Goings Ons Around The Pearly Hook

It has been a busy busy time for the Pirate Hooker. Lots of things have been done. Not so many pictures at the moment but they will be forthcoming. Promise.

As I mentioned in my last post I spun up some bamboo and even plied a small section of it. This week I actually made something from that small plied section to see how it would work up.

Pretty Flower

I went with something simple since there wasn’t much to work with.  A pretty little flower. I will either be making a chain for a neclace or attaching the bamboo flower to a broach pin or hair accessory in the near future. I loved working with the bamboo. It’s so smooth and slick. The yarn glided across the metal hook that I used.

I pulled out the Knitting Machine again. I decided to give it a good go and simply get the basics down with out trying anything to fancy. Use and an entire skien of yarn and see how big a swatch it can make. Crochet a border around it and have a small blanket, perhaps for a baby or something to show for it. Unfortunately the attempt was met with utter failure. Henry became the Destroyer of WIPs. I was in the process of binding off the swatch when Henry decided to go into attack mode. (He graciously waited I was almost done.) Pouncing on me from the other side of the project and snagging the swatch with his claws. The yarn caught and he fought to get free. In the ensuing battle between cat and swatch the swatch lost. I tried to save it by washing it to see if the piece would move back into place but it did not work. I will, at a later date, rip back the entire thing to try again. I think I may have to put Henry in one of the cabins if I  am to be successful.

This week also marked the arrival of my first real fiber order. I ordered an entire pound of Brown Tone Mill Ends from The Sheep Shed Studio (Or as the Ravelry group lovingly refers to it  the SSS)

My First Order From The Sheep Shed Studio

The SSS sells Mill Ends from The Brown Sheep Company in many different color variations. I ordered brown tones because the example the SSS had on their site just looked yummy. I asked in the Rav group what type of wool the roving was and recieved the answer that it was a blended wool consisting of breeds native to Nebraska and the surrounding areas, the BSC calls it “Punta”.

Taking SSS Wool For A Test Spin

Of course the day after the roving arrived I found an excuse to spin some of it up. (Actually who am I kidding I don’t need an excuse!) I spun this up while waiting to get new tires on the car. I love the way it stripes all on its own depending on how I seperate the roving. I’m not used to the really long staple that this blended wool has and it was definately an interesting experience. The Keeper of Coin asked if I was going to get into carding (color me surprised to hear him throw spinning terms out at me), I said eventually. I can see the benifits of doing so with this roving. It would require me to get a carder.

Imagine my surprise when the the First Mate also mentioned something about a Spinning Wheel. He is actually seriously considering the purchase of one for me.  He was however slightly taken by surprise when I mentioned the possible cost associated with it. The Pirate Hooker must do some research.

I didn’t focus only on spinning though. I did manage to tread the waters of felting again. This time I wanted to see what would happen if I felted My modified Driving Cloche. I had a particular vision in my mind as to what would happen I was pleasantly surprised by the actual results.

Lightly Felting The Modified Driving Cloche

It became a very close fitting cap with a contoured back (See the graduated back?) I wasn’t expecting it to turn out like this at all. I was expecting the loose cap to tighten slightly but not by this amount especially in the front. The brim is practically non existing.  The more I look at it the more I think I may have missed the critical row that made the brim come out more. I will have to try this again, perhaps with the actual pattern for the driving cloche. I do like the look I managed to achieve though and plan on putting this up on the etsy store.

Shiny Jewelry!

Crochet Jewelry! Yes, mates I went there. I made a shiny rope neclace/wrap bracelet with size 10 thread (at least I think it was size 10) and some beautiful Lemon Jade chips that were gifted to me for going to a  bead show with a friend. I have some grand plans to incorporate a line of crochet jewelry into Picklesnot Design now because of this little project. It was so much fun and surprisingly simple to do.

Okay so I think I told a small fib about not having plenty of pictures…