Cozy Badger Fiber Arts

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Fuck Alzheimer's

on November 13, 2019

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I miss my mom.

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Bee Combs for Wool!

I made a discovery in 2017, when searching for an economic version of wool combs. I've had a pair of hand cards for years, and in a pinch cat or dog slicker brushes will work, though they're much smaller so you will need to card in smaller batches. I've tried dog combs for making a combed preparation, but wasn't really happy with them. So that's why one day I decided to wander the local farm store, and see what they might have. I was browsing the horse area, when I found inexpensive combs in a neighboring section - beekeeping. Now, you're probably thinking to yourself, what do bees have to do with processing fiber? It's not the bees themselves, but their combs. Beekeepers use handheld comb scratchers to remove excess wax. They're also known as uncapping forks. At Rural King they sell for $5 apiece, so you can have a pair of mini combs for $10. I've seen them online for cheaper, but a local purchase means instant gratification. I've purchased

Patterns are Diving Boards

It's rare these days for me to follow a crochet pattern exactly. Sometimes I'll use a different yarn, so will have to adjust for the gauge or figure out how the stripes will affect it rather than the solids in the original pattern. Other times I'll change some of the stitches used - I'll almost always use foundation crochet rather than chaining and then stitching into the chain, partly because the foundation gives a stretchier edge, and also because I invariably make my chains either too tight or way too loose and I'm unhappy with how the edge looks. So patterns are great for inspiration and providing a place to leap from. Don't be afraid to dive into an experimentt - if you try something and it doesn't work out, you can always unravel it and go back to the pattern. After all, frogging is part of the process. I fell in love with the dramatic bell sleeves of this sweater by Chasing SunRaee Designs, but when I watched the tutorial video I immediately deci

A Stitch by any other name...

One of the best things about crochet is its versatility. While knitting is developed from 2 main stitches (knit, purl), crochet starts with more stitches in its arsenal, and since you're only working with one stitch at a time (unless you're doing Tunisian crochet), you have more flexibility to change height, direction, etc. You can make a solid fabric, with either a smooth or textured feel, a delicate frothy lace confection, or anything in between. New stitch combinations are developed by designers and with the internet and social media, these designs can be shared around the world with a few clicks! The flip side of this is that some stitch combinations are called by multiple names. Sometimes I think I'm experiencing deja vu when I start to follow a new pattern and realize that I've done the stitch before, but it was called something different. If you use Ravelry, it can be frustrating to try and find a pattern if you remember the "wrong" name that they cal

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CozyBadger Fiber Arts, Kristin Moran