Darla Fanton

Archive for the ‘Tools’ Category

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Hope to get it back looking nicer over the weekend.

For me Saturday was Tunisian Entrelac day! It is a fascinating (and easy) way to make a patchwork-look fabric without sewing a single seam. As a bonus, since you are working with a limited number of stitches at one time you can use a regular crochet hook rather than a long Tunisian hook. This becomes even more of a bonus when you are going to felt your project. For felting you want to use a large hook to create an oversize project. I like to use a 10mm hook. Those can be difficult to find in a Tunisian hook, but no problem at all in a regular hook. Since there is no thumb grip to get in my way, I usually pick up my 10mm Surina wood hook when I’m in the mood for a felted Tunisian Entrelac project.

In the morning’s sold-out class, students worked on a Tunisian Entrelac in the Round bowl. Some used wool yarn and a large hook, planning to felt their bowl at home. Others used worsted weight yarn and a smaller hook to create a bowl that would stand on its own without felting.

Many of the students stayed for the afternoon Tunisian Entrelac On The Square class, building on the skills they had learned in the morning. In one of the photos above you can see Stephanie at work on one of the afternoon swatches with the bowl she created in the morning already hard at work holding her supplies. I’m kind of partial to chocolate kisses in mine!

Saturday evening was the ever popular Banquet and Chic Street Fashion Show. As always, it was such a good time. I knew there would be lots of people taking photos so I didn’t take my camera. I’m going to direct you to Crocheting With Dee to enjoy the fashion show. Be sure to check out her other posts about the Conference as well as links to more blogs with Chain Link reports.

For those of you interested in Tunisian Entrelac, I’ll be teaching both of these classes at the Fall Knit and Crochet Show and teaching Tunisian Entrelac in the Round at the Orlando Needlework Show. I’d love to see you there.

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.

Given the number of times I’ve mentioned crochet hooks during the short time I’ve been blogging it probably comes as no surprise to you that I love crochet hooks almost as much as I love crocheting.

I belong to the Crochet Guild of America’s Hook Collectors group and this morning as I was reading about the Commemorative Hook for 2007 I started thinking about my connection to my crochet hooks. I have a varied collection of hooks. Most are unassuming, utilitarian hooks. I think of them as sturdy workhorses.

I also have a modest collection of artisan made hooks. The first one was a gift. It caused me to look at crochet hooks in a different way. Not just as tools, but as beautiful works of art in their own right. The show horses, you might say. When made by an artist who understands the mechanics of crochet these show horses are not just to be trotted out for special occasions. They earn their keep by working every day and are a joy to look at as well. Because they are each so distinct these hooks tend to hold emotional attachments. At least mine do for me. I remember where and when each came into my possession. Each year since 2001 a Commemorative Hook has been offered at the annual CGOA Chain Link Conference. These are limited edition hooks. Five of the six hooks are in my collection. I was a little slow to register one year and missed out. That won’t happen again! I’ve also purchased hooks in the marketplace at various events. Each hook is intertwined with my memories of the event where it was purchased.

You can learn more about crochet hooks by visiting the Crochet Guild of America web site. You may enjoy browsing through the photos from a special display of Studio Hooks held at the 2001 Conference. I would like to extend my thanks to Nancy Nehring for taking photos of the display for us to continue to enjoy. If you ever have the opportunity to see Nancy’s presentation on crochet hooks, be sure to attend. Crochet hooks have a fascinating history.

And now a photo of the most valuable crochet hook in my collection.

At least it is the most valuable one to me. Yes, it is the hook Mom gave me years ago when I learned to crochet. As you can tell by the fact the red finish is worn off in places it has been well-used and much loved over the years. For the curious among you, it is a size H.

My first trip of 2007 was to The National NeedleArts Association Trade Show in San Diego. This is a wholesale, to the trade only, show where shop owners, designer/teachers, and manufacturers gather to see what is new in the needlework world, take classes, and network. A whole lot of walking is involved as well!

For me, the most exciting “What’s New” product this year is Clover’s Crochet Lite line of crochet hooks. Last year they introduced the Knit Lite. I found the knitting needles were well balanced and the lit tips were nice. But I’m so busy with crochet that I rarely knit. What I found more exciting was they were working on crochet hooks.

This year the Clover booth was one of my first stops. I was not disappointed! In fact the Crochet Lite hooks exceeded my expectations. If you are familiar with the Clover Soft Touch hooks (which I also like), you will recognize the shape of the Lites. The first thing I did was ask if I could crochet a few stitches. I was wary…I tend to not be a fan of plastic hooks. Of course the tips on these are clear plastic so the light can shine through. This was totally unlike any other plastic hook I’ve ever had in my hands. The hook is well balanced and moves easily through the yarn with no snagging or drag at all. And what a difference the light makes! After a “certain” age it becomes difficult to see stitches on dark yarns - even in a fairly well-lit room. My eyes are past that certain age. If yours aren’t past that age yet, well, someday you will understand what I’m talking about. The hook throws enough light right on the next stitch that I can comfortably crochet even with black yarn.

I hope these photos will give you a little bit of an idea of the difference, but I’m not sure the photos really do the hook justice. These were taken in natural daylight on a typical Oregon overcast winter day with no flash.

With light off.

With light on.

Last Saturday I let my students test drive my Crochet Lite. One of them said, “Now I know what to tell the kids I want for Mother’s Day!” Sounds like a great idea to me. It’s what I plan to get Mom. For those of you worried that I just told Mom what she is getting for Mother’s Day - don’t worry, she doesn’t have a computer so won’t be reading this. For those of you who know my Mom - I’m counting on you to not spoil the surprise!

Once I decided on crocheting for charity during my travels I remembered reading there would be a collection box for The Red Scarf Project at TNNA. A quick look at the website and I knew this was the project for my first trip. A visit to my yarn stash produced a partial skein of red/tan tweed and not quite a full skein of matching red. Maybe I’d better grab that partial skein of tan too. Their guidelines said the scarf should be about 60″ long and 5″ to 8″ wide. This will be the perfect time to try out my new Pony cabled double-ended crochet hook. I’ll work the scarf vertically, alternating red and the tweed. After working a couple of inches if it looks like I might run out of yarn before it is 5″ wide, I’ll add in some tan. Hmmm, what if I have time to make more than one scarf? Maybe I better take that skein of rust with me too.

Friday morning sitting at the airport I chain around 250 with the red and load the hook with loops. I turn the hook and work off the loops with the tweed and load the hook with tweed loops. As I turn the hook, ready to work off with red, a lady sitting across from me catches my eye and says, “At first, I thought you were knitting, but now I’m not sure.” It is a comment I hear often. Double Hook crochet, which also goes by names such as Crochet on the Double(TM), Cro-hook(TM), Cro-knit and Crochenit(TM), combines aspects of both knitting and crochet. When worked with more than one color it produces a fabric with a different predominate color on each side. I particularly enjoy the soothing, repetitive, rhythm of picking up all the stitches and then working them off.

In case you are wondering about that new hook … yes, I do like it! I really enjoy using a cabled hook and this one is satin smooth along the hook and the join with the cable. I can fit a lot of stitches on and never have to worry about them jumping off the unused end of the hook. You can check your local yarn shop for the cabled hook, as well as the 14″ straight hooks. Shops can order them through Muench Yarns.

As the flight nears San Diego I measure and discover my scarf is almost 3″ wide. I’ll have plenty of yarn without using the tan. By Sunday evening my scarf is 6″ wide and finished. Monday I drop it off in the collection box. Good thing I brought more yarn since I will have a long wait between the close of the show Monday afternoon and my flight out Monday night.