Scrumbled Wrist Distaff

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.