Lizards in the Leaves

Rustlings in the green....imagination, art, whimsy

Aug 31, 2016

Necklace of crocheted discs

So these


became this



Inspired by Sophie Digard necklaces, I think.

Each element is two discs stitched together over the crochet cord I wrote about the other day.

Aug 29, 2016

A crochet cord

I am playing with a new way to make a crochet cord and I'm very pleased with it.

For my vintage button textile necklaces,


 I was making cord with Habu Gima Cotton by chaining and then going back and slip stitching each chain. Sooooo fiddly. But the fine Habu was perfect for that, and I loved the cord, so I kept on doing it.

Now I don't mind fiddly if there's rhythm to find, handwork that becomes trancelike and calming and invites a meditative state. But slipstitching into fine little chain stitches is fiddly-tedious.

So I was delighted to discover a way of creating a very similar cord that I can work at with ease and enjoyment. 


I found directions for this on a page that I can no longer find and after much searching, I found a tutorial for it on another page, here.  I'm adding some pictures and explanation of my own here.

Here is the way I like to hold the working yarns.


With your hook, scoop under the lower yarn to make a loop on the hook. You will have 2 loops on the hook.

Pull a loop of the upper yarn through the two loops on the hook. 


And do it again. And again. And....


It's not called anything special other than a 'crochet cord' but I think it deserves a special name. I'm calling it  Two-Strand Chained Single Crochet Cord. If you know this by another, less-cumbersome name, please leave a note in embellishments below!

It works great in a single color and has some interesting possibilities using two different colors or yarns. The yarn held at the top will always make the stitch by itself along one side, and will mix with the  yarn held below on the other side.

You can see that a nice stitch is made that can be worked into...more possibilities.

Do trust me - once you get the hang of it, it's a rhythmic, soothing bit of handwork. I even took cord to work on during my last dental appointment to get a crown. It was great helping me to quell anxiety during the times I had to sit up and wait for noxious things to set.  I imagine it will be perfect for those meetings and events where it's helpful to doodle to keep the mind focused on what's being said.  You only need the hook and about 10 yards of yarn (2 5-yard lengths) to make a 36" cord. And 10 yards might be a bit generous.

Aug 26, 2016

Easing back in; process, product

Easing back into blogging more regularly again. It's been years really since I have posted here with any consistency. And I can pretty directly see how Facebook has been the reason. It's easier to post there. More immediate feedback. Deeper social connections. 

The other side of that is reading the newsfeed -  an emotional scattering that I find unhealthy. Sad posts appear below funny ones. Happy news is followed by a shared article that makes me angry. All in five minutes.

I've been Facebook fasting in recent weeks and it's been good for me. And I've found myself thinking more about sharing things here first. 

I won't try to catch up on all that's been going on in my life since I began to neglect Lizards in the Leaves. I'll just start where I am right now. Post a picture. A thought. Maybe some words without pictures. Maybe a picture without words.

I will still be focusing on sharing my creative work. Maybe a little bit of my life otherwise, the challenges I face, the lessons I learn. But mostly art, I think. 


Today I'm doing this: 

  
Simple circles. Two rounds. 12 dc in the first. 24 dc in the second.
Noro Taiyo Sock Yarn. Size C hook, 2.5mm.


I am actually working from two different balls of the same colorway. I start with one for the center round, do the outer round with the other.

I'm thinking of joining them for a simple necklace. We'll see.
I seem to be deeply in process mode lately. Product is just notes in the sketchbook.