July 09, 2007
July 8th 2007 - Issue # 11
Well, I've been busy yet again - surprise! This time I've had a booth at a local festival, visited Estes Park Wool Market (what fun!), had a design accepted by Interweave Crochet to be included in their Winter 2007 issue, added a few more pages and I'm also working on another website. I'll tell you more about that in a little bit. Hope you're keeping busy too.
In this issue you'll find...
A Festival For Rhubarb?
Yes, can you believe it? A little town just down the road from us celebrates the glorious rhubarb plant every year. They have a stage with live music, dancers, etc., craft booths and an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast with a special rhubarb sauce. Delicious! I've been there a few times, even shared a booth last year, but this year is the first time I tried the breakfast and it sure was worth waiting for.
It was a scorching day. It always seems to fall that way, hence my scarves, hats and lined mohair sweaters were't exactly popular. Oh well - in Colorado, we could equally have had a chilly day or even snow, as it was only early June. Maybe next time.
I was, however, wearing a creation of mine - a sun top. I made it as I couldn't find one that I liked. Now, if I'd had a rail full of those in various sizes and colors I'd have sold them like iced water on such a hot day. They'd have been gone in a flash - together with the socks I was knitting - they were a great hit too. Unfortunately, I didn't have either for sale - live and learn!
A neighbor of mine was sharing the booth space and she spins, knits and weaves. She has woven an incredible Ruana from a cotton warp and wolf hair yarn weft. It's soooooo soft. They brush the beautiful soft undercoat off wolf hybrids and give the fiber to Sharon. She then spins and plies, then weaves it. It's just beautiful - and as soft as angora. It always draws the "Ooh's" & "Ahh!s" when folks find out the fiber content. She always recommends hand washing it with shampoo and then using a conditioner too. After all it is hair. It sure does seem to work well - you can use a little shampoo on any animal fiber yarn if you really want it to feel ultra-soft to the touch.
Though I didn't sell much I really had fun. I also discovered that working your craft as you're sitting in your space draws people in. They often stopped to watch Sharon spinning or me knitting my socks with self-striping yarn and 4 needles. It really can be quite a talking point. It also proves that it's you that makes your products, and you're not just selling someone elses stuff.
Find out more about craft fairs here.
Estes Park Wool Market
Oh my, oh my! Did I have a blast there? My hubby had tossed the newspaper in my direction pointing out the wool market, and I'd said, "I don't suppose you'd want to go?", to which I got no reply. So - I decided I'd turn things around and said a few days later... "I'm taking the boys to Estes Park to the Wool Market, so I can check out the animals, take photos, talk to the animal owners and gather information for my website. Want to come?"
Well - I obviously did the right thing, as he suggested we go one day and come back the next. Yessss! I booked a hotel, not much choice at such a late date, but we got a room. The boys were so excited. We have been in hotels before, but I guess they're just too young to remember.
We pulled up at the hotel & hubby went to check in. When he came back to the car & started it up there were floods of tears. My eldest said he wanted to go in & thought we were just coming to the hotel and then leaving. We finally convinced him that we just had to drive around the corner to find a parking spot then go to our room.
They had a blast...jumping on the beds, racing back & forth. Shortly afterwards we went across to the wool market. It was pretty busy. We checked out the angora goats (mohair suppliers), several breeds of sheep, llama, alpaca, angora rabbits and even a yak. I was in fiber heaven! Thankfully there was so much going on that I was able to gather lots of information while hubby & the boys cooed over the animals. Look out for more fiber information on site in the near future.
I was very good and over the 2 days only bought 2 things - both were bags of hand dyed mohair fiber - good for either spinning or felting. But oh boy there was a ton of temptation. If you're able to find a wool market in your area, be sure to pay a visit. It's quite fascinating. You can get a ton of information just by watching vendors in their booths and asking questions. Everyone was very helpful indeed. You may also find out about some bargains or where to look for good deals. You only have to ask.
What's New at Woolcrafting.com
New pages this month are...a review of Interweave Crochet magazine - helping you decide if it's one you should search for. A review of Crochet! magazine, and a page all about mohair, where it comes from, and about the fiber itself.
I also need to tell you about a new website I'm working on... The Purse Workshop. It's all about making purses - crochet, knit, felted or stitched. My friend and I are building this one together, and we'll be giving all kinds of information on purse handles, lining purses, fastenings, embellishing and, of course, patterns. So - if it's purses you're interested in, then pop on over to The Purse Workshop and check it out. We still have a long way to go, but you might just find something useful there already.
Edging Squares & Small ZigZag Join
So - here we are working on the Sampler Poncho/lapghan. We're almost done. Today we'll be edging each square and joining them together.
Each square needs to have one row of single crochet worked around in your chosen color. I used black to tie my colors together. The large squares need 34sts along each edge plus 1 extra st in the corners to keep them flat. The smaller squares need 16sts along each edge plus one extra st in each corner.
Ok - once you have all your squares edged, we come to joining them. I'm not a fan of stitching squares together so I played around and came up with this easy but effective join. I call it the Small ZigZag join, as that's just what it looks like. Check out the link for instructions.
Let's label the squares too...
- A - Half Daisy Stitch (large)
- B - Parallel Cables (large)
- C - Loop Stitch (small)
- D - Front Post Half Double Crochet (small)
- E - Circle Center Granny Square (small)
Here's a diagram so you can see how the squares fit together.
- Join squares C to D first so you have pairs of squares C-D, C-D.
- When you have all your CD pairs, then join up 2 pairs in a line with an E on the end. C-D-C-D-E
- Next join your large squares together in the same way, but in the order B-A-B as an "L" shape (A being at the the corner of the L). Make 2 of these.
- Next, join small squares to large squares, then follow diagram above for square placement - green markings for Lapghan only.
- Join B-D to B-C at shoulders for poncho, then follow instructions in the next issue for the neckline.
Lapghan
You'll finish your lapgahn this issue if you've been keeping up.
- Make 2 strips of E-C-D-C-D-C-D-E
- Make 3 large square strips - 2 X A-B-A and one B-A-B.
- Add a C-D pair to each end then join your long strips together (as per diagram). Finish off ends and you're done!
One cozy warm lapghan! Enjoy!
Well - that's something more to keep you going until next issue. If you have any suggestions as to what you'd like to do next, please do let me know. Otherwise I'll get my thinking cap on!
If you think a friend might be interested in this ezine, they can subscribe by visiting Woolcrafting.com.
Comments? Ideas? Suggestions? Feedback? Sock it to me! Let me know just what you'd like to see by replying to this ezine - tell me what you think.
Happy crafting, and please drop by regularly to see what fun new ideas Woolcrafting has in store for you.
Now grab that hook and go, go, go....
Best Wishes
from Jill Wright
http://www.woolcrafting.com