Tapestry Crochet

Many readers have asked, “Where do you find the people you feature in your blog?” Well, some of them email me with questions or comments and others post pictures of their work in the online tapestry crochet groups. I found Joel Erickson’s wonderful hats and bags in the Tapestry Crochet group at Ravelry, where he goes by the name, Trapper336.

His introduction to tapestry crochet is quite interesting. Joel explains, “It all started when I read the book, Snow Walker’s Companion, by Garrett and Alexandra Conover. They have winter camping skills in the book and told and showed some “Chimo” hats which I later found out are called Pang or Nasaq or Nassak made by the Inuit. I looked them up on the internet and found some for sale but thought they were kind of spendy. Now I think different.”

“Being laid up from a spine surgery I thought I would learn to crochet and see if I could make one. I’ve messed with string before - being a rancher it is everywhere. Bale twine to ropes for ranch work. I have also braided for a long time so I thought it was just another string (yarn).”

“I went to my county Extension Home Economist and got a pamphlet on crochet for 4-H ers. I also bought a learn crochet book at The Yarn Stash in Minot ND and away I went. Little did I know. I am left handed but I decided to bite the bullet and learn right handed because I thought it would be easier down the trail. I started my quest in November of 2008.”

Joel’s first tapestry crochet attempt in January of 2009.

“My Mother had some old acrylic yarn and that is what I started out with. I have since found out wool is nicer. I found tapestry crochet information on the web and watched the videos and asked more questions. I got some graph paper and drew my own designs on some and used some charts from other sources.”

Joel’s second and third Nassak style hats, Plymouth Yarn Encore Worsted, 2009. He realized that, “The top (left hat) turned out better with the new increase tech I used with Shayne39’s advice. I figured out how to make one square edge on the design on this one (right hat).”

“Yarnfloozie (the Yarn Stash owner) got me hooked up with Ravelry which has been a good thing. I asked questions of lots of Ravelry people while I learned. Then I found out the hats were done in what was called tapestry crochet or stranded or intarsia I still have questions about all the terminology. Just a few weeks ago I found out about using the front loop or back loop only. Looking forward to trying that out.”

Joel’s fourth (March 2009) and fifth (May 2009) Nassak style hats. His instructions for the left hat are posted to Ravelry as a free download.

Joel’s hats made with Brown Sheep’s Lamb’s Pride Super Wash, April 2009 (left) and Patons Decor (right)

Joel’s Dice Bags, tapestry crocheted with scraps of yarn, August 2009.

“I am still learning. Yarnfloozie told me to enter some of my projects in the North Dakota State Fair, so I entered my first wool Nassaq just for fun. I didn’t think I had a chance but was flabbergasted when I got a blue ribbon. Also a white ribbon on a felted solid color hat.”

Joel described the next four hats on his Ravelry project pages: “Parts of the geometric pattern (lower left hat) are from Salish Indian Sweaters by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts (photo by Yarnfloozie), it is hat two for the Bible Camp auction.”

“Pi r round… cornbread r square. This was nice yarn only a little short in length. Only had about 18 inches left. First time using a multicolored Wool Yarn. Finished off with a crab stitch.  I thought the numbers could have showed better till I saw it from a distance and it worked. Started with an increase of 5 for awhile then went to 7 and then back to 5 as I got done with the top getting more dome shaped. I hope this intimidates the crowd at Wednesday night trivia at The Blue Rider.”

Nassak style hat (May 2009) and Pi Hat, Brown Sheep Nature Spun worsted wool, September 2009

“I saw Absinthia’s Mobile Phone Pouch and had to smile. Here in North Dakota we have some turkey buzzards. They are amazing fliers and you usually have to look into the sun to see them. Also it reminded me of a cartoon in a magazine I saw once of two buzzards sitting in a tree and one says to the other, ‘Patience my ass I’m going to kill some thing.’ So that is why I had to make this hat (lower left).”

“Did a different increase sequence (lower right hat) and liked it better 5 stitches per round, then started staggering the increases part way down. I think this bird could be Big Bird’s evil brother ”

Both hats were tapestry crocheted in August of 2009 with Brown Sheep Nature Spun worsted wool.

“Here is some thing I have found out since I learned how to crochet. I have worn some of my hats and people stop me and ask me about them and where I got them. I tell them I made them my self after learning to crochet and some give me the stink eye like they don’t believe me but it is fun and makes one feel good. Now that I know a little more than I did a year ago I will stop some one and ask if they are wearing something they made them self. I can tell the difference now. ”

Joel tapestry crocheting a hackey sack at The Yarn Stash, “Just making it up as I go along out of crochet cotton.

To see more of Joel’s great work and other tapestry crochet designs, check out what’s going on in the Tapestry Crochet groups at Ravelry, Yahoo, Flickr, Soiree, Facebook, and elsewhere!

Although Mohammed Assadi doesn’t know the difference between knitting and crochet, hooks and needles, or wool and cotton, he wrote a very interesting article for Reuters.com in August about how tapestry crochet is helping support industrious women in Palestine.

Palestinian tapestry crocheter and kippah

The short piece says that women in villages like Deir Abu Meshal on the West Bank have been producing religious headgear for their Jewish neighbors (and for export to the US) for years. The women told him that they enjoy making kippah while talking to each other and can tapestry crochet five a day.  At $3 each, that’s only $15,  but money goes further there than it does in the US.

Isn’t it wonderful that tapestry crochet not only helps put food on their tables, but also brings people together?

When she’s not waiting on customers at Earth Guild in Asheville, North Carolina, Esther Holsen can sometimes be seen tapestry crocheting there. She explains, “If I work on this stuff in the store, I constantly get asked, ‘What’s it going to be?’ I do not have an answer, or much interest in coming up with one. ‘This, but somewhat bigger’ is about the best I can do.”

“Tapestry crochet caught my imagination instantly. The design possibilities are endlessly fascinating. I always like media that allow me to make pictures. Sooner or later I always want to make a tree and some creatures. Images that are somewhat representational and wholly fantastical seem to be indigenous to tapestry crochet, which suits me very well.”

“I played with tapestry crochet some when I first saw Carol’s book, and got sort of obsessive about it maybe two years ago. I seem to have 20-30 pieces around, and at least as many again have been given away. They tend to be in series; each one sort of fixes things from the previous one that I realize I could have done differently - or lets me try out things that I think of in the course of working the one before.”

Cap, commercially dyed Dragon Tail 4/2 cotton, Summer 2007

Cap, commercially dyed Dragon Tail 4/2 cotton, Summer 2007

“At first I made a lot of pouches and bags, but eventually settled into making more-or-less circular pieces. I find that eight increases per round make a spiral lie flat. (With plain single crochet, it takes six, but these stitches are a little bit taller, because of the carried strand, so the circumference grows more each time around.) I usually stack the increases, so that my pieces tend to have eight sections, divided radially (with a slight spiral), and finish as soft octagons. (The centers are often the same “pinwheel” design, which spirals the increases around faster.) At first I used the same design repeated all the way around, most often alternating a pattern and its mirror image. More recently I have used four design units in each piece, each one mirrored once, ending up with overall bilateral symmetry.”

Bag, black and hand dyed and commercially dyed 4/2 cotton, Fall 2007

Kokopelli / Seahorse Bags, black and hand dyed 4/2 cotton

“I used Carol’s graph paper for a while, but my stitch/row ratio and skew were a little bit different. Since I almost always use the same yarn and hook, I made a digital picture of a piece, and worked up graph paper that matched it. Since I generally mirror the designs, I cheated just a little and off-set the rows 50/50. I don’t usually draw out the mirrored image, but read the pattern right-to-left, then left-to-right. I expect that doing this will help to stave off Alzheimer’s, or at least be very good practice for something.”

Crocheting Silver Apples of the Moon with her ingenious setup.

“For geometric pieces, it couldn’t matter less, for more or less representational pieces a closer match helped. I actually took a picture of a piece, put it on the computer and drew on top of it in a graphics pattern to get my proportions. Since I have been using the same yarn all the time, I just did it once.”

Water Lilies, black and hand dyed 4/2 cotton, 14″ diameter, Spring 2008

“Virtually all the tapestry crochet I’ve done has been in the same yarn; a 4/2 (about sport weight) mat cotton, with a #1 (2.75mm) hook. The black is commercially dyed (Dragon Tale), the rest is hand-dyed. I dye by direct application with Procion MX dyes. My dye-skeins are about two yards around (36 turns, or 72 yards), loosely chained and tied head-to-tail. I apply the dye thickened with sodium alginate from squeeze bottles. (I can estimate more accurately whether I have enough of a color or color-set if all the skeins start out the same size. An ounce of 4/2 has 100 yards, a yard does about 20 stitches.)”

When I asked Esther if she had a hand in naming Earth Guild’s Dragon Tail thread, she explained, “I have been drawing ads and general graphic presentation for Earth Guild since I joined the group in about 1973. At that time we had a bookstore called “Grateful Union”, as well as Earth Guild. When we started to do mail-order, it was under the name Earth Guild/Grateful Union Mail Order Service, or EGGUMOS. This sounded to me like the name of Ouroburos, or, more generally, some sort of dragon. Dragons, which I like to draw, appeared from then on most Earth Guild pictures. Many years later, when we started to put together a set of yarns, and were casting about for a name, we settled on Dragon Tale. BJ’s suggestion, sort of a pun (Tale/Tail).”

Esther’s Persephone and Herons.

Beret, black and hand dyed 4/2 cotton, Summer 2008

The large piece below with yin yang - like motifs was commissioned for the center of the ceiling of a yurt-like building. Esther traded it for acupuncture treatments.

Untitled, black and hand dyed Dragon Tail 4/2 cotton, 27″ wide, Spring 2009

The first of Esther’s Tree Series: Baying, black and hand dyed 4/2 cotton, 20″ wide, Summer 2009

Baying, black and hand dyed 4/2 cotton, 20″ wide, Summer 2009

“Inspiration I don’t really know how to address. It seems like sooner or later, in any medium, I start trying to generate the same sorts of images, vaguely mythological, a little less vaguely “nature” based. They seem like they are already inside me, looking for different ways to emerge. Attached are pictures that I made, they seem related to me.”

“I generally do more or less the same thing with changes till I am more or less satisfied with it.”

Esther also tapestry crocheted both of these this summer.

“I have included a picture of the back of the one with so many background color changes, just for the sheer horror of it. The ends, of course, just get clipped off (even that takes a while), but I like to do it after the piece is washed, in case they pull in a little.”

Front and back of Tree of Life, tapestry crocheted Summer, 2009.

Esther’s Golden Apples of the Sun and Silver Apples of the Moon tapestries, each is 20″ wide, 2009.

Esther Holsen tapestry crocheting Silver Apples of the Moon at home.

“The one (below) is an effort to use up bits and pieces, and to have something I could carry around, requiring fewer little balls of cotton and no graphs.”

Esther finished this a few days ago.

Esther says, “I’m not sure where to go from here, I’m nowhere near through playing with this stage.”

I love what Esther has done already and REALLY look forward to seeing her next pieces. I usually don’t join the debate of, “Is it art?” or “Is it craft?” but Esther’s curiosity, talent, and motivation have propelled her across the line from craftsperson to artist, don’t you think?

Like last year, my trip to Ghana was very interesting, but exhausting. A day after arriving home from the CGOA Conference in Buffalo, I was on a plane to Accra, then school started the day after I returned home from Ghana - so I’m still working on my recovery!

I started to tapestry crochet a bag with size 18 Omega nylon in the airport, then worked on it while waiting for the bus to Kumasi. This is how I looked after being awake for 24 hours - and I still had a 7 hour bus ride to go!

I was on the lookout for crochet everywhere! I didn’t see many examples, but did see some women wearing black net-like double crocheted hats and a few men with colorful single and tapestry crocheted hats.

Double and single crocheted hats in Sirigu.

Many Muslim men in Ghana wear tapestry crocheted hats. I spotted the gentleman below in Krofofrom while researching lost wax casting.

This Muslim man from Krofofrom told me that his hat was crocheted in Bogo, Ghana.

Fabulous imported tapestry crocheted hats worn in Kumasi.

A traveling salesman in Bolgatanga was selling both embroidered and tapestry crocheted hats. Guess which ones I bought?

Embroidered and crocheted men’s hats for sale in Bolgatanga.

While researching adinkra in Ntonso, I taught four members of the THREAD group how to tapestry crochet a cell phone bag. They learned how to double crochet in school with thread and small steel crochet hooks, but didn’t know the single crochet stitch, so it was a challenge for them to do the new stitch, carry the other thread, and change colors with a larger hook - but they eventually got it!

Women learning how to tapestry crochet a cell phone bag in Ntonso.

I was so busy the 3 weeks I worked and traveled in Ghana that I didn’t make much progress on my own bag. While waiting for the bus to bring me back to Accra, Arden approached me to ask what I was doing. I was so thrilled that she was interested that I gave her a mini lesson! She also learned just the double crochet stitch in school. After showing her how to single crochet and change colors, I handed her my bag and she gave it a try.

Arden gives tapestry crochet a try.

So I planted a few more tapestry crochet seeds in Ghana. Hopefully, they will take root and the next time I go to Ghana I will not have such a difficult time finding tapestry crochet!

Where do I begin? The 2009 CGOA Summer Conference in Buffalo was fabulous, as usual. I was able to get reacquainted with friends from previous conferences and made some new ones, too!

My classes were small, so everyone received lots of individual attention and most managed to finish their projects during class. My Bead Felted Bag class was Thursday morning, then in the afternoon I taught how to design tapestry crochet motifs and projects.

Pam Oddi, Delma Myers, and Caroline Brocato during the bead felted tapestry crochet class.

Sheryl Coleman’s bag before and after she felt it in her washing machine.

I usually include a short motif design lesson in my tapestry crochet classes, but it was REALLY NICE to be able to focus on design for 3 hours in the afternoon. Although I remembered to take pictures in the  morning, I forgot about it during the Tapestry Crochet Project and Motif Design class. So close your eyes and imagine everyone with pencils in hand, drawing on their tapestry crochet graph papers - because that’s the picture I would have taken.

The Bead Tapestry Crochet Bracelet class lasted all day Friday. It’s the first time I’ve offered this class and I’m glad it was scheduled for 6 hours  - because we spent the morning beginning the bracelets and the afternoon finishing them. It was quite a challenge for most to work with a small hook AND to remember to carry the extra color AND to switch colors before the stitch was finished AND to slide a bead into place before finishing the stitch.

The bead tapestry crochet bracelet class.

Cindy McMasters and Tina Thompson bead tapestry crochet their bracelet.

Not everyone competed their project, but most did and a few emailed me photos of their finished bracelet after the conference.

Adrienne Donner restarted and finished her bracelet at home.

One of the highlights of the conference for me was the Member Dinner and Fashion Show and this year CGOA celebrated their 15th anniversary - so it was really special - cake and all!

I usually volunteer to be a model to not only show off my own designs, but to also showcase the designs of others. This year, though, there were more than enough models, so I only modeled my New World Sweater. My talented roommate at the conference, Donna Childs, took the picture below of me on the runway.

My New World Sweater in the Fashion Show

That picture reminds me of another thing I enjoy - sharing a bedroom with another crochet enthusiast! It’s a great way to get to know someone and I’ve been very lucky! Fortunately, we’ve always been very compatible.

And guess what? If things weren’t great enough, my Harvest tapestry won second place in the Crochet Art Category of the Design Contest! It earned a ribbon and $200 from Interweave! Other prizes were donated by Coats & Clark, Boye Needle Company, DRG, and Martingale & Co. You can see a complete list of the winners here and pictures here.

My Harvest tapestry won 2nd place!

I was also able to satisfy my art history appetite by visiting one of the first surviving skyscrapers, the Prudential (Guaranty) Building (Donna and I even got to go inside), and I also visited the Albright Knox Art Gallery. Several paintings and sculptures from my art history classes were on exhibit at the Gallery, so it was really exciting! Nothing like seeing the real thing for the first time!

The day after I flew back from Buffalo, I was on a plane to Ghana - then school started the day after I returned from Ghana. So this has indeed been a busy summer! I love to travel, but it’s really nice to be home again!

Tight tapestry crochet stitches with J&P Coats Crochet Nylon produces a very sturdy fabric - perfect for this clock face from the August 2009 issue of Crochet World. Tapestry crocheting with nylon is hard on the hands, but much easier with a hook with a handle.

It’s About Time Tapestry Crochet Clock Face, 12 1/4″ diameter

There are two ways to display this timely piece. For the domed look seen above, a clock movement with a regular shaft that uses a size C battery is best, but for the flattened look below, the clock movement needs to have a 1 1/4″ long shaft to raise the hands high enough to clear the fabric. I bought my movement and the 5 3/4″ hands online from clockparts.com.

Time’s a wastin’! You need to take your time to give this project a try! (I couldn’t resist the puns - wait a minute - here comes another one!)

The four human races are featured on my latest online pattern (for right and left handed crocheters), The New World Sweater. Why is each person the same size, with their heart in the same place? Well, the way I have always seen it, everyone is the same inside. When we join hands and work together, we unite in love. I can dream, can’t I?

The New World Sweater

Back view of The New World Sweater.

The instructions for the first version of this project were published in the Winter 2005 Crochet Fantasy. I usually make several versions of a project before submitting it for publication, but the editor requested that I tapestry crochet a coat for the next issue. By the time the yarn arrived, I only had a few weeks to complete it. I crocheted the first panel twice before settling on what you see below, but was sorry that I couldn’t work on it some more before it went to press.

Whole World Coat in Crochet Fantasy, Winter 2005.

The format was inspired by kimono construction. Two long panels were crocheted first, then each was folded in half to create the front and back. After sewing the side seams, the sleeves were crocheted onto the armhole in rounds. After the sleeves were finished, a panel was crocheted to connect the back, the two halves were sewn together, then a border was crocheted around the edge. Three yarns were worked at the same time to create the people motif; two yarns were carried while another was crocheted.

I’m so sorry that Crochet Fantasy went out of business, not only because they encouraged designers to experiment, but they also returned the project and only purchased project instructions for a specific issue, allowing designers to sell the same pattern after the issue was out of print.

This is the most complicated pattern I’ve ever published and unfortunately, I was never paid for it because of the magazine’s demise! Since I still own the copyright, though, I’m able to continue tweaking the instructions and publish the instructions.

For my New World Sweater, I selected a finer yarn - Classic Elite Inca Alpaca instead of Rowan Chunky wool - and a larger hook. I usually get my yarn for free, since it’s good advertisement for the company when the pattern is published, but I bought the alpaca since it would be self published.

Not having a yarn store nearby cost me dearly since the online colors didn’t match the colors I received (colors on computer screens vary a lot!). I had to buy more than twice the amount of yarn needed in order to get colors that would work. The sleeve was especially difficult since I needed a color for the “red” race that contrasted with the red of the hearts. I still wasn’t happy with the heart colors, size, and drape of the second version of the sweater below, though.

Second version of the Whole World Sweater crocheted with a size K hook and alpaca.

The shorter third version (below left) was crocheted with a size N hook, with chain stitches in the corners to make the panels more rectangular, the single heart at the end of each panel was eliminated, and the rounds were joined with a slip stitch in the center back panel instead of at the corner. I began each round with two chain stitches, but realized later that one chain stitch would have made a less obvious join.

Third and second versions of the New World Sweater.

The sleeve was also adjusted on the third version; two rounds of people would make it too long, so more frogging. The final version has several plain rounds at the top of the sleeve to center a single round of people lengthwise.

The final version of the New World Sweater.

For a closer look, you’ll be able to see it during the Chain Link Fashion Show next week in Buffalo.

Next time I crochet it, I’ll probably choose an even lighter yarn - perhaps a bamboo blend. Better yet - why don’t you try it with another yarn and let me know how it turns out!

So what have I been doing for the past few weeks? Well, other than working on our new energy efficient house (doing the unpleasant, but necessary, insulating and caulking around the windows and doors, etc.), I’ve been getting ready for the 2009 Crochet Guild of America Conference in Buffalo.

I wasn’t able to attend last year’s conference because it conflicted with my trip to Ghana. I’m going to Ghana again in August, but a few days after returning from Buffalo. In fact, I shortened my Ghana trip to attend the 2009 Conference.

I not only enjoy the conferences, but learn a lot, too! Back in 2007, one of the Professional Development Day panelists asked me why I was attending, but I knew that I still had a lot to learn - and I did. On that day, Kim Werker encouraged me to start this blog during her Internet session (and this is my 65th post)! Lilly Chin prepped us for the media - explaining the importance of preparing catchy phrases and memorable responses ahead of time for when the opportunity presents itself. Rita Weiss and Jean Leinhauser told us what editors wanted. I didn’t realize, for instance, that submissions should include pieces of each yarn used and the yarn labels; that the project should be tagged with both my name and it’s title; that each page of the instructions should include my name, the project title, and the page number; and that some editors prefer to block the pieces themselves!

It’s a lot of work to submit good conference class proposals, then to get everything ready when they’re accepted! A little more work for me this time because I prepared separate instructions for right-handed and left-handed crocheters! I also requested and received free beads, beading needles, yarn, and thread from several generous companies for my classes. I loaded Fire Mountain Gem triangle seed beads onto Patons Classic Wool for my Bead & Felted Tapestry Crochet Cell Phone Ribbon Bag project. Each kit includes $15 of materials, but thanks to the donations, I only need to charge $1!

My bags packed with class kits and examples.

Even though my My Bead Tapestry Crochet Cuff Bracelet is scheduled for all day Friday - I still strung Fire Mountain Gems size 8 seed beads onto white and size 6 seed beads onto colorful Aunt Lydia’s Fashion Crochet size 3 crochet cotton to allow everyone more time to finish their bracelet. I always bring along my bead spinner, thread, and beads so that class participants can practice stringing beads, too.

The most time consuming prep was putting together a Powerpoint for my Tapestry Crochet Project and Motif Design class. This interactive presentation includes info from my videos and publications and introduces new material and breaks for tapestry crochet graph paper exercises after each is introduced. I also included the types of images that inspire some of the motifs on my projects - and I look forward to seeing how they will be interpreted by each student!

I’ve sent off my submission for the Design Contest and wrapped my package for the gift exchange. The Design Contest winners will be announced Thursday night, the same night that members exchange a hand crocheted item (maximum $20 of materials). I can’t show you a picture of my package, because it’s a secret! Not everyone exchanges, but I especially love this part of the conference - so I always show up prepared!

I’m not teaching on Saturday, but decided to stay until Sunday to participate in the Fashion Show. Not only to see the runway fashions, but also to look at the fabulous crocheted ensembles and accessories worn by the fashionistas in the audience.

The deadline for preregistration is July 23rd. After that time you can still sign up, but it’s more expensive. Money aside, being surrounded by people who share my crochet passion and being able to match online names to faces is priceless. I hope to see you there - and please say hello, if you are able to make it!

The internet has helped me meet so many interesting people, including Harry Khan (aka Usman Ali Khan), who is  from Abbottabad, Pakistan. We’ve been corresponding online about backstrap weaving and tapestry crochet for several years. Then, as now, he’s adventurous, creative, and very enthusiastic about life and fiber art. He explains his introduction to crochet best, so I’ll let him tell you in his own words:

“I was first introduced to crochet at a very young age when I saw my grandmother crocheting. As time went on, I forgot about crochet altogether as crochet is not considered a man’s forte here. It’s mainly considered a woman’s hobby and even with them, crochet is not as popular as it used to be in the past.”

“Crochet items continued to fascinate me but I was still not provoked enough to learn it, until I came across The Blandford Book of Traditional Handicrafts, that had a chapter on crochet and a gallery full of projects that could be made with various handicrafts. This was also my introduction to macrame and a lot of other crafts. But although I wanted to learn crochet, I found it difficult to follow the book’s instructions.”

“Then finally I decided that I should learn from a person and who else was more experienced than Grandma? So I finally learned the basic stitches from her. She taught me how to make a chain and then got me started on single and double crochet.”

“After making small samplers for practice, I came back home and searched online for crochet and saw many different patterns and instructions and started making granny squares and doilies. My internet searches for crochet finally led me to www.tapestrycrochet.com and for the first time I was introduced to tapestry crochet. It looked easy but as I started to make a sample I was very confused as how to turn back after completing one row in flat tapestry crochet, but after much contemplating and help from Dr.Carol Ventura, I was finally able to make the rows from left to right and right to left.”

“The first tapestry crochet I made was the Wrist Warmer in 2003. I always take this wrist warmer with me whenever I go for hiking in the Northern areas. Somehow they seem to belong among the high mountains.”

Harry’s acrylic Wrist Warmers, 2003.

“After experimenting with flat tapestry crochet, I was hooked onto round TC after seeing the very beautiful potholders on the Splynda crochet site, which is no longer online.”

“I liked the idea and tried my hand at making pot holders. I made the rocky mountain pattern from her site.”

Harry’s Rocky Mountain from a Splynda pattern.

“After that I tried my hand at making a pattern. So I made the dogs facing each other graph, all the while preparing for my annual exams I liked the idea of making a net in the centre, surrounded with solid tapestry crochet.”

Harry’s cotton pot holders.

“The Llama came as an inspiration and while experimenting with designing the graph, it changed into somewhat of a mythological animal.”

Harry’s acrylic Llama.

“In 2004 I made my first tapestry crochet cap. The pattern of the triangles on the side came from Indian caps which have multi colored sides, too. I first made a flat tapestry crochet strip long enough to go around the head. Then for the upper portion I tapestry crocheted in rounds and made it large enough to cover the head. After that, I joined the two pieces with single crochet and sewed a lining on the inside of the cap.”

Harry’s first tapestry crochet Cap, 2004.

“After that I grew bold and started making another cap with a more detailed motif on the sides using flat TC. I used the flower motif from the Afghani cross stitch cushion in the center for the other piece.”

More of Harry’s Caps.

“It was in May 2004 that I started my TC pillow. I was inspired by the Afghani cross stitch pillows (below) and their variety of colors and motifs and planned in my mind how to convert them into TC.

Cross stitch pillow covers from Afghanistan.

“I started it at my hostel, while the summer was at it’s peak and the temperature was above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees F). The wool was tough to handle and it wasn’t easy as the pillow grew in size. It took about two weeks working in the afternoons to finish it.”

Harry’s acrylic Pillows, based on the Afghani designs.

“In the end, I would like to Thank Dr. Carol who encouraged me at every step to learn tapestry crochet (and backstrap weaving as well) and helped me with her advice and books all these years.”

“I would like to say that with patience and practice everyone can learn tapestry crochet but the important thing is to learn the art of making lives as colorful as the colorful tapestry crochet.”

Harry’s Crafty Threads blog and his Flickr pages showcase more of his eclectic fiber art. And for you Ravelers out there, he’s Harrykhan. He has been away from tapestry crochet for a while, but says, “I intend to finish this piece (below) now which is again based on the same Afghani cross stitch motifs.”

Harry and his WIP tapestry crochet pillow cover.

So what else does Harry do? Well, he’s only one test away from being Dr. Harry. When I told my young daughter years ago that I was studying for my doctorate, she asked if that meant I could take care of her when she was sick. I explained that I was going to be a different kind of doctor - but that I could still take care of her. Harry, on the other hand,  will be the type of doctor that takes care of sick people. Based on what I’ve learned about Harry, I suspect his waiting room will be a real visual treat!

I’m always on the lookout for crochet in my travels - and especially for tapestry crochet. Most of the treasures encountered on my recent trip to Germany were behind glass or Plexiglass and poorly lit because light fades fabric. Flash photography was not allowed for the same reason - so please excuse the poor quality of these photos. At least they allowed me to take pictures - many museums don’t nowadays.

Miser bags were among the most intriguing historic crocheted items I photographed. I was introduced to them during a 1999 Crochet Guild of America Conference workshop led by Gwen Blakely-Kinsler and B. J. Licko-Keel. Their Magical Miser Purses book includes a short history and several patterns.

Probably because miser bags were used as chain purses at the turn of the 19th century, they were exhibited together with coins and other numismatic items in several of the museums I visited. The most popular style has a slit in the middle where money is slid in and out, compartments at each end (one for coins and the other for paper money or coins of a different denomination), and metal rings in the middle to keep the money in the compartments.

These small bags are colorful and elegant. The compartments are usually single crocheted in rounds, while the center of the bag is often double or triple crocheted in rounds near the compartments, then back and forth in the middle to form the slit. The center is crocheted with one color thread, while the compartments are crocheted with contrasting colors. Some miser bags are decorated with stripes, as seen below.

Miser bag in the Albrechtsburg Castle Gatehouse Museum in Meissen.

Others feature intricate bead crocheted motifs (like the one below).

Bead crochet 1850’s miser purse in the Albrechtsburg Castle Museum in Meissen.

And a few are bead tapestry crocheted. Since the bead slides to the back of the stitch, the fabric looks different than expected because it shows what we consider the back side.

Bead tapestry crochet miser purse in the Bode Museum, Berlin.

The top two miser purses in the Folk Art Museum in Dresden are bead tapestry crocheted, while the bottom one is bead crocheted with one color thread.

Now that you know what to look for, I hope you’ll also be on the lookout for these beautiful miser’s treasures!

The plan for my exhibit was to bring the crocheted tapestries to Poland on the plane, help with the installation, travel while the show was up, repack everything, then fly back home. So far, the plan is working.

Most of the framed tapestries fit into our regular suitcases, but I purchased a mixer case for the large Mother’s Advice series. International flights allow each passenger 2 check-in bags free of charge and a carry-on, and Andrzej and I were able to fit everything into our bags, so I didn’t have to pay anything to ship the exhibit to and from Poland!

All ready to go! Names make the bags easy to locate and help keep them from being misplaced.

A delayed flight made our connection tight - but we made it! My brother-in-law and sister-in-law met us at the Warsaw airport and then drove us to Lodz. I really lucked out when I remarried ten years ago. Not did I get a wonderful husband, but Andrzej comes from a very loving and accomplished family.

Andrzej Kuab and his team made quick work of the installation at the Central Museum of Textiles.

Curator Jolanta Piwonska, me, and Museum Director Norbert Zawisza next to the exhibition poster.

The public was very receptive during the opening! What a relief!

Since no one there understood how tapestry crochet was done, I demonstrated during the opening reception. They were not only amazed that my pieces were crocheted, but also surprised that there were no threads on the back.

When finished, this piece will be in my Mother’s Advice Series.

My work fit in well with two other museum exhibits; a contemporary needlework exhibit that showcased Polish crochet, knitting, tatting, and cross stitch, and another exhibition that featured large, woven tapestries.

A biennial contemporary Polish needlework exhibit at the Central Museum of Textiles in Lodz.

A contemporary woven tapestry exhibit at the Central Museum of Textiles.

The Curator arranged for me to see some early twentieth century crochet in the storage area of the museum. There was no tapestry crochet, but an interesting variety of crocheted edgings on handwoven towels, clothing, bedding, and tablecloths.

The crocheted edging complements the bold geometric pattern of this handwoven linen towel from Polesie, Poland (dating to 1920-1930), in the collection of the Central Museum of Textiles.

The crocheted borders and embroidery on this handwoven linen blouse (1938) from Chociw, Rawski region, Poland, in the collection of the Central Museum of Textiles, are exquisite!

Crocheted borders surround this colorful handwoven wool bedspread (1955) from Deba, Opoczynski region, Poland, in the collection of the Central Museum of Textiles.

Below is one of the thirty six tapestries from the exhibit. It pretty much sums up my life because I worked a really long time before this could happen.

What Experience Taught Me from my Lessons Series.

The exhibit came down today - and we fly home on Sunday. I love to get away, but am really looking forward to being home again - to catch up with everything that needs my attention - and so that I can plan my next adventure!

Do you need an excuse to visit Poland? Well - here it is! You’re invited to my tapestry crochet exhibition at the Central Museum of Textiles in Lodz (pronounced woodg), Poland. It opens next week at 1 PM on Tuesday, May 12th, and will be up through May 28th.

Your official invitation.

The Harvest was inspired by Polish and Mexican icons, Mexican milagros, personal convictions, and childhood memories.

How did I get my tapestry crochet into such a prestigious venue? Well, when my sister-in-law brought me to the museum in 2001, I thought, “Wouldn’t it be great to have my work displayed here some day?”

When my husband and I began planning our next visit, I thought, “If I want an exhibit, then I need to make a proposal.” So I did - and the museum accepted it - and now you are invited to see it! They chose a very appropriate piece for the invitation - don’t you think?

Have you ever heard the expression, “Necessity is the mother of invention”? Well - my first market bag proves it true. When I got to the top of the bag, I realized it was WAY too wide, so I had to either rip it out and make it narrower, or come up with another solution. As you can see, I chose the latter. I rationalized that it would make a great market bag - and it does! And it’s even crocheted with fabulous organic cotton!

Lion Brand Organic Cotton is only sold in 4 natural shades, so I chose two contrasting colors, then thought about what motif would work best.

Fortunately, this Right Way Market Bag Pattern will be available for a very long time since Crochet World is not only printed, but may also be downloaded.

Right Way Market Bag in April Crochet World Magazine.

The way the handles slip through the rim is a bit tricky, but they work great to close and support the bag!

Opened Right Way Market Bag in April Crochet World Magazine.

My next market bag was not as wide, but the handles were similar, looping through the rim. This free Market Bag pattern is still available online, but unfortunately, the colorful worsted weight Euroflax linen has been discontinued. Any strong worsted weight fiber could be substituted, though.

Market Bag in Issue 7 of Knit on the Net Online Magazine.

The third Market Bag I designed was published by Interweave Crochet this Spring. As you can see from the photo (of my model daughter), I finished it last Fall, but things are done way ahead in publishing.

Spring Market Bag in Spring 2009 Interweave Crochet Magazine.

This bag was crocheted with a thinner linen, Fibra Natura Flax. Instead of 2 handles, it only has one - another variation on the theme.

Open Spring Market Bag in Interweave Crochet Magazine.

These bags will assure that your are marketing in style - while you save the planet - so I hope you will give them a try!

The brand new UK magazine, Inside Crochet, includes the pattern for this Handy Basket (tapestry crocheted with Size 18 La Espiga Omega Nylon). Why does it look so lumpy? Well, just about everything I tapestry crochet looks like that - until the last step of the process, “blocking”.

Handy Basket before blocking.

My favorite blocking tool is a steam iron. Since nylon melts at high temperatures, it’s on the lowest setting that will allow steam to form. (Higher temperatures may be used with other fibers.) Steam is not absolutely necessary, but it makes blocking much easier.

Blocking the bottom of the Handy Basket.

The iron may be placed directly onto the project, or a towel may be placed between the two to protect the surface of the fabric.

Blocking the sides of the Handy Basket.

I press down hard - on the inside and outside - all around. Fortunately, this basket is large enough that the iron fits inside without a problem. (I insert a towel-covered can into smaller baskets to help support and shape them during blocking.)

Handy Basket after blocking.

Quite an improvement,  don’t you think?

The results are in for the First Annual Flamie Awards (inspired by the CLF Flaming Hook of Justice) . . . and in the category of “Best Crochet Design for Home Decor” the winner is . . .

Sunburst Bowl from the September/October issue of Crochet Today!

Crochet Liberation Front Flamie Award

Just in case you missed it, you can still listen to the awards ceremony at Getting Loopy. “Part Duh” of the awards show will air on March 30th. For more about this tapestry crocheted bowl, please look at my earlier blog post. And all of you out there in cyberland, thanks SO MUCH for voting for my design!

I just found out that three of my tapestry crochet class proposals have been accepted for the Crochet Guild of America Summer Conference in Buffalo, NY! On Thursday morning (August 6th), I’ll teach how to make the Bead & Felted Tapestry Crochet Cell Phone Ribbon Bag shown below.

Bead & Felted Tapestry Crochet Cell Phone Ribbon Bag before and after felting.

As some of you already know, felting and bead tapestry crochet were made for each other! A large hook and loose single crochet stitches are used to make the bag, then it’s felted in a washing machine. The finished felted tapestry crochet fabric is thick and patterned on both sides. Participants will crochet a bag and also learn how to design a motif on tapestry crochet graph paper. Students only need to know the single crochet stitch. Felting instructions are included, but due to time constraints, the bag will have to be felted in a washing machine at home.

You asked for it! So I’ll also be teaching an in-depth class about Tapestry Crochet Project and Motif Design on Thursday afternoon. Several different tapestry crochet papers will be used for drawing and tracing images. I’ll show how to transfer designs from other sources, then everyone will try it out. Students may also bring their own designs to transfer onto tapestry crochet graph papers during class.

My Bead Tapestry Crochet Cuff Bracelet is scheduled for all day Friday - enough time to finish the bracelet.

Bead Tapestry Crochet Cuff Bracelet project.

Tapestry crocheting with beads is revolutionary! Since more than one color thread is used with tapestry crochet, each one only needs to be loaded with a single bead color. The pattern is formed on one side of the cloth by adding a bead to each stitch and on the other side the colored threads create a design. This method offers fantastic design potential, since the motif doesn’t have to be pre-planned. Students will bead tapestry crochet a bracelet and also learn how to design with tapestry crochet graph paper. Students only need to know the single crochet stitch.

I hope to see you there! If you’ve never been to a CGOA conference, then you’re in for a real treat!

Heidi Zingg Knöpfli and her husband, Dr. of Theology h.c. Hans Knöpfli, flew to Tennessee last Fall to lecture at our University about the crafts and culture of Cameroon. Both originally from Switzerland, Hans worked as a pastor and a craftsman in Cameroon for more than thirty years and Heidi joined him for seven years there. She assisted Hans with quality control of the craft products intended for sale, designed new products for the Handicraft Centre, and worked with the Christian Women Fellowship of the Presbyterian Church before they returned to Switzerland. She is now co-president of the Swiss Protestant Women and advises NGOs about how to raise funds for their projects.

Heidi advanced the projected images while Hans lectured.

My husband, Andrzej, and I are very interested in the art and culture of Cameroon and it was while researching their crafts that we found Hans. His five books (seen in the above photo) are the best we’ve ever read about crafts because they not only describe their appearance and construction, but Hans places them into cultural context by discussing their daily and ceremonial use.

Heidi is also an author and her manuscript, Schuhe für meine Kinder (Shoes for my Children), that features 18 short biographies of women at the grassroot level in Cameroon, is currently being edited.

We really enjoyed getting to know them the week they stayed with us and learned so much! We were full of questions and they were full of answers. We taught them a few things too, though, including tapestry crochet!

Heidi tapestry crocheting a cell phone bag in Swiss and US colors.

Heidi knew how to crochet, but had never done tapestry crochet, so I gave her some beaded thread and a hook and after showing how to carry and change colors, she began a cell phone bag. Heidi was a quick study and had no trouble placing the beads on the front of the fabric! She began the bag the day before she left and almost finished it on it on the flight home.

Heidi’s randomly placed beads really enhance the stripes, don’t you think?

Heidi’s cell phone bag, tapestry crocheted with size 3 crochet cotton and size 8 beads.

I’m really looking forward to seeing what she will do next!

Annie Henson (AKA Annie’s Hands™) of Wheeling, West Virginia, was very excited to find the Tapestry Crochet Yahoo group. She explains, “Someone in the dim reaches of the past taught me to single, double and triple crochet. From there I made all sorts of patterned blankets. Then I tried working in two colors, and have been having fun with that for a few years. And then yesterday I came across the term for what I have been doing - tapestry crochet! And I found this group! Woo Hoo!”

“So I posted some photos of a blanket I made for myself. It has a fair amount of what I now know to call Tapestry Crochet. The ladies in the knitting/crocheting group I attend didn’t know what to make of me and my oddball work. Now I can share the news. I Am Not The Only One Who Does This!”

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The horse and pony on Annie’s Own Blanket were adapted from the Tap Dancing Lizard book. Everything she tried right out of the book came out tall and skinny, though, since the book was written for knitters, so she tweaked the graphs to work for crochet.

“I was beginning to experiment with using two colors of yarn in the same row to make pretty things. I had not yet heard the term tapestry crochet. I just got to wondering if it were possible to work with two threads at once and change colors along a row. Turns out it was possible. At that point I began to look at books for inspiration.”

“Once I became interested in Celtic patterns, I began to look in various books. The Celtic knots on some of the blankets are from Celtic Knotwork Designs by Sheila Sturrock and Celtic Geometric Quilts by Camille Remme, but were not charted before I got hold of them. They had me tearing my hair out until I got them wrestled onto grids.”

Annie adapted these heart and knot motifs from the quilter’s book.

Annie designed and crocheted all of these blankets in 2004 as Christmas presents for her friends and family!

“The blankets are all what I like to call twin or cuddle-on-the-couch. For the purposes of my patterns all blankets are 201 stitches wide. That way I know where the center is, and I know how many blank stitches to leave at each edge to make things come out even. They are all slightly over six feet long, depending on how the patterns work out. The exception is Annie’s Own Blanket, which is larger. Since it was for me, it had to be special! The crochet is done from right to left, cut the yarn, go back and do it again.”

The spirals were hard to chart on Claudia’s 2006 blanket.

She designed the trees and all the critters for lucky Jennifer in 2006.

Annie was a Massage Therapist for more than twenty years before retiring from the hands-on work. Since the name of her practice, Annie’s Hands, works equally well for crochet work, she’s changing her website from massage to crochet, and her new passion, tapestry crochet.

Annie continues to teach massage classes in various locations, though, including Windemere Institute of Healing Arts. She posted that “The logo of the school has long captured my imagination, but it was not until I discovered tapestry crochet that it became possible to make. Charting the logo was a challenge indeed.”

Annie crocheted this blanket in 2008 for Barbara, the Windemere director and founder.

The textured white on white diamond motif was done with a double crochet that anchors in the front loop two rows down. The same stitch is done on the right with two colors.

Annie crochets under the back loop. That’s how someone showed her and she assumed it was the only way to do it. Luckily, the back loop technique is perfect for Annie’s blankets because going under both loops and cutting the yarn after each row will not produce a rectangle - but a parallelogram.

Annie continues, “Since discovering sites online about crochet, I have come to learn that the “standard” crochet stitch is through both loops. I’ve never yet tried it, but am currently creating texture by alternating between front and back loops, as on the washcloths (below). They are for the little bits of soap left to a bar at the end. Tuck the soap inside, and wash away! Depending on your point of view the patterns can look different from one angle or the other.”

Annie’s washcloths are quite original - with a pocket for soap!

How are they made? Annie says, “Start with a chain that then becomes a pocket as you spiral up. Hide the change from one row to the next by making it where the fold will be.”

This is how these unique washcloths were crocheted with Lion Brand Cotton Ease.  Annie explains, “Fold it like this as you go along, and when it closes itself up, you are done. Texture was added by alternating between front and back loop.”

“All my work up until the washcloths have been acrylic, for the wash-and-dry simplicity. Something so large that gets used as much as a blanket should not have to be sent to the dry cleaners.”

“I use worsted weight, although there are some exceptions. Sometimes a yarn is a bit thicker or thinner and I have to adjust my tension accordingly. For example, in the Celtic Cross (below), the green yarn is just a touch thicker than the white. That was not a problem for the cross itself, but the border became very lopsided. I dealt with that by leaving the green off of the edge of some strategically located rows.”

“I seem to have a lot of Red Heart, Caron One Pound, and TLC Essentials in my stash at present. I’ve begun to experiment with textured yarns of various sorts, still sticking with machine wash-and-dry. The trees on Jennifer’s blanket have leaves made of Paton’s Mosaic.”

The Celtic Cross tapestry is based on the Celtic Cross at St. Moluag’s cathedral (below left) that stands outside the church. Annie’s tapestry is 8 feet tall and 26 inches wide, just about life-sized.

This Celtic Cross hanging is a real tour de force!

Annie made good use of yarn left over from the Celtic Cross. She says, “I’ve been admiring everyone’s work, and thought I would try to make something in a shape other than a blanket. Can I make something with five points? Yes, I can. It looks like a kid’s flower. Then what? Put a border on it - maybe it will turn into a bowl. It made some sort of funky thing that maybe the cats will sleep in.”

Annie’s cat approves!

Annie admits to the obsession that many of us share! She says, “Obsessed? Is this an obsession? Just because I have a hook in one hand and yarn on the other during almost all waking hours (and, truth be told, during some of the sleeping hours as well) you call this obsessed? Just because I cannot possibly crochet fast enough to keep up with all the lovely things I want to make?”

“Ok, maybe a little obsessed…I have found the actual crocheting not so difficult to do. It is like learning to crochet in the first place - how to hold the yarn, create the proper amount of tension, not get tangled. It is just adding the dimension of holding tension on two or more yarns instead of one that I found tricky to get the hang of at first.”

“Everyone seems to have their favorite way of developing graphs, or working from them. Some peoples’ stitches seem to go off at a slant, some are more vertical, etc. I suppose it is a matter of experimentation, eh? And isn’t that what makes this so pleasurable? The stretching of the brain cells to figure out the next trick.”

“Here is a site I learned about while wandering around the tapestry crochet world, where you can make almost any sort of graph paper imaginable. I didn’t have a source of graph paper, so I made up a way to make charts on Excel. Who’da thunk - Excel as an art form!”

“I have absolutely no talent at drawing, so Excel, with its placement of cells as pixels, works for me. It is sort of a pointillist approach that seems to get me where I need to be in order to keep track of a pattern while I am crocheting it.”

A tapestry pictured in Lord of the Rings inspired Annie to design and charted this Prancing Pony tapestry.

“The thing with my work is this - I have no earthly idea how to read a crochet pattern. I have looked at them and am completely mystified. So I make stuff up.”

There’s no telling what Annie will do next. She says that “Inspiration is to be found all around us - in patterns of floor tiles and woodwork in old buildings, in horse blankets, clothing, sculpture, etc. I took a photo of the construction of a garden gate that I want to work into a charted pattern.”

You can see more pictures and keep up with her new work in Annie’s blog and in her Tapestry Crochet Yahoo Group photo albums.

Looking for a 2009 calendar? Do you crochet? Then you’re in luck - because the 2009 Crochet Calendar can keep you up to date and happily hooking all year!

This calendar has both easy and more challenging projects - and includes the pattern for my felted tapestry crochet basket below.

15″ diameter Felted Tapestry Crochet Basket in the 2009 CROCHET CALENDAR

For those who like to crochet loosely – this is the project for you – since it’s tapestry crocheted with a size P hook, chunky wool, and loose stitches. The wool magically shrinks and felts in a washing machine. The beauty of felted tapestry crochet is that the pattern is visible on both sides of the fabric.

This is what the basket looked like before felting.

Yes, this basket was supposed to be a hat, but it turned out WAY too big - so voila - a basket was born!

Looking for a Christmas present or a New Year’s resolution? How about gifting or learning a new skill? Crochetville is offering several online classes, including mine that will teach how to bead and then felt the tapestry crocheted 3.5″ wide felted cell phone bag below.

Bead tapestry crochet reversible cell phone bag before and after felting.

The loose stitch used for felted tapestry crochet is perfect for beginners. Students need to know how to chain, slip stitch, and single crochet, but will be taught how to change colors, place beads, and felt their project in the washing machine.  These skills can then be used to create a variety of other projects - maybe even next year’s gifts! Happy holidays!