MENU
Tinking Turtle Raverly Profile

Tinking Turtle

Four Pillars

Tinking Turtle Raverly

Post Mortem: Witchlace

by

It’s time for another round of Post Mortems!  I have to admit, I’ve dropped the ball with the last two releases – so while I’m away you get a double dose.  Witchlace today, and Devil at Crossroads later this week.

I tried to go back and look and see if I could find the design call for the Knit Picks Collection, but it’s been lost in the email transition, more than likely.  So you’ll have to do with my recolection.

Witchlace was a natural extension of Newport.  In Newport I used side to side shaping to create a ribbed effect.  In Witchlace, I wanted to push the idea  little bit further.  What else could I do with side to side shaping?

I also really wanted to make a yoked cardigan, mostly because I was pretty burnt out on figuring out shoulder shaping when working a design side to side.  I’d been swatching in the round with broomstick crochet for a while.  After I finished with Sunburst, I wanted to do more with broomstick, but I didn’t want to weave in nearly as many ends!

A yoked cardigan seemed like the right answer.  Plus, I love little glimpses of collarbones – that hint of skin is both very feminine and sexy!

At this point, I was still proposing with my old letterhead.  I’m really proud of the sketch here – I think it conveyed very well what I was going for.  I dithered a lot about cutting out her head or not, but I’d really messed up on her face and didn’t want to do the sketch over, so I just cropped it out.  I don’t think it hurts the sub too much.

I’m not sure what I’d write about things I’d do differently or well.  As I mentioned before, I think my “hooks” (the little intros I write that frame the piece) are well done, but I don’t have much proof that they influence the publisher’s choice or not.  I think that the hooks matter a little more in magazines (where I find they are sometimes used) more than design collections like this one.  Shortly after this submission I went to my new letterhead and logo, which I think was a good improvement.

Have a Post Mortem?  Are you talking about your design subs and what you think you did well, or not?  Let me know, I’d love to feature you, or do a writeup!

Exciting News for New England Crafters

by

Did you know that I’m originally from Massachusetts?  This fall I’ll be returning to my roots at the 4th Annual Fall Fiber Festival of New England!  Hosted at the Big E fairgounds in Springfield, Massachusetts, I’ll be teaching two half-day classes.

The First, Crazy Mixed Up Slipped Stitches, will be in the morning, starting at 9:30 am.  The second, Hairpin Lace Scarf in a Day will be starting at 1 pm.

I am so pleased and excited to be teaching at the The Fall Fiber Festival, and I hope to see many of you there!  Aside from the classes, there’s quite a selection of vendors, and plenty to do around the area.  The New England area has a rich history with the fiber arts, and I’m pleased to be participating in this event.

Details, as more come, will be posted on the blog.

Whoooooo!

Off to India!

by

Michael and I are winging off to our honeymoon in India this evening.  Today (and last night) has been a flurry of packing, wrapping up loose ends, and arguing with myself about how many knitting  and crochet projects I can REALLY get done in India.

On one hand, we’re going to be taking the train a lot, and that is prime knitting time.

After going back and forth with myself, this is what I’ve decided on:

  • 2 balls of sock yarn (yarn under wraps, sorry) for a half-finished design submission, and needles.
  • 1 ball of sock yarn (Mountain Colors Mountain Goat) for an old half-finished sock for myself.  It’s entirely stockinette.  I stalled out when my Knitter’s Pride Karbonz metal tip broke off.  The needle breaking was no great tragedy (I wasn’t really enjoying working with them as much as I thought I was going to – the seam between the metal and the carbon fiber was not very good, and rubbed by finger), but it was sad that I stopped, the yarn is gorgeous.  I actually knit a pair of socks in the color, I ended up giving them to my mom.  Then I brought more of the yarn in the same color for myself.
  • Rainbow colored sock yarn to play with and to make a pair of socks for myself.  I haven’t knitted for myself in forever.  Two new pairs of socks to add to my collection would be great.
  • 1 ball of sock yarn and beads to play with a design idea for when I come home.
You might sense a theme with all the sock yarn – basically, I didn’t want any big project, I wanted to maximize yardage for space.  All my stitch markers, needles and scissors are packed in carry-on luggage.  I’m good to go!

On Learning Crochet

by

Sweetness, now 6, has recently been asking me to teach her crochet.  On Tuesday, happy circumstance led to my having extra yarn and a hook with me.

Now, many people will start children on a larger hook and larger yarn – I’m not always of the option that those choices are the best answer.  Sweetness ended up with a size D yarn and a non-splitty multicolored sock yarn.  The multi-color because it was easier to see the individual stitches, the smaller hook and yarn because… her hands are small.  A larger hook and yarn wasn’t comfortable for her to use.

I worked a row of foundation crochet for her to work off of, and started her on double crochet. Why double crochet instead of single?  Double crochet has more of a rhythm; at least when I teach it. (Yarn over, into the “V”, yarn over, out of the “v”, yarn over, pull through two loops, yarn over, pull through two loops. After every step you yarn over.)

One of the luxuries of small children is that I could sit Sweetness on my lap (with adults this is a lot harder to do). At first, I fed the yarn and held the fabric while she manipulated the hook. When she felt comfortable, she took over holding the fabric – I was still feeding the yarn.  We worked for a half an hour.  Sweetness could have kept going, but I wanted her to leave on a good note, and her sister, Light, was getting impatient to have her playmate back.

Yesterday Sweetness and I continued, reviewing the stitch, talking about what happens when she “drops her loop.”  Sweetness’ relief when I showed her that she couldn’t have a dropped stitch the same way she could in knitting was comic.  She’s gotten pretty solid – by today she had worked a row of stitches on her own before getting mixed up about which direction she was going.  Her sister also stepped on the yarn and broke it.

The best part about all of this, for me?  Like many of my beginning students, I gave Sweetness a locking stitch marker to keep her stitches from unraveling when she isn’t using them. (I love locking stitch markers.)  Unlike my beginning students, I told her “The first one is free, but if you want another one, it’s 25 cents.” (I figured a little financial incentive would help her not loose it.)

“25 Cents! With four of those, I could buy an Ice Cream at Ikea!” was Sweetness’ response.

Now, every time I look at my stitch markers, I can only think about how many ice creams I could buy at Ikea.

Final Dash

by

Work, work, work.

Michael, my husband, and I are in North Carolina this weekend.  While he and one of his best friends marathon Band of Brothers, I’ve plunked myself in a spare room to get some work on a design done.  I have a self-imposed deadline: I need to get the design done before next Friday, when Michael and I wing our way to India for our honeymoon.

It’s been a frenetic few weeks as I prepare to get everything off my plate.

Tomorrow I’m hoping to have enough time to visit some of the Triangle-area local Yarn Stores.  I’ve got my eye on the Hillsborough Yarn Shop and Yarns, Etc, and I might try and make it to a third one.

Latest Posts

Social Feed

Tinking Turtle Ravelry

Email Signup

Don’t miss a stitch!

Be the first to learn about classes, patterns. upcoming events and more.