Cindy Crandall-Frazier

A Late Finish

2012-01-14T14:38:00.001-05:00

It wasn't a race - not really - just another project late to the finish line. Those knitted dishcloths worked from corner to corner with their own integrated border have piqued my interest for years. I wondered if I could design a crocheted version. I started that process several years ago and made a few notes. I had included some pretty and soft sport weight yarn in the project bag.

Days ago, I suddenly had a feeling that I knew the answers to a couple of my construction questions, dug out my baggie from its resting place and completed another square - this one to be a face cloth rather than a dish cloth. And here it is!

I've written out and typed the instructions. If any of you would like to try out the pattern and give me some feedback please leave me a note or email me personally. It looks as though Knit Picks has some nice cotton and blend sport yarn that would be appropriately soft for a face cloth. Or...you could try it as a dish cloth from a good cotton or blended worsted weight yarn. The pattern is versatile!

Fiber Detour

2011-12-13T21:18:00.000-05:00

I can usually be found crocheting something whether it's lacy or warm but I've taken another path lately after my daughter's request to make woolly socks for grandchildren, Kate and Liam. There are a couple of good reasons to do this. One reason is that my daughter and son-in-law have opted to burn wood rather than oil and to keep their house at a lower temperature than most of us are used to. A cranky old furnace and the price of oil were catalysts in that decision but using only less expensive, local, renewable fuel is also part of their value system. So woolly socks it is!

There's another reason to knit these socks as opposed to crocheting them. I actually have basic instructions to knit any size or style of sock. That sort of information, including basic patterns, is sadly lacking in crochet literature. I'm capable of designing a child sized pair of socks but if I took the time to do it the children wouldn't get their socks this winter! It's a complaint I've had for a long time. I have seen basic patterns for knitted socks, mittens, hats and sweaters all my life but only rarely that kind of service to use as a taking off point in crochet. Some day maybe I'll do it myself but for now, here's a photo of Liam with one sock on. It was his idea to make the heels and toes green.

Crochet Their Way

2011-12-11T20:50:00.000-05:00

Here is one of the reasons I love crochet. A motivated person can jump on their hook, take it for a drive and end up at their destination. Sy and Preston call it "steering."

When I joined my husband, Richard, in Sy's workshop today, my first impression was definitely that I was in man land. The outside activity was metal forging with a few bricks to contain the fire and a reversed vacuum cleaner for a bellows. Then, inside the shop we stood on a carpet of wood shavings while we examined a couple of artfully forged knives - an earlier day's work.

I noticed that Preston's well-fitting hat was crocheted and asked him about it. He enthusiastically told me that he had worked it himself and showed me another in progress.

It turns out that Sy had recently crocheted a pair of mittens fit for exploring the Yukon and a roomy possibles bag to carry his lunch on a hike.

That's all you need: yarn, the single crochet stitch and a hook that doesn't need a GPS system to find it's way around. I probably should have asked Richard to take some photos of their metal work but of course my thing is fiber so here are some photos of what I consider some very creative traveling.

Fairytale Mittens

2011-09-15T10:51:00.000-04:00

I've been so excited about figuring out how to do colorwork crochet the way a knitter would: working with color, small repetitive patterns and playing with embellishments! As I thought about it over the summer, I decided I wanted to create a visual record for myself of my early experiments. I completed the first of these mittens a couple years ago and needed to make it's mate. Thankfully, I had taken notes as I created the first one. Last week they became a pair.

My objectives were: to design a project that would put crochet on display by incorporating borders, working the largest design element into the fabric, and then embellishing to catch the eye. The technique that really came home to me as I worked the intarsia ogee is that stranding with a double twist of the carried yarn looks superior to carrying inside the stitch. My ogee appears to be solid red with no hint of the carried blue in the fabric. I'm pleased to learn that.

My prototype mittens are imperfect but they provided a great learning experience.

Busy Summer

2011-09-15T10:11:00.000-04:00

Greeetings! I took three months off without intending to. Over the summer Richard and I spent a good bit of time working in the yard and trying to improve the garden while keeping up with our grandchildren. We also took time for siesta in the afternoons, napping and reading, hiding from the sun. It was so humid that I didn't want to crochet.

Now at the end of the summer, the children have grown, fall veggies are in, ten blueberry bushes are on their way, and we are hoping to plant three evergreens along with some grapevines to form a natural fence on one side of the back yard.

I laughed at Richard's over-large but sturdy bean trellis. I told him it needed to survive the next hurricane but when it was finished I wondered if the pole beans could rise to such an expectation.

Scrumbling Workshop

2011-06-14T15:53:00.000-04:00

   Last Saturday eight members and friends of the Fredericksburg Spinners and Weavers Guild joined me for a workshop on crocheted scrumbling. Many were new to crochet itself and had been practicing in the preceding weeks with Anne guiding them. Lynette lent us her dining room so that we could meet in a homey atmosphere, complete with friendly dogs as greeters.
   After we gathered around the table, I asked everyone to relate what they had seen of scrumbling and why they wanted to learn. Several members had recently seen the "Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef" and the "Smithsonian Community Reef" installations of crocheted coral that were on display in Washington. The traveler's enthusiasm for this crochet installation seemed to have spread through the whole group. Also, several members work in a variety of mediums and wanted to add to their various skills.
   After a short introduction and some hand-outs, we dumped all our yarn into the center of the table and began to explore the possibilities.

A Group Shot

Beautiful Hands At Work

Wonderful Works In Progress

Colorwork and Scrumbles

2011-06-13T13:06:00.000-04:00

Colorwork and scrumbling are my two favorite techniques to work in crochet and it is time to bring them together. I've worked out how to do stranded colorwork, carrying my yarns across the back (or inside) of my project as a knitter would. Then I taught my fingers how to do it more quickly so that I can move along at a more satisfying rhythm. For this hat, I graphed out a small, jogged pattern of three vertical stitches crossing three horizontal ones. In crochet, it almost looks like polka dots. I worked back-and-forth in the round, joining with a slip stitch and making a turning chain that didn't count as a stitch. Then I created a border of small scrumbles, challenging myself to start each one with a small circle and to make each one different. Each piece is sewn on separately. They are somewhat more regular in shape than we usually think of as scrumbling but they are non-representational, worked without instructions and a little bit quirky. As with the wrist distaff, a few French knots pull the colors together and add the finishing touch.

Ready For Action

2011-06-13T11:54:00.002-04:00

A wrist distaff is a unique aid for a spinner who works with roving rather than rolags. Rolags are short lengths of hand carded fiber and don't require much support during spinning, but roving, which is prepared on a drum carder or commercial carding machine, comes in long strips. With roving, a spinner can work either at the wheel or with a drop spindle for quite a while without stopping to lay in more fiber but the spinner needs her supply kept safely back from the twisting strand! Using the wrist distaff is simple. You tuck the end of some roving into the bracelet of your distaff, wind the supply around the tassel and attach the other end of the roving to your work in progress.

Scrumbled Wrist Distaff

2011-06-12T08:27:00.001-04:00

Last month I posted a photo of my wrist distaff in process. Here is a Diptic my husband created on his iPad that shows two photos of the work in progress and two of the completed distaff. The technique is a variation on a process called scrumbling. You freely work a variety of stitches and texture details without a pattern or any rules. You work intuitively, not knowing what the completed project will look like. Most scrumbled projects are worked in small pieces and then sewn together. I challenged myself to build up my distaff by working into it continuously most of the time rather than making small pieces and sewing them together. In the second half, I did make several separate pieces but then went on to finish it with continuous additions. Maybe you can tell where I altered my process.

The materials are Cotton Classic yarn (most of the greens) and number 3 perle cotton (most of the yellows). Cotton Classic is a worsted weight yarn. I used a Clover size E hook throughout. It was fun to keep a bowl full of small balls of yarn by my chair and work as the spirit moved me.

When I was finished working it, I wanted to add embellishments. Beads were the first thing that came to mind but I was uncertain about finding a good range of colors and I really wanted a less expensive alternative. French knots were the perfect alternative as I already had a good selection of perle cottons. I used a handful of white knots to break up green spaces and a great shade of orange to highlight places with yellow detailing. I think the tassel with its orange wrapping accents the bracelet nicely.

Process Equals Progress?

2011-06-05T10:01:00.000-04:00

Somewhere along the line in my Early Childhood education I was told that process is much more important for young children than product. I don't think that amounts to the product never having any importance but, yes, I'm sure it is more important for young children to "be" in the flow of experience. I was surprised then, when my teenagers in First Day School wanted to make yards and yards of finger knitting and just roll it up into giant balls - not make anything from it despite my suggestions - just contain it in a large spherical stash and keep going. What did I take from this? Older children, of course, also need process without a focus on product. And maybe adults do, too.

As adults, when we craft something well, we are often in process for years, maybe for the course of our lifetime yet there is a difference between the work of a child simply experiencing a material, a technique, a tool. At some point we begin to work with a purpose, toward an end. First it might be a single project, then a series of projects to explore an idea. Over the long term, we might come to want to contribute to an entire body of work that is available in the world. I hope to share some crochet techniques with the entire crochet community. My book Contemplative Crochet is meant to share my connections of the spiritual to the work of our hands and through this blog I want to share my fascination with the development and use of our hands, especially as we create beautiful and useful products. It is all process!

How do we get there? How important are our earliest experiences with process? I suspect those early forays lay the groundwork for curiosity, creativity, and perseverance. Each kind of process leads to the next. So, even for adults, maybe the place to start any new project is just with basic materials, a playful attitude and an intention to enjoy the process.

Will and Attention Go Together

2011-05-18T16:34:00.002-04:00

Maria Montessori observed and was fascinated by the span of time that an individual child could concentrate on an activity and the depth of that concentration. Montessori made a point of explaining how uninterrupted child-centered work actually lengthens a child's attention span. For that reason, we should not interrupt a child who is concentrating unless it is truly a necessity. It is also why even television programs that are planned for children may do more harm than good.

Another kind of attention span can be found in the Montessori classroom. The "work cycle" is a phrase that describes the span of time during which each child in the classroom moves from an easy level of work to more challenging work within his own sphere of activity and comes to a sense of deep satisfaction. The work cycle stetches over a span of about three hours every morning in the classroom. Montessori graphed these cycles which are included in a chapter called "Experimental Science" in her book Spontaneous Activity in Education.

While Montessori focussed strongly on attention span, Rudolf Steiner, who founded the Waldorf movement, accentuated the need to develop a child's will. He believed activities that required effort, both physical and psychic, would strengthen a child's will. Small motor muscles as well as large are required to do purposeful work. In the Waldorf classroom, special waxes are used as sculpting material. The waxes require patient warming in the children's hands and then strong use of the fingers to mold them into objects. Making and kneading bread once a week in the kindergarten provides a similar effect. Most recently Waldorf teachers have added felting projects to the curriculum. In each of these activities the children's hands come into play, supported by the arms and torsos. They require the exercise of strength and rhythm to achieve a desired product.

It seems to me as though these two characteristics are important compliments to each other and may be needed now more than ever. In his blog Wisdom of the Hands Doug Stowe asks the question, "Does modern technology in which everything is made "easy" and "user friendly" present the level of challenge that children need to develop as resilient and resourceful human beings?" Stowe has his doubts, as do I. Children's bodies, especially their hands, need to be incorporated in their education and the adults who work with children need to respect their concentration and encourage their efforts.

Sneak Peek

2011-05-08T16:25:00.000-04:00

Here is my latest scrumbling project! When it's finished, it will be a wrist distaff, intended to hold roving while I spin with a drop spindle. This project has been fairly slow in developing. I think that's because I'm working a narrow band in one direction rather than having the freedom to go in many directions. I've also been trying to make it all in one piece instead of sewing together many pieces. I'm pleased with it though. The yellows and yellow-greens say "spring" to me.

Looping

2011-04-28T12:10:00.000-04:00

Knit fabric is made of many interconnected loops. The knitter holds as many loops as are needed to form the width of fabric on one of two needles and then works across each row, pulling a new loop into each loop on the first needle by manipulating the second needle. As each new loop is made, it is moved onto the second needle. Rudolf Steiner, who founded the Steiner Method of education (Waldorf Schools) called thinking "cosmic knitting" and he encouraged the teaching of knitting in his schools so that the children's hands and minds alike should be richly trained. He believed there was a connection. When the first Waldorf school started in Germany in 1919, we didn't know very much about the actual workings of our brains.

Here is a delightfully circular description of some things we knew about creativity and the mind by 1977. It is from his bibliography Chase, Chance and Creativity by James H. Austin.

When you solve problems over the full range of situations in life, you likewise use a wide repertoire of association loops, varying from the commonplace to the esoteric, poised at various levels of consciousness, and you connect them at some very implausible intersections. And when I speak of "loops" in the above context, the word is quite literally correct, for the links made by free associations connect nerve cells in the cortex of the frontal lobes up in front, for example, with those back in the occipital lobes, forward from there to the temporal lobes, up from there to the parietal lobes, down to subcortical nerve cells, over to the opposite cerebral hemisphere, back again--on and on in multiple swirling successions. Indeed to give birth to even the simplest thought, not one but multiple neuronal circuits will be involved even before the primitive idea starts to float up into the more conscious mind's eye or ear. Each circuit is unlikely to be a simple one, because each nerve cell may have up to 10,000 connections, and therefore, big clusters of stimulated cells will be drawn along and invest each association loop.

Crochet Calendar through June

2011-04-22T15:37:00.003-04:00

There's only one more class scheduled at Classic Cottage for April and that is a Beginning Crochet on April 30.

On May 21 between 10:30 and 12:30 I will start a new knitting class called Moving On With Knitting. Here is the description:
This class is for anyone who is comfortable with the knit stitch and ready to learn to make the purl stitch. Once you can knit and purl and learn to identify the placement of each stitch, you can create: ribbing, smooth stockinette fabric and a world of textured stitch patterns. We will make a small amulet purse and learn to decorate it with duplicate stitch embroidery. You will also learn to make a twisted cord.

Also on May 21 and for 2 hours starting at 1:30, I will present Moving On With Crochet. This class is: For those who are comfortable with working single crochet in squares and rectangles. We will learn the half-double crochet stitch and the double crochet stitch. Then we will explore several ways those stitches can be used together: in rows, in textured stitch patterns and in motifs.

In June, I've scheduled a class that knitters and crocheters alike can benefit from: Working With Stripes for Knitters and Crocheters. There's more to making stripes than you could ever imagine! Come and learn how to apply both mathematical and random numbers to your creative projects. We will also be discussing simple color harmonies.

These classes are in beautiful Bowling Green, VA. For more info about the Classic Cottage classes please call Carrie at 804-633-0032.

I'm also very excited about my workshop on scrumbling, to take place at LibertyTown Arts Workshop in Fredericksburg, VA. The date is June 11 between 10:00 and 4:00. Scrumbling is such a great way to experience crocheting intuitively. It has an impressionistic look and can be quite beautiful!

The Squid Story

2011-04-10T11:31:00.001-04:00

...Or how something I already knew was re-enforced in a squishy way.
In one of Naomi's enrichment classes, each pair of children was given a thawed squid from a box of previously frozen ones. Their teacher pointed out the sharp "beak" deep inside the flesh of the squid's body. The class talked about endoskeletons and eventually removed them from their squids. Just for fun, they used the endoskeletons as nib pens along with their squid's "ink." When the formal part of their presentation and dissection appeared to be over, my daughter started mashing hers in her hands, which I thought was a somewhat immature action for an eight year old. With my rule not to inhibit unless something or someone is being damaged or hurt, I watched. No one else stopped her either. And then... her squid flesh began to glow... in colors. It became the most exciting part of the class. I realized that squids display bioluminescence. We then related the phenomenon to the tiny sparkling creatures she brought home in her swimsuit after a day trip to Virginia Beach and I told her about seeing bioluminescence that shone in the ocean under moonlight.
This class was an example of what education should be and could be, for teachers, students and involved parents. Hands directly exploring their world offer the best learning. And tongues bitten at the right time can open doors.

Hands-On Learning

2011-04-08T12:05:00.000-04:00

My husband and I struggled with what we could do to see that our daughter's educational needs were served. In grade school, she was labeled "gifted" and placed accordingly in a special class. The children in that class got to discuss how they learn. They talked about how they could solve problems by making models, using lists, imaging with their hands. They were presented with a language-rich environment and a hands-on environment that their regular classroom didn't have. Whenever we tried to discuss the needs of "giftedness" other parents would decry that their children weren't getting these enriching activities too. And well they should complain. Our brains, all of our brains, have evolved with dense connections that involve learning through speech and language and the movements of our hands. Sitting at desks and learning by rote has never been the optimal way for any child to learn.

M C Richards on Creativity

2011-03-28T14:05:00.001-04:00

"We have to trust these feelings. We have to trust the invisible gauges we carry within us. We have to realize that a creative being lives within ourselves, whether we like it or not, and that we must get out of its way, for it will give us no peace until we do. Certain kinds of egotism and ambition as well as certain kinds of ignorance and timidity have to be overcome or they will stand in the way of that creator. and though we are well thought of by others, we will feel cross and frustrated and envious and petulant, as if we had been cheated, somehow, by life. "

First Knits?

2011-03-22T20:32:00.002-04:00

If anyone asks me, "Which would you teach first, knitting or crocheting?" I have to say knitting should come first despite my own particular passion for crocheting. Given a choice, I teach both children and adults how to knit before I teach how to crochet. The main reason is that crochet takes more fine motor development and eye/hand co-ordination. Learning to knit can help pave the way for the creative break-out that crochet provides.

As a knitting teacher, I need a few projects under way: in an effort to explore potential beginner's projects, to try out new yarns, to increase my own skills, and to have uncomplicated projects to work on during classes. The photo in this post is of my last three projects which include: a fingering weight beret, a simple but warm child's helmet and an easy, stylish, garter stitch earlap hat.

Thinking Craft

2011-03-12T10:07:00.001-05:00

"......lately I have developed also a sense of destination or destiny. And a sense that if I am to be on quest, I must expect to live like a pilgrim; I must keep to the inner path. I must be able to be whoever I am."

"I do not know if I am a philosopher, but if philosophy is the love of wisdom, then I am a philosopher, because I love wisdom and that is why I love the crafts, because they are wise."

" It is not enough to belong to a Society of Friends who believe in non-violence if, when frustrated, your body spontaneously contracts and shoots out of its fist to knock another man down. It is in our bodies that redemption takes place. It is the physicality of the crafts that pleases me. I learn through my hands and my eyes and my skin what I could never learn through my brain."

from CENTERING by Mary Caroline Richards

Scouting for Knitters

2011-03-04T08:33:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I forget how much jumpin' juice I get from being around young people. Given that, it's a good thing I volunteered to teach a local Girl Scout troop to knit. They weren't sure they even wanted to mess around with yarn and needles but with each success: slip knot, casting on, knit stitch, they have gotten more hooked. We had a problem at first, over how to get them here after school with their work. It seems the school considers knitting needles to be weapons. That seems strange to me considering that a number of teachers across the country are having a lot of success with getting their students to listen with greater focus while doing something quiet with their hands, including knitting. The problem resolved itself from our end when I showed the girls how to make their own needles from chopsticks and their leader brought some large stitch holders. Now they have an extra set of needles here at my house (along with the satisfaction of learning to make their own tools) and they can transfer their fabric to their stitch holders to carry it home and put it on a set of needles there. I will add that the juice this week came not only from knitting but also from finding out that these kids love old silly songs. Think Purple People Eater!

Crochet A Hyperbolic Plane

2011-02-22T14:28:00.005-05:00

Of course, Liam needed a "Curly" of his own so I asked him what colors he would like and whipped this one up for him. The two playthings I made, one of which I gave to Kate and one to Liam were very easy to crochet. I thought you might like the instructions to make one yourself.

Liam's Curly

Curly

Materials:

Good cabled, cotton yarn

A size G crochet hook (I used a Susan Bates.)

A yarn needle

Scissors

Chain 10. Turn.

Row 1: Skip one chain and *single crochet in the next chain, single crochet in the next chain, 2 single crochets in the next chain, repeat from the asterisk 2 more times, turn.

Row 2: Chain 1, single crochet in the first single crochet of the row below, single crochet in the next stitch, 2 single crochets in the next stitch, repeat across the row. To change colors for a striped "curly" pull through the last two loops of the last stitch with the new color.

Repeat this pattern of single crochet in each of two stitches, two single crochets in the next stitch, for every row, changing colors every two rows (carry the unused colors up the side). Sometimes there will be extra stitches at the end of a row. Single crochet in each one, then after turning start the pattern again.

I worked ten rows for a piece about 4 1/2 inches across.

Sew the two flat edges together, incorporating the carried strands.

Thread the needle through the stitches in the center and tighten it up.

With a contrasting yarn, overcast stitch through the top of each single crochet in the last row.

Thread in any remaining ends.

Wing Patterns

2011-02-13T21:08:00.000-05:00

Here is visual inspiration to share. My husband, Richard, took these photos separately and only recently combined them for this grouping. Each butterfly presents such beautiful colors, lines and forms, yet together they are even more exciting. Maybe they will give you some ideas for your own craft work.

Kate's Curly

2011-02-13T16:28:00.014-05:00

Here, I think, is an interesting example of the idea of domain change. From knowing crochet as a tool for designing pretty or useful items that are usually made from fabric, Daina Taimina created a paradigm shift when she saw crochet as a scientific/mathematical tool. She was seeking a concrete and mathematical way to express constant negative curvature (the hyperbolic plane). This curvature is found in nature in plants like curly kale and animals like the nudibranch. She is now well known among mathematicians and crocheters alike.

I have a copy of Daina's book, Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes. The other day it called to me to pick it up. I read the first chapter and then set my hands to this strange form. After about ten rows I stopped to play with it, variously: opening it up, folding it, twisting it and wondering whether I should sew the side edges together or leave it as it is. I wasn't sure. In the end, I sewed it up and recognized it as a very cool baby toy, making my own domain shift. It is soft and lightweight, easy to pick up, colorful, can be packed into a pocket and shaken back into shape. As you can see Kate is a great tester!

My Own Hand-Brain Connection

2011-02-13T13:00:00.001-05:00

I can put my finger on a specific place, on a specific night when I became consciously aware that in pursuing my own handwork skills, creatively, I had changed my brain, maybe my IQ and definitely the way I would look at handwork forever after - even the way I would see the world.

I had gained a material compass. I understood that all material has its limits of size; things can only be built so large or so small without reaching the limits of the material. I understood that all material had a grain, a bias, a dimensionality, and that to make something in 3-dimensions, those factors in the source material had to be taken into account. Wood, fiber, fabric, metal and even the universe has its own limits to be reckoned with. Yet within those limits, creativity is boundless.

I understood something of the ideas of telescoping and spiraling. Think of: nesting boxes, matroyshkas, a photographer photographing a photographer, photographing a photographer.... These are good skills to have when deciding the form of an object coupled with its texture, line, pattern and color or when changing sizes and proportions. The brain must be able to slip-slide with purpose. Isn't it true? And sometimes we shut down and forget those functions when we most need to transfer them, as in scheduling a hectic day or planning a complex meal. Another thing I learned was how to keep the overall picture in my mind while paying attention to details.

How did I learn all these things? Mostly by pursuing a range of fiber crafts that culminated in original doll making. They taught me skills and philosophy I could never have learned in school. I strongly support handwork as an educational endeavor!

Original Wrist Distaffs

2011-02-11T16:21:00.001-05:00

My husband has been playing around with a new application called Diptic on his iPad. He presented me with this little gift this morning after shooting the photos of my newest wrist distaffs. I love this small collage! I want to learn how to use Diptic myself. In the meantime, both distaffs have been added to my Etsy shop. For those who don't know, a wrist distaff is a wonderful way to keep a supply of roving ready for drawing out and spinning. It makes drop spindling much more fun.

Little Explorers

2011-01-27T11:50:00.000-05:00

Very young children want to explore everything in their world and their most important organ for doing that is their hands. In their unconscious manner, children want to know about the properties of materials: metal, rubber, plastic, wood, stone, fiber. They need to experience by feeling, such characteristics as smooth, hard, bumpy, rough, crumbly, floppy, and rigid. And, yes, it is very important to safely learn hot and sharp!

Yet, too often, we abruptly tell them, "no!" or slap their hands when it really isn't necessary. I worked in a toy store for twenty years and I wish there had been more parents, who, instead of keeping small fingers completely at bay had been actively teaching their children how to touch and giving them the language and the experience necessary for further growth.

Young children need to pet, stroke, bang and manipulate all kinds of items made out of all kinds of materials. The most child friendly environment is one in which children have a rich variety of things they are allowed to manipulate: blocks made from different kinds of wood, books both hard cover and paperback, magazines, leather purses and belts, bits of silk, velour and wool, baskets, simple tools and age-appropriate goodies from the hardware store. The nerve endings in our fingers are among our most important assets and children with rich early experiences will be on intellectually sound ground toward preparation for later learning.

Kate's Hat

2011-01-21T13:43:00.000-05:00

Kate's hat is pretty folky. I think of it as a "Baby Voyager Hat" because it reminds me of the red hats that early French explorers wore in the American Northeast. I worked this hat in back-and-forth single crochet with the stranding along the inside. The yarn is DK weight superwash merino wool. For the first time, I broke away from the 4-stitch repeats I had been using and included my 10-stitch chevron. I embroidered French knots in the lower triangles. After decreasing nearly to the end, I worked several rows straight including a row of half-double crochets for the drawstring. The last two rows reflect the colorwork of the body.

Richard took some fun family shots of Naomi with both children in their one-of-a -kind hats.

Tiny Hands

2011-01-05T16:13:00.003-05:00

Many of us are familiar with this charming image of a fetus in utero sucking its thumb. What most people don't realize is that the fetus is already developing a more extensive relationship with its hands, touching its surroundings and its own body. New imaging technology has allowed doctors to catch glimpses of a variety of tactile movements during regular prenatal exams and scientists have been able to schedule more frequent exam rhythms to learn even more about fetal activity. Heidelise Als, Ph. D. studies developmental psychology at Harvard Medical School. She describes fetal tactile stimulation this way: "It touches a hand to the face, one hand to the other hand, clasps its feet, touches its foot to its leg, its hand to its umbilical cord." I am wondering, what early incarnation of the hand/brain connection these movements represent?

Primary Hand Skills

2010-12-27T10:46:00.005-05:00

When I brought home my first kindergarten report card, my mother unconsciously stood and read it aloud. Toward the end, she read one category of growth called "large motor development" and another called "fine motor development." They sounded funny so I asked what they meant. I was especially intrigued, even then, that my teacher had been watching my hands, or at least, watching what I did with them. I believe the grade was something as simple as "satisfactory." I was probably too young to absorb any kind of criteria if such had been written on the card. But I am curious about those criteria now.

What do we want children to be capable of doing with their hands? We focus so much on intellect in our schools and, secondarily, large motor development through sports but if we were to focus on developing children's hands, what characteristics would we want to develop?

I have four core criteria that I think are important: strength, control, dexterity and grace. Strength is required for all the grips and grasps we use to hold all kinds of tools. No one wants a hammer to go flying out of the hand while in use. A needle, thin though it is, must be held firmly to sew on a button. Every day we wring out dish cloths and wash cloths; tasks that take strength. When I was young, I slipped off a rock while crossing a creek. My father wrung out my wet socks so well that when it was necessary to head home, my socks were nearly dry on a rock in the sun.

Strength needs to be moderated by control. When we change a light bulb, we must meet the friction of loosening it with strength but also with the control not to break it. When we learn to use a saw, we require the strength to draw it back and forth and apply pressure yet the control to allow the saw to do its work without too much pressure.

Dexterity allows our hands and fingers to adjust to a variety of tools and manipulations. These can be as simple as a good grasp on a mixing spoon or a pocket knife to as complex as the movements required to use knitting needles, a crochet hook or a sewing needle and to adjust the position of the material we are working with.

Strength, control, dexterity and grace are all required to play musical instruments. Grace allows for fluid movements and expressive timing. Grace should also be inherent in the expressions our hands make as we communicate. I would want a child to have a graceful hand for the sake of pure beauty, for the ability to create beauty and to be beautiful merely to look at.

In the photo of Liam you can see the strength to hold his tool and break the crab shell, the control not to knock his plate off the table, and the dexterity to steady the crab with his other hand. Grace will enter this picture most obviously when he brings his food to his mouth and eats in a manner appropriate to the social setting.

Liam's Hat

2010-12-17T22:07:00.006-05:00

I gave Liam his new hat today, the day after our first snow. It fits him well and he likes it. I'm glad. This is my second original hat crocheted with stranded colorwork. The gold-brown color matches his new winter coat and I chose two blues to go with the brown. This colorway is a bit more subtle than his baby stocking cap I made him in green, blue and red.

I had the overall idea for the color patterns in my head when I started this hat but I worked the checked section up intuitively, started the second section and tried it on him. At that point I knew I needed to change to the vertical stripe pattern for the crown and then worked the decreases intuitively according to the pattern. I told Liam that we needed to put something on the top of his hat to show that it is finished, and I asked him whether he would like a pon-pon, a tassel, a crocheted button or a curlicue. And there it is- a classic!

Gabe's Hat

2010-12-11T08:42:00.002-05:00

I especially enjoy making warm things for people, not just window sills. Having taught myself to do stranded colorwork in crochet and having played around with the smaller peerie patterns from the Faire Isle tradition, I am thrilled with the outcome of Gabe's hat. I started it without a plan, trying to intuit, first, which color I should use for the "ribbing" and then getting a sense of how each color should flow into the next. The two blues looked exceptional right next to each other, but I needed a way to blend in the cream and brown. I had recently remembered and told Gabe's mom about a sweater a friend once made in white and blue stripes with brown seed stitches between the blue rows. It was an unexpectedly stunning ski sweater. With that in mind and in a dreamy state the "ribbon" pattern came to me: a twilight background, dusk edgings, a creamy center with little brown seed designs for each ribbon. Three of those wrap the crown with the short, stocking cap end blending all four colors in a regular way to create a stronger match with a cream, brown or blue coat. Gabe is a cute boy and he looks loved in his hat with his new teddy bear coat. I'll try to post a photo of him soon.

Starflower Purse

2010-11-28T20:51:00.005-05:00

In my June 23rd post this year, I suggested that crocheters find creative ways to design with motifs. Here is my second item made with that idea in mind. This purse is worked in Cotton Classic mercerized yarn. Small, simple flower motifs made from perle cotton were attached to the dark teal circles and then I crocheted the circles to the dark blue body of the purse with metallic embroidery floss. I love that the metallic embroidery floss sparkles under lights. I put the button closure at the back so as not to interfere with the design on the front. This purse is presently for sale on Etsy.

Baby Hands

2010-11-28T13:40:00.003-05:00

Several days ago I had fun playing with my grandbaby in the car as her Mom ran errands. I began to move my hand to the music from the stereo, slowly weaving large arcs and little ones, sometimes letting my index finger lead the others in following a curve, other times letting pinkie choose its path. Kate seemed to enjoy following with her eyes. And then, in time to the music, I touched the tips of each of her outstretched fingers gently, one by one.

Today I read this from Wilma Ellersiek's Giving Love-Bringing Joy: "If careful, loving contacts are imprinted in the body, the child can also more easily establish a careful, nurturing relation with plants, animals, people and things in their surroundings."

Sill Sweater

2010-11-19T11:17:00.010-05:00

It's done! My second sill sweater is finished. This one and the first one are both crocheted, having been inspired by knitter, Kristin Nicholas', work. First I played with graphing out some of the smaller stitch pattern possibilities, while working around the quirkiness of crochet. The very smallest patterns that are used in knitting don't look especially good in crochet; they become blurred in the highly textured nature of the fabric. I also needed to pay attention to which stitches were worked on a back side row and which were worked on the front. It was pretty easy to figure out the repeats since none of these patterns are complex.

Kristin doesn't tend to work with neutral colors but I wanted to see how cream colored yarn could be worked into my first piece. I used it in all the four-stitch checks. The effect reminds me of nautical signal flags.

Then I decided to try a second piece (at the top) in a more condensed colorway and make the sections a little longer. I find the densely packed color very exciting!

I completed each piece by sewing a 7 inch zipper into the seam, crocheting circles for the ends, making a drawstring muslin lining and filling it with dried baby lima beans. For more information about this project see my September 13 post.

New Post - Old Quote

2010-10-24T21:27:00.002-04:00

"There is scarcely a field of human experience which is not enriched through contributions made by human hands or which a student may not enter with keener zest and fuller understanding if his hands play their rightful part of subduing and shaping concrete materials to his thoughts and his purposes."

Louis V. Newkirk

A Festival. A Book Signing and Three Classes

2010-10-15T11:11:00.002-04:00

My calendar is filling up and I am looking forward to sharing my fiber skills with others.

This Saturday, tomorrow, October 16th I will have my spinning wheels and a crochet demonstration out in front of Classic Cottage for the Fall Festival in Bowling Green, VA.

On October 30th I will be signing copies of Contemplative Crochet at the Fredericksburg, Virginia Borders between 2 and 4 PM.

Beginning knitting classes at Classic Cottage will be October 23rd and November 13th and the first crochet class is scheduled for November 6th.

Developing Will

2010-09-15T10:00:00.002-04:00

"So much of handwork has to do with waking up, seeing things and noticing details."

Patricia Livingston in Will-Developed Intelligence

It's Crochet!

2010-09-13T08:35:00.002-04:00

I love this technique and the possibilities it opens up! Usually stranded colorwork is the domain of knitters. Crocheters almost always carry their unused yarns inside their stitches which can make the resulting fabric more stiff than it would otherwise be. Also, crocheted colorwork is most often done in continuous rounds. In this sample, single crochet is worked back and forth in rows with the colors carried along the back. It could have been worked back and forth in the round, or I could have carried the unused strands up the outside edge, eliminating the ends to be sewn in later, but, since I am still experimenting and I like fussing with the edge when I come to the finishing process, I chose to cut the yarn free of the ball at the end of each section.

The yarn is some Brown Sheep wool from my stash and even though I didn't choose colors specifically for this project I have been reveling in the cheerful,playful effect. Thomas likes it, too.

Preliminary School

2010-09-08T21:59:00.005-04:00

One of the many reasons the Amish keep their tools and techniques simple is so that their children can grow up observing and practicing how work is accomplished, starting with the earliest inclinations to imitate.

A Steiner School teacher in Denmark presents her children, each with his own pocket knife on celebration of the child's sixth birthday. Children start this kindergarten at three and a half years of age so that by the time each one turns six he has observed the older children using their knives over the course of several years. The pleasure and the safety of using a real knife have been absorbed through the intense observation and imitation that belongs to the early childhood years.

Imitation nurtures my grandson, Liam, when he copies his father using manual and power tools. Of course, he will not be allowed to use a real power tool for a very long time but he can imitate the use of a chain saw (with a yardstick) so effectively that his friends all demand yardsticks to play with. Last year's Christmas gifts of a real hammer, pliers, wrench, measuring tape, work gloves and safety glasses coupled with observation and imitation, take him one step closer to turning play into work, training his hands, his body, his whole being, to useful activity.

Growing Creatively

2010-08-17T08:09:00.004-04:00

"Creativity always has the stamp of the individual upon its product, but the product is not the individual, nor his materials, but partakes of the relationship between the two."

Carl Young from On Becoming A Person

Old Knitting Form

2010-07-21T11:36:00.001-04:00

In March of this year, I spoke of seeing a piece of ancient South American fabric that looked like i cord or spool knitting and was described as being made with a needle. That was a long time ago and I wasn't even sure I trusted the curator of the museum to be correct. Turns out that textile specialists know a lot about some very early forms of needle looping. Shortly after making that post, I came across a beautiful, special, knitting publication from Interweave Press called Knitting Traditions. There is a short article in it by Kax Wilson, author of A History of Textiles. She describes, and includes a picture of, a tiny, detailed strip of looped fabric very similar to the one I saw so long ago. This fragment was found in a 2,000 year old burial ground on the south coast of Peru.

Textile historians call this looping technique "needle knitting" or "cross looping" or "looped needle netting" and it is made using cactus thorn needles. Only a needle and some very fine yarn were used to create miniature figures of people, plants and animals with lots of color changes, connected along a needle looped band of the same fabric. This article is followed by another, written by Jean Scorgie detailing a way to experience the technique while creating a finger puppet. I recommend these articles and further study to all my fiber friends. My only disappointment is that a photo of the fiber tools wasn't included in the article.

The Joy of Hands

2010-07-15T22:33:00.002-04:00

I love this quote by Elizabeth Gilbert from Eat, Pray, Love...

"So I stood up and did a handstand on my Guru's roof, to celebrate the notion of liberation. I felt the dusty tiles under my hands. I felt my own strength and balance. I felt the easy night breeze on the palms of my bare feet. This kind of thing - a spontaneous handstand - isn't something a disembodied cool blue soul can do, but a human being can do it. We have hands; we can stand on them if we want to. That's our privilege. That's the joy of a mortal body. And that's why God needs us. Because God loves to feel things through our hands."

Crochet Motif

2010-06-23T09:50:00.003-04:00

Many crocheters, frustrated by years of seeing crochet used only for the ubiquitous granny square, have been ready to throw the baby out with the bath water. Yet motifs are one of the glories of crochet. A color-playground is created while easily constructing unique shapes from the center out. I invite all crocheters to join me in seeking new ways of looking at these little wonders.
The purse in the photo represents my response to my own challenge.

Bob Dylan's Hands

2010-06-23T09:35:00.002-04:00

"His indescribably white hands moved constantly: putting a cigarette almost to his mouth, then tugging relentlessly at a tuft of hair at his neck, inadvertently dumping the cigarette ashes in dusty cavalcades down his jacket. He would stand thinking, his mouth working, his knees flexing one at a time, right, left, right, left. He seemed to function from the center of his own thoughts and images, and like a madman he was swallowed up by them."

from AND A VOICE TO SING WITH by Joan Baez

Payin' Attention to Details

2010-06-13T09:04:00.006-04:00

When my husband gave me a Turkish spindle for Christmas last year I began to automatically produce a beautiful center-pull ball as I spun and wound on. I learned that when I am ready to remove my cop and consider plying it, an intermediate step to pull both the inside and the outside strands from the ball and wind them into a new ball helps make the plying go more smoothly. But I kept having to ask my husband to hold the ball for me to keep it from bouncing around, especially at the end when it became lighter. A similar problem arose when I plied. One day I got out my hat with earflaps and ties, knotted the ties, hung it over my wrist, plopped a ball of unplied yarn into it, and discovered I had a new kind of distaff.
Maybe I could make something prettier and more to the point? I did, and I found myself paying a lot of attention to details, in particular at transitions, as I crocheted. When I started the sides of my yarn distaff, I worked the first round from the inside. This made it bend up from the flat bottom more easily. When I changed the color and started to work in a row of bobbles, I also worked from the inside, allowing the bobbles to pop out on the outside. I made my bobbles with only two double crochets each so they would be more subtle. I expected to make only two rows between my bobble rows for a balanced look but found I needed three and, voila, I could work the second row of bobbles on the inside also! I finished the body of my distaff with a variation of the crab stitch. A silky lining, a balanced, corded handle and a loop and button (to guide sticky strands) and I was ready to make another to post on Etsy.

Showing My Stripes

2010-05-18T17:25:00.004-04:00

I almost always carry a small, drawstring shoulder purse that my mother gave me. The truth is that I was the ungrateful recipient of a gift that has served me well. The poor little thing has evenly spaced multicolored stripes and the first thing I noticed was the misfit of two colors with the rest of the colorway. Yet its size and shape are practical and lightweight. Cashiers rarely fail to remark about how cute it is. That I thought I could do a better job has come home to me. Today I put these three mini shoulder purses up for sale on Etsy. Each was an experiment in stripes. The green purse was worked in textured stripes of back and forth rows alternating with continuous rounds. Consciously spaced rows of pastel stitches give the effect of a flower garden. The blue, purple and pink mini hobo bag is an experiment with single-row color stripes worked back and forth in a tube. And the chevron striped stitch pattern of the last purse automatically shape shifts the colors. What fun! I'll probably carry my little misfit shoulder bag until it falls apart but I hope someone else will enjoy traveling light with well-chosen stripes.

Fingernails as Fiber Tools

2010-04-13T22:29:00.003-04:00

Last night I read that our fingernails are made up of flat, dense, dead cells that grow from specialized cells underneath and below our cuticles. As these cells move forward, they change and harden into a kind of protein called keratin. Human beings and most primates have fingernails. My author says that the main function of our nails is "to provide both a rigid backing and a protective carapace for the pulpy fingertip,...." He goes on to joke that people who bite their nails are depriving themselves of a "built-in tool kit of cutters, pliers, scrapers and screwdrivers." This makes me think of the way I use my nails as I pursue a variety of fiber crafts. My fingernails act as needle-nose pliers when I pick bits of seed and hay from wool that I am preparing to spin. It is also my nails that pinch out nubs from a yarn single in progress and create a smooth, finished yarn. When I crochet, I use my nails to tighten the starting knot after the first loop is on my hook and, often, I push a loop of a previous stitch out of the way with the tip of my nail as I pull a new loop through. This morning, while taking a stitch, I guided the point of my sewing needle up onto a fingernail to keep the point of the needle from catching in the knit fabric of a stuffed toy. I've gone from seeing my fingernails as something to constantly trim, to seeing them as my own specialized tool kit!

Springtime Inspiration

2010-04-02T10:06:00.009-04:00

Visual inspiration is everywhere whether we are looking at a soul-stirring sunset, the veining pattern of a leaf or manmade items such as a fine art-glass vase or the detailing on a restored Victorian house. This month, I am charmed, as always, by lacy springtime leaves, early flowers and preliminary excursions through seed catalogues. My imaginings for gardening and landscaping around our new home prompted me to write a short piece that compares crochet work to the gardening process. You can find it in the new issue of Crochet Insider (http://crochetinsider.com/article/cultivating-your-crochet-garden) along with my original pattern for a crocheted zinnia to be worked in number 3 perle cotton.

Sisters of the Cloth

2010-03-25T09:24:00.006-04:00

Knit and crochet have something special in common. Each can be worked from the starting end of a ball, skein, cone, or other supply source until the supply runs out. To realize how important this idea is, think of how, when you sew, you must cut a length of thread, knot the end, and then pull the entire length through the first stitch until the knot catches. Each consecutive stitch requires that the remaining length be pulled up. Not so, when you knit or crochet!
I got excited while I was writing Contemplative Crochet and reading about the Turkish lace-making craft of oyasi. My author said that early oyas (edging lace on fabric) were needle-made but that after crochet was introduced, many were worked with a crochet hook. I remembered seeing a bit of what looked like knitted i cord from South America in a museum and noting that the label said it was made with a needle. I was incredulous. But it's true; the origins of stretchy fabrics come from, none other than, the original, primitive and simple, sewing needle. Recent understanding of and resurgence in the craft of nalbinding add another piece to the puzzle. With nalbinding, shorter lengths of thread or yarn were spiced in to create the looped fabric that was needled into ancient versions of socks, mittens and hats. The needle is the Mother-of-All and her work is recognizable by her short lengths.
Over the course of history, we have created many variations of: needle, shuttle, and bobbin. But with the invention of first knitting, and then crochet, there was literally no stopping us, especially no stopping to cut, splice, wind or thread and no pulling through, trying to avoid tangles until the end of the strand was snug.

Beautiful Hands

2010-03-22T12:21:00.001-04:00

" I remember quite vividly the occasion when the penny first dropped, and I discovered that aesthetically the hand was the most beautiful part of the human body." HANDS by John Napier

Handwork, especially the fiber crafts, have been one of my major passions since childhood, crochet being my favorite mode of transport. Yet few have brought the hand itself into the picture, and so, I here and now charge myself with a heightened observation of the hand and encourage my readers, also, to be aware of your hands and all they do.