Tunisian Crochet Trap Wrap

A new pattern!   Just for you!

This is a simple wrap worked up in the shape of a trapezoid, with the long side of the trapezoid on the top so you that you have a lot of wonderful collar and clasp possibilities.




The armholes are worked in asymmetrically, so that one of the front sides is wider than the other.  

The wrap is worked from side to side and it's a great way to use the Tunisian Simple Stitch on something that is not an afghan. 

In this view the narrow side is on top with a wrap on her left shoulder.

And in this view the wide side is up and the clasp is on her right shoulder.

You can decide before you start which side you want to be narrow and which side you want to be wide.    Just pay attention to the directions.

Size:  Small
Yarn: 1800 yds [8 oz] Luna Silk, $35,  Robin J. Edmundson
Hook: Tunisian hook [afghan hook] H/8
Stitches:  Tunisian Simple Stitch, Foundation Chain [a la Doris Chan], Chain

24 inches long from top to bottom.   41 inches wide at the top, 31 inches wide at the bottom. 

The tunisian crochet gives the wrap a nice drape.  Even the back looks great.

The pattern is for a size small.  I used a whole skein for this size so if you want to do a bigger on, plan on two skeins. 

The pattern is free!   Just email me [robin at morenna dot com] if you want one.

UPDATE: 7/1/2013   This pattern is for sale on Etsy,  $1.00.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/155538140/pattern-tunisian-crochet-trapezoid-wrap

Happy crocheting, Everyone!

The Aurora Scarf Project

I belong to the Weaving Indiana guild.   Every other year, we do something related to the theme  for the Midwest Weavers Conference.  This year, the conference theme is 'Northern Wefts'.    Our challenge was to choose a photo of the aurora borealis and weave a scarf to go with it.    The night sky meets weaving.

I have never done a weaving challenge before.   So, my challenge was to actually do the challenge. 

I did it.  Before the deadline, too.   Yes, I'm patting myself on the back.

Photo: geology.com © iStockphoto / Shawn Waite

Here's my first inspiration photo.

Photo: absenceofblackandwhite.blogspot.com

And here's my second one.   I wanted one with blue, too.   

Warp:  8/2 tencel, dyed.
Weft: 8/2 tencel, black.

Threading:  8 harness, straight draw
Weave structure:  Undulating twill

This weave structure was a challenge for me because I wanted to learn 'how it worked', not just repeat the same treadling over and over [and over and over and over....] 


The aurora in the sky isn't perfectly regular, it varies. 

I did a small sample to get the rhythm of the treadling, then I took off and syncopated it.    As Randy Darwall told me once, "The pattern repeats, except when it doesn't repeat."

Jazz meets weaving. 

Wrinkly Crinkly Linen

My husband makes fabulous bread.   Really, really fabulous bread.    When it's rising, he covers it with a damp towel.   I love looking at big bowls of rising dough.  

[Too bad I don't have a pic of one to put here.  It would have looked great.]

Anyway.   Eric uses our dish towels to cover the dough with.   Which is fine.  Great, even. 

Except that dish towels are made to be a bit fluffy and absorbent.  They need to be in order to fulfill their raison d'etre  [I have no idea if I spelled that right.]  of drying dishes.

As opposed to linen towels, which are made to be lint-free and elegant. 

Now, if I've got a choice between a fluffy towel and a lint-free towel to put on my bread, then I'm going to choose lint-free.    Yep.

The problem is that it's hard to find linen towels anymore, except in antique stores and in places that I can't afford to shop.    If I score an antique linen towel in an antique shop, there's no way I'm going to use that on bread.  

So, I decided to make my own.   

Specs:
yarn: 16/2 natural linen
sett:  20 epi  [too tight!]   Next time I'll go for 15epi. 
12-13 ppi
beat:  very firm
weave:  plainweave

For dish-type towels,  I plan on 1 yard of warp per towel.   I weave towels at 20 inches wide.    I'm never disappointed in the finished size, even with hemming and shrinkage.  

Weaving with linen is not hard at all.   It's a stiff yarn, but it doesn't take long to get used to.   Keep an eye on your selvedges, like you do for everything.    There is no give at all in linen yarn.  It winds easily and stays put.  Period.  End of subject.   This is one of the easiest warps I've ever put on a loom.

Sett:   I asked a good friend what sett to use and she recommended 15-18.   I should have just shut up and done it that way.    16/2 looks so skinny!   and when I weave cotton towels, I use a 24 epi sett with 10/2 cotton yarn.   So, I upped the sett on the linen towels to 20.    It's not a crisis - they look fine!- but you waste yarn in the warp beginnings and ends, so there's no need to pack the warp unless you really need to.   And you don't need to with plainweave linen towels.   Stick with 15-18 epi. 

When I took it off the loom it was stiff. 

As a board. 

As hardware cloth.

As that coarse stuff you do needlepoint chair seats on.

No. Drape. At. All.   It couldn't have been stiffer if I'd soaked it in starch.

Not to worry!   Everything is a bit stiff when it comes off the loom.   As my good friend and weaving teacher, Suzanne Halvorsen, says, 'It's not finished until it's washed!'.  

True, true, true.   Especially for linen.    Wash it! 

Here's a pic of a washed towel on top of an unwashed one. 

After it's washed, it's happier.   It has that wrinkly crinkly linen look. 

I love that look.

And now Eric has linen towels to cover his bread with.    The bread was happier, too. 

Striped socks

I made these for my sister from my very own self striping yarn.    It's a real hassle to do and it's not something that I sell anymore, but they're fun once in a while, when I gather the patience to do the initial winding [tedious], the dyeing [easy] and the final winding [huge pain in the nether region!].   The totally miraculous thing about this pair is that the stripes match up, something that will probably never happen again in my lifetime. 

Sparkle scarves

New this year!   They're debuting at the ISM show this weekend.    Cotton, metallic.  72" long.  $57.

Indiana State Museum, downtown Indianapolis.   Saturday 10-5; Sunday 11-5. 

Ribbon Yarn

I've been thinking about doing something with this new ribbon yarn.    Got any ideas? 

Project: Crochet Flowers

It's time for a winter fiber flower fix.  I put two new patterns together yesterday for crocheted flowers, one for finer [fingering] yarns and one for heavier [dk, worsted] yarns.   I'll be introducing these in person at Yarns Unlimited in Bloomington, IN on Sunday, Feb 6 at our winter Knitreat.  Go to their website for more info.  It's in the Events section.    www.yarnsunlimited.com

5 Petal Crochet Flower

This 5 Petal flower is for finer yarns.  I made it with my Nuthatch Cable yarn in the Sunset colorway.   See my website for more information and photos of the yarn.    The finished flower is 3 inches across.   I keep thinking it needs an extra something in the center - maybe a button?  

my website:   www.robinjedmundson.com

Crochet Camellias

These Crochet Camellias are made out of my Cotton Bamboo yarn. [It's on my website, too.]  It's between a dk and a worsted weight yarn.  I used an H hook for the green one and F for the gold one.   They are about 3 1/2 inches across.   The gold one is a bit smaller.  

Project: A boot for a cast

Guaranteed to keep her cast and foot dry

Before

Yep, K1 broke her ankle sledding last weekend.   She's sporting a lovely blue cast.  It being winter and all, and there being the very real necessity of keeping this thing dry and warm, we put our heads to making a removable boot for her cast. That cute little toe sock thing with the elastic around the back came from the doc's office when she got the cast on.  Leave it on when you're making the boot.

Materials:

•  heavy plastic trash bag
• scotch tape
• duct tape (1 roll, 20 yds, was enough)
• sharp scissors (The sharp part matters.)
• velcro with the sticky-tape on the back.
• embellishments

Winter Project: Swirl Hat

Fall and winter are good times for me to experiment.  This is the first time I tried knitting in a pattern that seems to curve back and forth like that.   I took a neckwarmer pattern and expanded it up to make the hat.  I used one skein of my own hand-dyed Kona Bulky, which is a superwash merino yarn.   Here are a few of the other colors that I dyed up this fall. 

UPDATE 2013:  Pattern available in my Etsy shop.

You can get this yarn in many colors at Yarns Unlimited in Bloomington, Indiana and at River Wools in Terre Haute, Indiana. from me directly.  Email me for colors:  robin at morenna dot com.

For descriptions of all of my yarn click here: