June 2018 – Page 2 – Fruit of These Hands

How Do You Keep It Together

Posted on June 9, 2018June 19, 2018 by fruitofthesehands

Or, what is the best adhesive for the job.

There is such a wide range of adhesives, so how do you know what is the right kind for your project. Is your project porous or not, is it paper or not, does it need to be waterproof or not? These are some of the qualities to consider when choosing an adhesive. Rather than re-inventing the wheel and defining the purpose for each adhesive, I have listed some sites at the end of the post for you to visit where you will find the information. The one from Fave Crafts is very comprehensive.

Since I create a variety of crafts, you can imagine that I use a variety of adhesives. While I have my favorites, here is a list (some generic, some name brand) of the various types I have around:

Clear “cellophane” Tape
Cyanoacrylate (“Super Glue” types)
Dimensional Tape—Dots, Squares, and Strips
Double-Sided Tape
E-6000
Fabric Glue
Glue Stick
Hot Glue
Jeweler’s Glue
Mod Podge
Quick Hold
Tape Runner—Solid and Dots
Washi Tape
White Glue—Bottles, Tubes, and Pens

Continue reading “How Do You Keep It Together” →

crochet history

Crochet Lacework, Then and Now, Part 2

Posted on June 6, 2018June 19, 2018 by fruitofthesehands

Like an alphabet or musical notation, crocheted fabric is made up of individual units, or loops. You join the units into words, chords, and stitches. They become phrases and riffs, then novels and arias. Or hats, shawls, and heirloom bedspreads.

These loops lend themselves well to airy, lacy fabric. You can achieve this with different techniques, like using a fine yarn with a larger hook, by increasing the number of chain stitches, by pulling up the loops longer on the hook, and so forth. The detail is ultimately seen after the final product has been blocked.

Some crochet stitches have the name “lace” in them, like broomstick lace or hairpin lace. These are stitches used to create a lacy fabric, and they each use a device as indicated in their name. The hairpin lace tool or loom was modeled after 19^th century hair ornaments but is not recognizable today as something to put in your hair. Long loops are made on the loom which are joined in the middle with the hook. These strips of loops are taken off the loom and incorporated into intricate designs with regular crochet stitches.

HairpinLaceStole56 — Vintage (open source) Hairpin Lace Stole

Broomstick lace uses…a broomstick. Or a 50mm knitting needle, if you prefer, to make multiple, long, even loops which are joined with a crochet stitch as you work the loops off the stick. Depending on your pattern, you might join five together, then the next five, and so forth. These clusters of loops are joined with regular crochet stitches to make shawls, tops, scarves, and the like. Broomstick lace can be sturdier than hairpin lace, but you can vary each of them with the weight of yarn and your pattern. Continue reading “Crochet Lacework, Then and Now, Part 2” →

Personal

What makes me tick

Posted on June 6, 2018June 19, 2018 by fruitofthesehands

dancer 1957 6-4-2014 9-54-12 PM — Still a little sassy (c.1957)

I am a retired nurse and I spend my time crocheting, playing with beads, paint, paper, and decoupage medium, and taking care of my seven chickens, two dogs and a cat. I’ve been married for 30+ years and have two grown children and one grandson. I love going to my church, singing in the choir and attending Bible study. We enjoy taking road trips and going to baseball games. I am very involved in crochet/knitting groups in town, and in the past, I organized a fibromyalgia social group as well as a cribbage group. I volunteer with the Girl Scouts and help out with my local yarn store, The Yarn Store at Nob Hill in Albuquerque, NM, where I teach a number of classes.

In addition to teaching classes at The Yarn Store, I host crochet-a-longs where everyone gets together to crochet the same project. It is a great opportunity for them to learn a new technique and broaden their skills without sitting through a class. I am also teaching crochet classes at Michael’s stores as well as privately to individuals. I enjoying designing my own patterns then sharing them with my students. Continue reading “What makes me tick” →

Crochet Technique

What is that hanging from your shawl?

Posted on June 6, 2018May 31, 2021 by fruitofthesehands

I am a fanatic about using stitch markers when I crochet. So it comes as no surprise to me when someone comments on all the stitch markers I have hanging on the shawl I’m working on. Often I’ll hear someone remark that they don’t know why they should use markers or even how to use them. I tell them I don’t know how they can crochet without them! I like them so much that I started making beaded ones to sell.

The Yarn Store stitch markers — I’ve sold hundreds of beaded stitch markers over the past few years.

Continue reading “What is that hanging from your shawl?” →

crochet history

Crochet Lacework, Then and Now

Posted on June 5, 2018July 8, 2018 by fruitofthesehands

Part 1

pineapple doily — Modern-day lace work. From The Workbasket, September, 1970

In modern crochet, there is a distinction between lace and fabric of lacy stitches. Lace by definition is a fine fabric comprised of motifs or designs set within a mesh. There are examples of lace in crochet, but there is also the concept of using lacy stitches to make fabric.

The most well-known example of crochet lace is Irish Crochet. A famous school for making the lace was established in Clones, a small town in western Ireland, so you will occasionally see Irish lace referred to as Clones lace. Clones lace has some distinctive components not found in other schools, so the terms are not truly interchangeable.

Can you imagine crocheting intricate Irish lace with nothing more than a needle or a stiff wire, inserted into a cork or piece of wood, with the end filed down and bent into a little hook? The makers of Irish lace were primarily peasant women, and they used what tools they could find. This art form had been brought to Ireland from France during the 1800s by nuns. The potato famine created a population in need of income, so those who did not flee the blight were aided by wealthier women who set up schools to teach the lace making. They also established stores where the fabric was sold. Each woman would probably specialize in a particular motif. The various pieces were accumulated then joined with a mesh into a pattern much like freeform crochet. Queen Victoria was so impressed with the lace that she learned to make it, elevating the craft from a cottage industry to a fashion statement. Continue reading “Crochet Lacework, Then and Now” →