Micro Crochet

I’ve been on a micro crochet adventure the last few weeks. The two stars on the left are made with Aurifil 28 wt thread and a size 14 hook. The middle two are made with Aurifil 40 wt and a size 14 hook. The three on the right are made with Aurifil 50 wt thread and a size 16 needle.

I wanted to make a mini afghan like my parents had back in the 70s. I had the right colors but don’t yet have the skill for a ripple afghan. It requires a row of single crochet into a length of chain stitch. It is hard to see that at this scale, let alone hold the tiny chain still for the work. I opted, instead, for a 70s version of a granny square afghan.

Fun times, for sure!

Commission for Kancan

Back in the summer KanCan, a blue jeans company headquartered in Los Angeles, reached out to me to make a commission artwork for them. They said they were drawn to my work with color.

They sent me a selection of blue jeans that I included with my usual style of solid scrap colorwork.

I incorporated existing design elements from the jeans such as frayed edges, seams, and pocket fade into the quilt.

The piece is quilted with high contrast hot pink and bright orange thread.

Finished size 42” x 42”.

You can read my statement about this piece, Gold Rush, on the Kancan website.

Coif

I used my knowledge from knitting a lot of hats to create this coif. Thinking of the jump rings as knit stitches allowed me to understand the shaping involved to increase the rings at the top.

The coif in progress is a big hit with the grandkids. Apparently my head is about the same size as theirs, or chainmail relaxes to fit a variety of sizes.

I had a started a second piece of fabric from smaller rings and while my son was home for Thanksgiving he started adding to it to create a child sized glove. It is still a work in progress.

Chainmaile

A while back I got a kit for learning and making chainmail from Chainmail Joe. The kit came with a selection of different size jump rings, two pair of pliers, and an instruction book.

I have tried several kinds of chain and the European 4 in 1 pattern that creates the fabric used in chainmail armor.

Phoebe and I both worked on this three yard length of Helm Chain. We are clearly having fun.

Bias Applique

I cut up a plaid shirt into narrow bias strips and have been making some applique blocks.

A Cat for Me

I made myself a cat pillow.

Quilted 1/16th inch spacing with invisafil thread by Wonderfil.

Circles Quilt

This is a recent scrap quilt finish. The pieces were all cut at a weekend retreat with friends last winter.

It has a wool batting and is only quilted on the seam lines making for a snuggly quilt. i love the plaid fabric for binding.

Finished size 63” x 79”.

As a bonus, here is a photo of my adorable photography helper.

Design Wall Doings

Here are some shots of my design wall over the last couple of months. As you can see, I have been working with scraps.

This mini piece is from the solid scrap bin.

I made all of these string pieced blocks at a weekend retreat with friends.

I used up a lot of my teal solid scraps for the setting blocks. I really love this one.

These are some sixteen patch blocks that have resulted from some leaders and enders sewing. I have no idea where they will go from here.

Meet Pippin

We have adopted a kitten!

Meet Pippen, or Pip, or Pipsqueak when she is being silly.

She is adorable, very friendly, and we love her.

More Cats!

I made a few more of the cat pillows for Christmas gifts and forgot to share them here.

The cat faces are a result of a class with Melissa Averinos.

They are quilted with Invisafil thread by Wonderfil threads. It is a 100 wt thread that can be used in very close quilting without destracting from the fabric below. These are stitched with quilting lines about 1/16th inch apart.

My grandkids were thrilled with the pillows.