambitious project like a sweater, but I'm excited! It may be a few months before I have it even close to finished, but hopefully my loyal readers will keep bugging me about it.!

So now the important question - what to weave next??? My LeClerc table loom is free and in need of a new project. The bags are a big hit, so it would be nice to build some more inventory. However, I would love to learn new weaving techniques. Any advice for this newbie weaver would be greatly appreciated!

Who Uses Etsy?

Over the past few weeks a variety of people have asked me if I sell any of my work on Etsy. Until recently, everything that I have made was either given as a gift to friends or was sold at the ArtSpace annual bazaar (with all proceeds benefiting the ArtSpace). In recent months I have had a number of requests for specific items, and I have made them accordingly. I usually only charge for the materials.

I do not mass produce woven or crocheted items, so I never have much inventory of finished products on hand.

Here are my questions to those of you who sell on Etsy:
1. Do you keep a large inventory of finished products on hand?
2. Is accepting credit cards problematic?
3. How much up-keep is required of your Etsy site?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Weaving, Jewelry, Crochet, Oh My!

It has been a productive week in my world of fiber arts! Click on the pictures below to view larger images. Jon was not around today to help me with photos (he's out fishing), so the image quality is not ideal.

I completed the inkle handles for my woven bag project:


I also made progress on a crocheted alpaca hat for my dad. There was a delay on this project because of a major bird's nest of a knot in my ball of yarn. I ended up just having to cut out the knot after battling with it for an hour.

I finished my first commissioned crocheted jewelry project! My colleague Rose requested a sterling silver crocheted necklace with dark pearl-like beads. The beads are actually a silver/blue color, but it is hard to tell from the photos:

I also managed to teach myself how to cast-on in knitting, thanks to an online video. I have the knit stitch down, so now I just need to improve my purl stitches. I won't even bother posting photos of my knitting work, it is too embarrassing. On tap for this week: focus on weaving.

• Weaving at the ArtSpace: I am ready to thread my ends through the heddles for my multi-fiber warp scarfs.
• Weaving at home: I have to complete my bags by April 9, so I better get a move on it!

Back from Italy!

I am back from a wonderful trip to Italy with my family that was filled with sightseeing, public transportation, crafty pursuits, and lots of gelato! We started in Venice where we visited Murano, the land of glass. I purchased a variety of glass beads to make more crocheted jewelry. While in Venice, we also visited a yarn shop! I have added the location to my growing googlemap of yarn shops. I purchased some very soft Italian yarn from the shop.

We continued on to Rome where we saw every possible monument in the city! We also happened upon a random yarn shop near Piazza Navona. This shop had a variety of yarns, needlepoint supplies, and bras. Yes, you read that correctly. Bras. It was very random.

Unfortunately, I did not make much progress on any projects during this trip. I sleep pretty soundly on planes, so I didn't even pick up my crochet project. I did, however, get a very excellent lesson in knitting from my mom and sister on the train from Venice to Rome. I learned how to do the knit stitch from a friend at work last week, and feel comfortable with it (thanks to some excellent teaching!). My mom and sister showed me how to purl. I am struggling with purl, but hope that practice will help me get faster.

As the three of us were working on our projects on the train, a nun walked by and spoke to us in Italian, pointing at the projects and smiling. We still have no idea what she said that day, but I am guessing she was pleased with our work!

That is all for now. I look forward to posting about some progress on various projects soon!