hex spirals

In a comment in the last post, Devil Kitty says that she likes the way the spirals look like hexagons on the edges, but are more round in the middle. Me too! And not to get too scientific, but in Norah Gaughan's book "Knitting Nature," she talks about how bubbles are round when they are in single form, but that they form straight lines to make hexagons (or is it pentagons?) when they cluster. I guess the spirals are just acting like bubbles.
That's such a cool book--blending knitting with science is unexpected, but interesting. I may not remember the exact details, but I end up knowing the gist of things. Check it out!

spirals are fun!

Making the spirals has been fun, but putting the surface crochet on and sewing them together has been even better. I wasn't sure if I'd need to come up with a way to fill in between the spirals, but they seem to be going together just fine. I'll make a bunch of spiral scrumbles, then form them into round pillow shapes. I chose the colors from my stash to go with the denim/chambray colors of the dining room rug and table cloth, greens to match the paint color, and the other colors will coordinate with the many colors of Fiestaware that we have. It's a hodge podge, but I always say the more colors, the better!
By the way, the Jitterbug monkeys are still in progress. Ribbing is almost complete on the second monkey.


Last week my mom was visiting, and we did a great fused glass class at the Durham Arts Council. We made these 6 inch plates on Tuesday night and picked them up Wednesday afternoon from the kiln. Hers is on the left, and mine is on the right.
The class was a lot of fun, and we both recommend it to everyone. There are more classes this summer, taught by Sallye Coyle, a great teacher. Try it out!

spirals and monkeys

Making pillows made up primarily of crochet spirals is turning out to be a great zone-out project. These little guys are fun and easy to make, and right now they require no thought.
When I have a bunch of them, I'll separate them into individual pillow groups (I'm planning to make at least 4 pillows, maybe 6!), and then I'll add the surface crochet embellishment and join them.



These pictures give me a sense of how many spirals each round pillow will need.

















My other current project is the Jitterbug monkeys. Since Jitterbug has punk yardage, I'm shortening the monkeys by one pattern repeat in the leg. I just hope it's enough! If I run out of yarn, I'll improvise for the toes. They'll usually be in a shoe anyway.
This may be the most beautifully dyed yarn I have ever seen! Such colors! Yum.

scrumbles

Yes, I've decided to go ahead and embrace the word "scrumble." Though it isn't a particularly lovely word, it does seem to be the preferred name for freeform pieces. I've joined a freeform yahoo group, and everyone says scrumble. No one says doodle. I will follow the crowd on this one.
I got to teach a new group of freeform students this past Sunday. I was another great group of people, great class. One woman had already made a freeform purse attached to a clever little mesh frame. I'm inspired to do the same, since I have the same mesh frame in my stash. Maybe these scrumbles from class could become a purse:
There's also a new monkey sock going. Carrie Anne is making hers in the red Neon, and I couldn't resist. We're going to be monkey twins.
Henry needed to see what the birds were doing. Lucky for us, he keeps close tabs on what's happening in our yard. Saves us the trouble.