Grannymar

A few weeks ago Wisewebwoman asked me to share how I work at producing crochet. I struggled a little to find a way of actually filming my work while using my two hands with wool and needle.  I wanted you to see the work from the same angle as I do when working.

I created three  minuscule videos with my Logitech webcam software.  Much as I try, I can only record for 99 seconds at a time.

The first one shows how I set up the basic foundation chain row

Crochet Grannymar Style 1

Part two shows how I work the double crochet stitch

Crochet Grannymar Style 2

The final 90 seconds shows how to do a shell stitch, it is the one I used in the body of my blue jumper.

Crochet Grannymar Style 3

I hope you find this helpful.

It is 11.30 on Tuesday as I prepare this post.  The wind is howling outside as it has done all day, the lights are beginning to flicker so I will pay heed.  Time to switch off and settle down for the night.

Not back as a series right now, but a little update.

Who remembers this?

It started as knitting.  The pattern was used only for measurements.

When last seen it had grown and turned into crochet.  Blurry eyes put stop to play for a couple of months, but I am now back to normal.

Proof of the pudding…

One jumper finished and a couple of other ideas in the melting pot.  I only use patterns as guidelines,it might be a shape from one and a pattern from another.  I like crochet for speed but a knitted rib gives a neat finish.  The cream, pink and a navy are all works in progress.  I go so far and pause while the design floats about inside my head

Not a clear photo, I must remember to use my camera in the mornings!

To prove the jumper fits I took a screen grab yesterday afternoon.

I was cosy and warm all day.

Thank you Ashok Sir for the generous gesture of bestowing on me this Stylish Blogger award!

Thinking ahead!

As some Bloggers see me!

Ó Θ Ø Ò

Seriously now, the Rules are:

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you the award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Award 5 other bloggers.
4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award.

Is there anything you don’t know about me?

1. Would I live my life over again knowing what I now know?  YES!  The past is what shaped me into the person I am today.
2. I hate being late for an appointment. It is much worse when someone else causes me to be late.
3. Laughing with friends is my favourite pastime.  Laughing is like jogging on the inside and good for my heart & health!
4. I marked the passing of an old friend this week.  I was a bouncing five-year old with a chocolate box bow on my hair when we first met.  I learned to make toffee with her daughter and when it came time to check for setting, I suggested what mammy did while jam making!  We spooned the toffee onto a plate and left it on the windowsill to cool.  No!  The local cat did not get it… and neither did we.  The toffee set as hard as a rock and we broke the plate trying to remove it!
5. I once made wheaten bread that was heavier than a brick
6. I always wanted to build a KIT Car Maybe not the one in the pictures, but it gives you the idea.  At one stage I went as far as buying a set of plans!
7. The most fun I ever had with any craft project was making this:

The fascinator I wore to Elly & George’s wedding .

It was a tribute to Elly’s deceased grandmothers who both worked in Millinery.  I began with a large very fine pink sinamay bow - a bow being my signature piece throughout  my childhood.  The  feathers I had been collecting since the couple announced their engagement (long before I picked my outfit).  The wired beads were to add a little fun to the whole piece.

∞∞∞∞

I will not tag anyone for the award but leave it open for anyone who wishes to take part.

I am very late today with my post.  It has been a busy day between one thing and another.

In the last hour I came across this interesting piece from RTÉ Nationwide - a magazine television programme broadcast following the Stitching and Knitting Show in Dublin, last month.

For all Craft work enthusiasts it will have you drooling.  It covers sewing, lace, patchwork & knitting.

Enjoy!

I have decided to take a break for a few weeks from craft posts.  You may well be aware about the difficulty I am having with fine work recently.  I have known for some time that a cataract was developing in my left eye.  Next week I will be seen at the pre-assessment Ophthalmic clinic.  Personally I find more difficulty with my right eye than the left one.  My glasses need changing but my optician has refused saying that it would be like stealing money out of my pocket.

I have a few projects at various stages but they are on hold for the moment.

I made a couple of purchases recently to encourage me to get going again once I have been sorted and passed fit to play with my needles.

Can you see the magnifying glass?  It has an integrated low energy LED light and is battery operated.  A clip-on clamp allows me to fix it securely on my work desk.  A flexible metal arm means that I can move it as I need to.  The rimless lens is 130mm and gives a good sized view of any area I wish to work on.  I have to thank wisewebwoman for directing me towards the glass.

The interesting mixed yarn holds many possibilities and I do have an idea in mind.  So watch out…. my eyes may be having a rest, but my mind will be ticking away behind the scenes.

This is not a ‘pity me’ post, only an explanation for the pause in needlework, so no sympathy comments please.

I am very fortunate.  Cataract surgery in a simple procedure these days performed in day clinics.  I have seen how it improved my mothers quality of life many years ago and also how hindered my grandmother was because in her day the patient had to wait for the cataract to ‘ripen’ and for granny that never happened.  She was unable to read or enjoy the movies for many years but never actually went blind.

I was listening to the BBC Making History programme a couple of weeks ago and discovered that in 1846 while Charlotte Brontë was writing her most famous novel, Jane Eyre, her father the Reverend Patrick Brontë was undergoing cutting-edge eye surgery to rid him of cataracts that left him almost blind.

The surgery appears almost brutal, with the patient being held by two of the surgeon’s assistants, remember there were no anaesthetics and the procedure entailed the pupil of the eye being pierced by a needle!  In Reverend Brontë’s case it was very effective and the only drawback seemed to be the month-long recovery process during which Reverend Bronte had to lie still on a bed whilst his eyes healed.

I should be home within the hour when my turn comes!  Thank the Lord for medical progress.

“George!  Show mammy what you have in your pocket!”

Wouldn’t you feel sorry for my poor son-in-law!

Aw here. Hauld on now! (As a good friend of mine says), I am not going to divulge any secrets.  The pocket in this case was in a shirt.  The gadget in question was a USB Battery Pack. It will recharge many handheld electronic devices and very handy when travelling away from home.

Now to the reason for drawing my attention to this handy piece of kit….  well, there had to be a reason.  The little drawstring bag to cover it was neat, but did not have a place to store the USB port cable or selection of included adapters.  You guessed it!

“Mammy, will you make a little bag with pockets to hold the extra bits?”

Muggins agreed to give it a try, and this is how I went about it.

A piece of black felt was soft but not slippery.  The piece of paper is the pattern/size including seams.  The scribbles are the cable and adapters.

I decided to use a double layer of felt with a drawstring closure for the main pocket, and an outside pocket with Velcro closing for the bits and pieces. The long piece is the outer pocket before folding and stitching.

The finished bag!  I didn’t have any black ribbon or cord for the drawstring today, so I added this fine ribbon to give you the idea.  The white card is in the outer pocket and the black object is protruding from the main pocket.

:sad:  The photos are not looking very clear to me, not sure if it is the camera or my eyes!

This drinking lark is hard work, and since the liquid is cold, I am making poor time.

So far I have only this to show for my effort:-

Six coke cans opened washed and then torched.  In daylight the colours are really interesting, each piece unique. It is a slow process to get them this far.  The best place to work is outside so that the fumes can evaporate.  Care needs to be taken as the aluminium can get quite hot and as Elly say, it is fine for my asbestos fingers, but not everyone can take the heat.

Once cold the sheets need to be flattened, covered and weighed down with some heavy books for at least 24 hours.

I found it very difficult to get a good clear photo to show the patterning.  I am thinking of some form of Christmas decoration…..

So before I produce my packing needle, I need to find some paper and a pen to work out a design or three.

I’ll keep you posted!

By the looks of it I need to sort out why my photos are disappearing from the preview of the post!  It appears in both the visual and HTML formats as I am writing the post.  It is the second time this has happened with posting my own photos in .JPG format.

Now I wonder if it will appear in the published version?  Time will tell.

UPDATE:  Apologies folks, I tried taking the photos again and adding them in the usual way, but no go it did not work.  Back to the drawing board.….

Maybe you were expecting to see some more experiments with the aluminium cans, but the truth is that I am not a big fan of carbonated drinks.  I do have a few cans waiting to be opened and a couple of people keeping a specimen or two for me to play with, but that is for the future.

Today I have another experiment …..

I only have the one photo for you.  I did try with both the phone and the camera but it was impossible to get closer detail.

It is a sample of crocheted beading wire with beads attached.  A slow, very slow process.  It takes time to work with the wire as unlike wool or thread, the wire has no ‘give’ in it.  It is a project for an ‘untidy’ worker as the stitches are seldom uniform.

I only became aware of this technique on my recent visit to The Point Village Market in Dublin.

Perhaps my choice of beads were not the best as most of them disappear in this tiny sample.  I did have rather grand ideas when starting out but it is so frustratingly slow.  Now that is not something you hear me say very often when it comes to craft work.  I am usually happy fiddling away for hours on end and almost need an alarm clock to remind me to eat!

I will try the technique again and I see many possibilities, but there are several unfinished projects to tackle and complete before I go there.  I tell you of my successes so it is only fair to tell you about my disasters too.

On my recent visit to The Point Village Market in Dublin I encountered some interesting Craft Artists.  I came home hungry to try out a few new ideas.  Yesterday was my first opportunity to try one of them.

A needle did make an appearance but, the project did not involve thread.

Are you curious?

I also employed the services of the following:

An old filleting knife, kitchen scissors, Food blow torch and a packing needle.  The bodkin was not called into service this time.

To begin with I went on the scrounge to my young neighbours.  Thankfully they were able to supply me with my needs.

Empty aluminium cans.  Three varieties to be exact.  I only wanted the sides of the cans so the knife and scissors were called into play to remove the ends.  The knife proved to be easier to work with at this stage.

Placed in the same order as before with the reverse side showing, notice the difference in the colour of the aluminium.

It was at this stage that the blow torch made an appearance. NB WORK OUT OF DOORS to avoid the fumes.

Nicola Loughlin, the young lady that introduced me to this craft (unfortunately she did not have a website), probably used a DIY paint removing blow torch.  I do not have one and therefore resorted to the less powerful kitchen version.

Nicola had several collages and smaller pieces on display and for sale.  She spoke of the different effect and colours achieved with using different brand named cans, from the three above and several different beer cans.

Remember this was my first attempt, and I am sure to improve with time and experience.

The Red bull can

Red Coke can

Diet Coke can

Then came the fun.  deciding on shapes and adding pattern with the packing needle (blunt ended) from the back.

Brooch shapes were what I had in mind.

The veins of the leaf were pressed on from the reverse with the packing needle.  I need to spend more time playing about with the technique to perfect it and perhaps add beads.  I do have a few brooch closures, so all I need is solder.  I do have a soldering iron somewhere in my kit….

Today I have set a challenge for myself.

I was presented with a surprise gift recently.  A jar of honey and it came in the bag above.  What a nice idea instead of the usual paper wrapper.  This bag is made from a single piece of linen with a fringed edge.  The stitching is simply done using a reed or some type of grass.  It may well be flax.  The large slip stitches run down one side of the bag and back forming a double row then continuing along the edge of the flap and down the other side and back up to the opening to match side one.  The button for closing the flap is actually made from two beads.  What could be simpler?

Now I need a bag to place my webcam in when travelling between my many homes to visit my relations. Time to look in the scrap bag.

Hopefully I will have something to show before the day is out.

Now I am off to clean a few windows!

UPDATE: Later than I expected and a little simpler than I planned.  It was keep to the promise of completing or spending another week trying to do something special.  I need something that would take pushing pulling in and out of the laptop bag.

So here we go…

And with the webcam inside:-