Fiber Arts – Brenda Nolen

Macrame Belt

August 10, 2014September 22, 2021 brendanolen

I started this project and, once realizing how long it was going to take me, my A.D.D. brain wouldn’t let me finish. BUT I wanted to share this with everyone because I love the way it looks and how it will turn out. The problem I had with it was the video. There are no written instructions and no audio describing what is being done. So, I ended up downloading the video to my computer (since, for some reason, my internet connection and/or You Tube have been buggers and decide not to cooperate a couple of times per day). Watching it on my computer allowed me to pause so I could count how many times to macrame this section or that one and how many times to repeat a sequence. I will post the notes I made once I am finished. Once you watch the video, if you see any errors with what I noted, please let me know.

First, here’s the video:

Now for the notes I’ve taken so far (for definitions and pictures of knots, check out this web page: http://www.stonebrashcreative.com/MacrameTutorial.html):

The following knots are used in this pattern:

For the flat area just after the buckle:
Lark’s Head Knot (for attaching your cord to the belt buckle)
Square Knots
Half Hitch

For the design:
Square Knots

And, my results so far (one thing I didn’t take into account when starting was the different weight of the yarns. The white yard is thinner, so I had to adjust by adding how many macrame stitches I did to maintain the proper look):

Crafts, Fiber Arts

Cordage

March 12, 2014September 22, 2021 brendanolen

So, I’m “THIS CLOSE” to finishing my woman cave (well, as finished as it can be until I can make some looms and such). The last thing I need to do is make some plant hangers so I have room on the desk. I have two skeins of some funky, fuzzy yarn and thought that would be fantastic, macramed into some plant hangers (yes, think 1970’s child here). My problem is this isn’t the strongest yarn. Although the pots aren’t huge and heavy, I don’t want to take the chance of them snapping and raining dirt all over my work. So, while trying to figure that out, I thought, “Well, I’ll just read up on card weaving.” That’s when I stumbled onto Lucets. Take a look at this:

That tool … aside from the sanding, I could whip one of those up really quick. What do you think about making cordage with that, THEN macrameing that into a plant hanger?

Then, I have a friend. She scares me sometimes. I hadn’t posted anything about lucets at all yesterday. That’s when she posts this:

http://www.historicum.eu/product/flettehjul-3045/

Of course, I don’t speak (nor read) Danish but did a search for “flettehjul”.

That’s when this page pops up (with a lucet on it)!

It’s all about cordage!

And, here’s how to use that handy little gadget:

I found this pattern for making the lucet forks:

http://lildog-blog.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/lucet-patterns.html?m=1

All I have to say is, thank goodness I’m not doing this to make money! They are ugly but they work! I used a Rotozip (because I couldn’t find the blades to my scroll saw) and boy oh boy, does that thing like to go everywhere! But they are sanded and I’m finally making my cordage. So, perhaps some time tomorrow, I can make my plant hangers?

Crafts, Fiber Arts, Weaving

Basic Weaving (101)

March 6, 2014September 22, 2021 brendanolen

I’m back on my weaving tangent, though I’m not even finished with my woman cave yet. This is how my Attention Deficit works. I was given a link quite a while ago (Wayback Link to original weaving page). That tab has been sitting there, open, this entire time. I finally decided to go through all the links, download what I wanted, then finally close it.

Well, imagine my surprise when I found these .pdfs! It’s Weaving 101, with instructions for building a full-sized loom, tablets, board looms, and table top looms! Not just that but exactly how to use them! I’m thrilled (and properly distracted from finishing my cave). Actually, I have hung my embroidery hoops on the wall and thought, “You know, I could do the same for the tablets I was given and even make some small frames and store them on the walls, too.” That one though gave me permission to embrace this tangent again. 🙂

These were all written by Luther Hooper and are a fantastic resource for anyone to have (who is interested in this or think they may be in the future). To save these to your computer, right-click on the links below, click “Save Link As” and choose where you would like it saved on your computer. I hope you enjoy these as much as I am!