Square-mesh Netting

The class for Square-mesh netting is progressing.  This week I was able to get the video taping done.  Next week I hope to have the videos finished.  I realized that for this class I have only small and large projects.  Nothing in the middle, and nothing that would be quick to make and  practical in an everyday sort of way.

So Thursday I asked family and friends gathered around our Thanksgiving table for some suggestions.  Scarfs and dishcloths were suggested, and I may come up with some, but late last night I picked up some left-over yarn and this morning I finished . . .



. . . a rectangular square-mesh net bag.

The handles are diamond mesh, but the body of the bag is square-mesh.

Now, before you say anything, I know it's small, so tiny in fact that I could barely squeeze in the two apples and and orange.  But now I know I can make one, I just have to figure out the proper number of squares for the width and the length.

Differences in Netting Methods

There are several methods used to tie the netting knot.  Lately I've been referring to two of them as the lace-maker's method and the net-maker's method.

Most of the time when I think of the differences between the two methods, I think of how they are tied.  There are also differences in how the knots look after they are tied.  This week I learned another way they are different.






I received an e-mail asking me if there was a way to create the Carrots Increase Stitch using the net-maker's method so that it looked like it does in the photo.









I was not sure, so I made a sample of this stitch using each method and I discovered a difference.  Can you see the difference?  The red sample was made using the lace-maker's method and the blue one made using the net-maker's method.

 Look closely where the increases are made.  In the red sample the 3 knots net into the loop follow the curve of the loop, while in the blue sample the 3 knots climb up the loop.  The knots in the red sample are tied around the single strand of cord forming the loop.  The knots in the blue sample are tied over both strands that form the loop.  Since the knots in the blue sample are tied around the loop, the loop actually gets smaller.

So, when it comes to the question in the email, my answer is that it is not possible to get the same look to the Carrots Increase Stitch using the net-maker's method as you would get if you used the lace-maker's method.  If you want the same look as the first photo in this post, you would have to tie the knots using the lace-maker's method.

Now I'll be the first to acknowledge that I don't know everything about netting, especially when it comes to the net-maker's method.  I received personalized, one-on-one teaching from my grandmother when I learned the lace-maker's method, but I learned the net-maker's method from a book.

So my question, to those of you who are more proficient and experienced in netting using the net-maker's method, is:  "Do you agree with me?"   If you do not, please tell or show us how to get the same look.

New Netting Class and Mistborn Cloak are both finished

It's done.  After 11 months of working on it, Netting, More or Less is now available.  This netting class shows how to increase and decrease while netting.  It includes patterns for headbands, dishcloths, bags, and a snood (hairnet).  To register for the class, click here.  This class is ongoing, so when you can begin the class as soon as you register for it.  (Contact me if you have problems.)  I have also structured the class so that there is also no ending time.  You can go back and review how to do something whenever you need to.


I've already started working on the next class:  Square Mesh Netting.  By checking the syllabus for Square Mesh Netting, you can see that currently there are six more videos to make and all the PDF patterns and transcriptions.  I hope it will not take as long to pull together as the last one did.

Several weeks ago I mentioned that I was making a Mistborn Cloak as a Halloween costume for my son.  I did finish it before Halloween.  However, due to the snowstorm and downed power lines that arrived days before Halloween, he was not able to wear it for Halloween.

During the week when school was  not held, I managed to get some photos.

It came complete with a pouch for coins and a belt / sash with places to store his "metals" vials.

Winter Fairyland or Natural Disaster

It looked like a winter fairyland Sunday morning when I got up.  The storm arrived before I took down my garden trellises.  Everything was blanketed in 9-12 inches of white.


There were only a couple of problems with this winter wonderland.  When I looked out an upstairs window Saturday night, I noticed something that had not been in our backyard earlier in the day.

Yes, a tree had fallen under the weight of the snow on its leaves.  It knocked over the basketball standard and came within inches of the back porch awning.   We were fortunate that it fell the way it did.  It could have landed on the house.

By Sunday morning portions of a second tree had joined the first.

By afternoon the trees were without snow and we were without power.










We were without power from Sunday morning until Friday morning.  However, there are those worse off.  My daughter, who lives within a couple of miles from us (in the same town), lost power for a whole week - Saturday afternoon (October 29) to Saturday afternoon (November 5).




It's impossible to go through something like this without learning something.  Here are a few of the things I learned:

• have enough coolers to hold the contents of the freezer component of the refrigerator.
• pans of snow (changed twice a day) will keep a refrigerator cold enough that the food in it will not spoil.
• having a thermometer for the house, freezer, and refrigerator gives peace of mind.
• the basement kept slightly warmer than the upper part of the house overnight.
• just having people sitting in a room for a while (playing games) raised the temperature of that room.
• sitting in the sun on an enclosed porch while the sun is pouring in through all the windows can get you warmer than staying inside the house.
• layering clothing works.
• sleeping bags work to keep children warm at night.
• even a small charcoal grill will cook food and heat up water if you have nothing better.
• fix meals before the sun goes down and it gets cold.
• I need to find some "emergency food supplies" that are suited to no-power, no-heat, individual-portion situations that are nutritious, affordable, and will store for more than a couple of years.
• I was just as busy as usual, but on different projects (a quilt, a moebius scarf, a rectangular scarf, a net shawl instead of websites and netting classes*).

I know my list would be different if the season and the disaster were different.  And, speaking of disasters, I wonder what is coming next.  So far during 2011, my area of the country has experienced an ice storm, a tornado, micro-bursts, an earthquake, a hurricane, and now heavy snow storm.  Any suggestions what I should prepare for next?  My oldest daughter suggested fire.

*Speaking of netting classes - Netting, More or Less is completed as far as the videos and transcripts go.  I just need to have time on the computer to get the classroom up and connected to PayPal (something I was planning to do this past week).