A Return to My Favorites

So, it's been nearly two weeks, and my Minor Awards Ceremony headband is still my favorite accessory, probably since it doesn't slip off, and it does a great job keeping my awkward length hair out of my eyes.  I have also trimmed two inches off the bottom of my hair (I don't know how else to word that, but I do realize that it would be ridiculous to trim anything but the bottom of your hair.  I guess I should change it to "I cut my hair") so now all of it is a similar length.  It still pulls back into a ponytail, but it's about as long as Julia Louis-Dryfuss's hair in Veep... Yeah, I'm going to need more headbands.

Both of these are made out of fine weight crochet cotton, the size 3 Aunt Lydia's kind, but the black one I used with a size D hook, and the ivory one was made with a size G hook for a lacy look.  They're both just as amazing as the bronze one I fell in love with, but neither are as stretchy, since cotton isn't a stretchy yarn in the first place, so I would highly recommend you chain a little loosely, and then work that first row in the back loop of the chain, since you don't want to end up with one edge of your headband that's super tight (not that I know that from personal experience with the black one, ahem).  The blue flowers I just tied into the black band, since I wasn't sure I was going to like them (they're not centered, they sit jauntily off to the side), but I may go back and stitch them on more permanently, now that I know that I'm comfortable rocking the look.

I've also been keeping busy with my jar cover coaster thingies.  I want to call them Jar Socks.  Is that too lame?  My sister requested one for her birthday, so I've made her a The Night Circus themed one. I'm planning to get her a copy of the book to go with it.  I might also crochet a rose for the top?  Have you read the book? What do you think?

Okay, you caught me, I haven't woven the ends in on this one yet, but  I didn't realize it would show through the jar so obviously.  I may redo this picture.  Well, you get the point.  Black and white, with a touch of red, I think she's going to love it once she's read the book.  And if you haven't read the book either, I highly recommend it.  I hope you will fall in love with it the way I did.

This is the collection of Jar Socks (hmm, not sure I'm crazy about that afterall) that I've done in the last couple of days.  My sister's Night Circus jar, a green and pink one for my mom for Mother's Day, and then the crazy checkered one is mine (protecting my Pepsi Max) which matches the top that I made for my previous post about the jars.  I like the way the finer gauge crochet cotton looks, and it seems to be as absorbent as the worsted weight cotton, but it doesn't get saggy and heavy like my previous one did.  I'm still working out a lid system, but overall, I feel like this is becoming something I'm pleased with.  I think I like the look of the single crocheted ones better than my cover which I used half double crochet stitches on.

My vase.  I love the idea of my vase so much, but lordy, I am having a challenge figuring out what to do with the idea now that I know it works.  I'd like to create vases that would be art pieces, or would be appropriate for selling in high-end boutiques, and worsted weight yarn was just not doing it for me.  They looked thick and clumsy and, worst of all, serviceable. Not the Gift-For-Someone-Who-Has-Everything I wanted.  So, I tried size 10 crochet cotton with a size 6 steel hook.  This bowl represents two days of my life: 

That's not even the worst part. This is the worst part:

I look at all those threads to be woven in, and I see another two days of my life.  I don't think this one is going to make it to full vase shape. Maybe I will seal it up and use it to hold M&Ms, or keys, or something precious and amazing, because I just can't bear to finish it or to throw it away...  Do you know what I should do with it, my Crochet Dynamos?

xoxo

Crochet Vases: Something New to Think About

Lately I have been thinking a lot about crochet.  I like its density, and the way it holds its shape, which is a quality that sets it apart from knitting and sewing.  Yes, you can make thicker knit fabrics, or you can sew with interfacings, but sculptural pieces are math challenges.  With crochet, its less math, and more It Just Turned Out That Way.
I have been very inspired by some crochet baskets that I saw recently.  They were very pretty, and brightly colored, and they got me to thinking about how cool it would be to have a crocheted vase.  The density of the crocheted fabric makes it perfect for traditional vase shapes, but water would make it a soggy mess.
I didn't want to crochet around a vase, or a baby food jar, mason jar, or empty can.  I wanted it to look like it was a magic trick, like somehow this vessel that in no way is watertight is holding water and flowers.
So what I needed to do was waterproof and seal the crocheted vessels.

Crochet and Liquid Polymer Clay

I started out by crocheting some basic vase shapes.  I made two out of acrylic yarn, and one out of cotton.  I didn't make them very large, since I wasn't entirely sure that my experiment was going to work.  Then I used some liquid polymer clay (the kind that's used for image transfers) and coated the vessels.  I only coated the inside of the cotton vase, since it was large enough to allow my whole hand inside as I was working.  The two acrylic pieces I ended up coating the inside and the outside, since they were small and the liquid was kind of hard to control.  I was surprised, and a little disappointed, at how the acrylic yarn fuzzed up as I rubbed the liquid polymer clay in. Then I sealed them into a foil packet and baked them at 300 degrees for 30 minutes.

The two acrylic pieces ended up very hard and inflexible. Very vase like.  I was delighted!  The cotton piece looked like crochet on the outside, with a smooth translucent coating on the inside. Again I was delighted! The cotton vase turned out just like I had hoped, it was going to be my magic trick.

Unfortunately, the dark green piece had not been completely sealed, so water just poured out of it like you would expect from a crocheted vase.  But the other two, my light green bud vase and my cotton crochet magic trick vase, were watertight and ready for use.  So I went out to the garden and picked some roses.

I think this is just the beginning.  I am looking forward to experimenting with larger forms, and now that I know what to expect, I think I'll be working on these exclusively with cotton.  I'd like to try a completely coated cotton piece, and I want to try some more decorative multicolored pieces. But, for now, I would call this experiment very successful.
xoxo