Darla Fanton

Archive for March, 2007

I’ve taken up spinning. Not fiber, but beads!

When I teach bead crochet classes I like students to be able to spend the maximum amount of class time actually crocheting with beads, rather than stringing beads. In order for that to happen I need to pre-string the beads. A lot of beads!

That is where the Bead Spinner comes to the rescue. The bead spinner is a wooden bowl that sits atop a spindle. The needle or “hook” that you will use to get the beads onto your thread will depend on the size bead you are using. I most often use 6/0 beads for class. I found that a big eye wire needle bent into a hook shape works best for me. Place the beads in the bowl.

Set the bowl spinning and dip the end of the needle into the bowl. Like magic (actually through centrifugal force) the beads will jump up and climb the needle.

This is a great way to string a lot of beads in a relatively short period of time. Of course it only works if you are stringing either all one color or a random assortment. If you need beads strung in a set color pattern you will still have to string by hand. In this photo for my Tunisian Crochet Loop-de-Loop Bracelet class coming up next month in Seattle the bracelets on the pedestals were strung with my bead spinner, while the ones on the hand model were strung by hand.

I bought my Bead Spinner several years ago from Lydia Borin, the Beadwrangler. Mine is the “Mini”. However, now that I’m doing more bead crochet classes I think I may have to order the larger one so I don’t have to re-fill the bowl as often.

I’m sometimes asked if it is necessary for a crocheter to have a yarn swift and ball winder. In a recent online poll I noticed quite a few people commented, “I’m not sure what a yarn swift and ball winder are or how they work.”

Since I am in the midst of winding 80 hanks of yarn into balls for classes coming up in the next couple of months this seems like a good time to talk about yarn swifts and ball winders.

If you purchase yarn in hanks you will need to wind it into a ball before you can crochet. Trying to crochet straight from the hank is guaranteed to result in a tangled mess.

Do you absolutely need a yarn swift and ball winder? No, you can train a family member to sit with arms outstretched, place the hank of yarn over their arms and wind by hand from there. When they suddenly find something else they have to do, you can place the hank over the back of a chair (providing you have a chair of the correct width) or you can sit with your legs extended in front of you and place the hank over your feet and wind from there. Don’t laugh, I’ve actually done it this way in a hotel room. Comfortable? No, but it works.

The yarn swift and ball winder are so much easier…and faster!

The umbrella-like thing with the blue yarn on it is the swift. It expands and contracts to adjust for different size hanks. It is then locked in position and will freely spin as the yarn is threaded through the guide wire and onto the spindle of the ball winder clamped to the table. Turn the handle and you can quickly turn a hank of yarn into a nice “cake” that pulls freely from the center. On the table you can see 5 hanks and 5 cakes of yarn.

For those of you trying to read the label on the yarn, it is King Tut cotton. Isn’t that red a gorgeous, rich color? It’s available in a lot of fantastic colors.

If most of the yarn you use already comes in pull skeins you would not need a swift but you might want to still consider a ball winder. Why? You can turn partially used skeins into tidy little cakes that stack well for storage.

I also use mine to check for knots. Don’t you just hate it when you are crocheting along and suddenly find a knot in the skein? We all do and we all know it happens. Usually it seems to happen in the worst possible place in the row. If you rewind your skein you will find those knots before you start crocheting. I’ve sometimes found a knot just a few yards into a skein. I’ll set that little cake aside to use for seaming.

In can be particularly comforting (and a big time saver) to have pre-screened your yarn for knots when you will be stringing a lot of beads on prior to starting to crochet. I’ll be doing just that with some of the yarn I’m currently winding. Please check back in a few days for information on another tool that falls in the category of not absolutely necessary, but very nice to have.

I’m convinced that most needleworkers enjoy more than one type of needlework. I know I do. I crochet (of course), knit, quilt, embroider, cross-stitch, and needlepoint (both plastic canvas and traditional). My interest in each may rise and fall through the years, but is never completely gone. I enjoy keeping in touch with all types of needlearts.

Quilting was one of my first needleart passions. in addition to making several baby quilts for newborn nieces and nephews, I hand-pieced a double-bed size Grandmother’s Flower Garden Quilt while I was in high school. And no, I’m not going to tell you how many years ago that was! My nieces and nephews don’t want me to reveal their ages.

While developing my “Crochet Your Quilt” class I looked through my published crochet designs, and discovered I had designed over two dozen afghans inspired by my love of quilts. I thought you might like a quick look (click on photos to enlarge) at the six featured in Calico Quilt Afghans (#991036) published by The Needlecraft Shop in 1999.

It is easy to see why I’ve been enjoying the Day Z Dozen Blog Hop. The Hop started last Monday and lasts through the 16th with a new project shown each day. It has been so much fun to see how each of the designers has used the featured fabric in totally different ways. And speaking of the fabric - love those colors, love those daisies! I can’t wait to see each of the remaining projects. I may just have to move some of that yarn off the sewing machine cabinet.

Yesterday I shared a photo of Spring blossoms and today I’m talking about Fall. Before you decide I’m rushing the seasons let me explain that as a designer I’m always working two (or more) seasons ahead. Periodically I stop by the Pantone® web site to view the upcoming color trends. Today I noticed the Fall 2007 Fashion Color Report was available.

I love this deep, rich palette! I’ve always been fascinated by the psychology of color. How different colors affect our mood. Why we are drawn to certain colors. How we see color differently depending on where we live and our age. If you find this topic interesting you might enjoy Colors For Your Every Mood by Leatrice Eiseman and for information on the relationships between color and knitwear design, The Knitting Experience, Book 3: Color by Sally Melville.

I’m also fascinated by the coincidences in life - yesterday’s walk to the mailbox was rewarded not only with a stop to view the crocus but also a package. Something new to wear. I just couldn’t resist ordering it. I’m so glad I didn’t resist. It fits and I love the colors. This morning I opened the Fall Fashion Report and there are the colors of my new outfit - Purple Wine with touches of Stargazer and Cashmere Rose. Don’t you love those names? No wonder I couldn’t resist!

Excuse me while I go grab some colors and crochet!

It is such a lovely Spring day here in Portland that I couldn’t resist taking a few minutes to enjoy the crocus when I went out to get the mail. I hope they brighten your day as well.

If you have visited my “Where is Darla Teaching?” page you might have noticed that I am on the faculty of Needlecraft University. In addition to offering online classes in crochet, knit and silk ribbon embroidery, NU is a wonderful resource for fiber-related information.

In the Library you will find stitch illustrations, common stitch abbreviations, an explanation of yarn weights, and much more. One of my favorite items in the Library is the Metric Conversion program. I frequently need to convert meters to yards. Although I can remember that a meter is a little bit more than a yard, I can never remember how much of a “little bit”. When you are converting several hundreds of meters to yards those little bits add up. A quick visit to the library and the program converts those figures for me. What a time saver!

Each month, Nazee Fard, the founder of Needlecraft University, writes an interesting eNewsletter. You can sign up for it on the NU Home page as well as access the Archive for all the eNewsletters. Among other things, I have learned so much about fibers from her research, enjoyed seeing photos of a baby alpaca, and learned how to decode those laundry symbols on yarn labels.

You may want to check out the class list while you are there. One of the nice things about an online class is the convenience. When a class is in session, the lessons are available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you have a question you post it on the class discussion board and the teacher responds, usually within a day, often within hours. You will find more information about online learning in the Student Lounge.

Oh, and another nice thing - you can go to class in your jammies and nobody will ever know.

Have you ever wanted to take your knit or crochet project along to a ball game? I usually do take mine, but rarely see anybody else there with yarn in hand. That’s about to change on March 11 at the Portland TrailBlazers game. Several Portland yarn shops have teamed up to bring you the opportunity to gather with fellow fiber fanatics to knit and crochet while you watch the game (and check out what everybody else has on their needles or hook). It gets even better - lower level tickets are usually $50, but you get yours for $25. AND it gets even better - you get a free tote bag of fiber related goodies! Check out the details at the Knitting Bee and reserve your seat soon.