Thank Goodness for ‘The Stash’

At this moment, I am thanking my lucky stars for a lonely piece of winter white 100% wool fabric that I had sitting in my stash pile leftover from the handbag challenge (purse project) posted on the blog way back in October of 2009. Needless to say that this particular piece of fabric has been in my stash for a while… and I had forgotten all about it.

Until now.

You see, not only had I been struggling with the layout for my penny rug  (because I didn’t like the geometricality of the traditional designs) but, if the truth were told, my real problem is that I just didn’t have enough wool felt. (Because a penny rug must be made from 100% wool.)

Not nearly enough.

And while I wanted to work on this project, I wasn’t sure I wanted to work on this project enough to buy another piece of wool or wool felt. So, I was very grateful when I realized that I had a piece already in my stash – just waiting to be used.

And it was exactly the right size for the base of my table runner/cloth thing, penny rug,  (or whatever we are calling this little project now).

And then, just when I was thinking that I might run out of fabric again (as it turns out, a penny rug can eat through A LOT of wool fabric), my dear husband came into the room with an old pair of 100% wool dress pants that had seen better days.

Now I have enough wool to complete the project. (I think.)

All I can say is – Thank Goodness for the Stash!!!! (And now I know why it is that I keep a stash of fabric around in the first place.) Now that I have my fabric, it is time to get to work

The Mystery is Solved!

Image via Wikipedia

It turns out that I am going to make a Penny Rug! (Well – not a rug for the floor, but a tablecloth is a kind of rug, isn’t it?)

And I am so glad that the mystery is solved. But just what is a Penny Rug?

Thank you to Australian Country Threads Magazine, and Jamie-Lee Hogan for describing a Penny Rug so well:  “Traditionally, penny rugs were made mainly out of wool felt, as well as scraps from clothes and blankets. Concentric circles of cloth pieces referred to as ‘pennies’ were blanket-stitched to a felt background in layers, along with other shapes such as animals, fruits and flowers.”

And now that I know what the name of the technique is, looking for inspiration has become ever so much easier! In one very quick little internet jaunt I found a very talented penny rug artisan from Nova Scotia. Not only is this work fantastic, but I think that the whole “make do and using up” philosophy that describes the penny rugs makes me even more excited about using this technique for my tablecloth/placemat thing. Check out the Early Style Penny Rug site here for some great artwork!!!

And then, even more important to me at this moment, is the eHow site on how to make a penny rug. I already thought that I knew what my approach was going to be, but it is ever so much nicer once you know how a project ought to be done! Check it out for yourself here (and maybe you can join me in making your own penny rug!).

Inspiration (or the Great Lack Thereof)

Inspiration. Ha!

Sometimes it strikes, and sometimes it misses.

And then there are the times when inspiration does a near drive by – close enough to see the plates, but not near enough to jump in the car.

I know what I want to do (the table covering in felt with the mystery technique that I can’t seem to find anywhere even though I have looked seemingly everywhere). I know what supplies I have to do the project with. But that is where I am stalled. I can’t seem to ‘picture’ the finished project in my mind. Not at all.

And I am not happy with this little burst of stalled inspiration, so… I took to my pile of old needlework and workbasket magazines… and although I didn’t find the name (or any projects using) the mystery technique I really want to use for this project, I did find some fairly close projects and techniques that might just serve for a little ‘kick’ to my otherwise stalled inspiration:

McCall's Needleworks & Crafts Spring-Summer 1970, pg.107

McCall's Needlework & Crafts Spring-Summer 1972, pg.171

Neither of these examples is really want I wanted, but it did strike me that I really do not like the really geometric pattern of the second picture. And that reminded me of the magnetic board project I did a very long time ago when this blog was very new: I didn’t like the ‘geometricality’ of that project either… until I went with circles instead.

Circles.

Why am I thinking squares  and rectangles for the background space (just because the table is rectangular maybe?) when circles just may be the ticket (after all, the technique is all about circles)…

Maybe inspiration has just found me after all

The Mystery Felt Project

I still don’t know what it is called… but I started planning it already anyway. I gotta start somewhere, right? Who knows, I might even get through the whole project before I figure out what it is called!

For now, I will affectionately call this funky felt needlework table-mat project my mystery felt project. And not only is the name a mystery, but so is my planning on this one. I have a vague idea of what I want, but I seriously cannot decide how the materials I have are going to turn into a functional, yet gorgeous table mat.

I have decided that I want the table mat to be approximately 32″ x 48″ inches – just big enough to cover the table without hanging down, and leaving a fairly healthy 2-3″ border of table.

I have 15 – 8 x 12″ squares of white felt, 5 – 8 x 12″ squares of brown felt and 10 – 8 x 12″ squares of green felt (but it is a really really really really bright green).

I need 16 squares in total to cover the area of the table mat I am looking to make.

The base of the table mat won’t be a solid colour like I had hoped unless I go to the store for another piece of felt. And I am having a hard time envisioning this particular table mat having a square (geometric) base with the round motifs that I fell in love with at that store in Bayfield (remember? I posted a sketch of the motif here)… especially since the geometric base will be so much more noticeable with more than one colour…

Needless to say, that I might just have to jump in and start the project before I really have a defined plan here (… sorta like I jumped into planning before I really know what I should be calling this project). I wish I had more to say here, but I will keep you posted…

Of Table Coverings and Antiques…

I thought that it was time for a change. I enjoyed my little foray into the world of looping yarn, but I need a break (and I am sure that you are probably a little tired of me prattling on about the whole yarn/lace thing too). Enough is enough.

Fall is fast approaching and my thoughts are turning ever-so-quickly to getting my house ready for the onslaught of winter. Thoughts of lace are out. Thoughts of cozy-ness are in.

And, it doesn’t hurt that while I was perusing the little shops in Bayfield, Ontario last week, that I came across a vintage craft technique that will work just beautifully for a new table runner to protect my too-oft-damaged hard wood kitchen table. It is perfect because it isn’t frilly or excessive. It is easy to do, and borders somewhere between modern and vintage; handcrafted and hand-me-down. Simply put, it is perfect for my humble home.

The problem is that I forgot what the technique is called.

I probably have the name hidden away in any one of my myriad of vintage craft magazines, but I will admit to having no time and even less of a desire to go hunting for this little gem. So, please bear with me as I describe this project, and even start this project,before the name of the technique comes to me.

The examples I saw in the store were basically placemats (made of felt) and they had a distinguishing detail of layered felt circles that looked a little like this (each circle was a different colour with stitching on top):

The problem is that I want something bigger – something between the size of a table runner and a table cloth… something to cover the table without hanging over the sides and without looking like I put a way-too-small table cloth on my table.

It is time to start drawing up the plans… but first I must find the measuring tape. (And if you know the name of this technique from the simple diagram I included in this post, can you please tell me?)

My Final Thought on Looped Yarn

Well…. my final thought on looped yarn actually turns out to be not so final.

I started out this project intrigued. Then the intrigue turned into a little bit of shame as I understood how the hard working women of Papua New Guinea use this little known art form as a way of life (and my thought that this was just a fun little thing to try). But then, I must admit that the intrigue won out and a gave it a try. I was confused. I was chagrined. I was uninspired by the outcomes.

But slowly (ever so slowly), my mind changed about this whole looped yarn thing. I think that I could really grow to like this whole experience. And, as it turns out, I love the lace that can be made with this whole looped yarn technique.

No, it is not a Bilum. And no, it never will be.

This, as it turns out, is Debra’s version of what a foundation looped stitch can be if you experiment long enough.

And finally, I love looped yarn.

I am still not sure where its practical usage lies, except for maybe in clothing or table linens or curtains or something of that nature, but it is very pretty. And in the end, it doesn’t seem to take as long as tatting to get a really dainty (and not too frilly) lace fabric.

You see, if you take the whole looped yarn technique that I posted on this blog throughout July, and you use a small spacer bar (no more than 1/2″ wide) and some average thickness crochet cotton (I have to apologize here, I used a bunch of old crochet cotton and it had no tag so I don’t know exactly what weight of yarn I was using), and then add a surprise ending, you get a really sturdy, stable, not-too-stretchy or stringy lace that is absolutely beautiful and faintly reminiscent of something like hardanger.

What to do? Follow the instructions posted here and here. Then, when you are finished to get a piece of fabric to your desired measurements, pin and stretch your lace piece on a stretcher bar or embroidery loop (I found it easiest to stitch it to some backing fabric here – the backing fabric will ultimately be removed).

Then, taking your needle and crochet cotton again, and working each row of your looped yarn independent from each other and separate from the backing fabric, slide your needle under 4-5 loops. In a wrapping motion, bring the needle up topside after the 5th loop and wrap it back towards the first loop in your bunch. Slide the needle back through the loops to the underside of the looped yarn fabric and draw the cotton yarn along the backside of the lace to group another 4 or 5 loops. Pull to tighten the wrap around the grouped loops. Repeat this until you have worked the entire length of the row. Tie off your yarn and start the next row.

It looks like this when it is done:

And this makes me happy

A Twist on ‘Twisting Yarn’!

I still can’t give up. I really don’t know why… I haven’t found any sort of application for the looped yarn (or twisted yarn) that I really am fond of, except for maybe the obvious lace trim, but I am still intrigued by the whole idea of the craft. That, and it really sorta bugs me that the negative aspects of this craft (the stretchiness, the lack of stability, etc) would be so negative that it would impact how useful (or useless) and crafted lace would be.

In any case, remember in my last post when I said, “if I am going to use the looped yarn technique, I much prefer this technique done on a very small spacer bar – with a width of 3/8″ or less – and with very thin – almost fingering weight – yarn”? Well, I got so excited about the lace that was made of the thin yarn, that I decided that maybe, just maybe, there was some way to work with the looped yarn lace to give more options when working with the finished product.

And what I came up with is really kinda neat. (At least I think so, but I may be a little biased in my dedication to making this looped yarn thing work better for me.)

This is what happens when you marry the looped yarn technique with a little weaving:

Cool, huh?

All of a sudden, my ‘lace’ became bona fide fabric. It still has the same looped look from the backside, but the front side almost looks like a woven fabric…. and the best part is that all of the negatives are gone. It isn’t too stretchy anymore, and it has stability.

But it has lost its ‘lacy-ness’.

I am not sure that this is a bad thing though… what do you think?