More Mesh Poi

I mentioned last week that Carmen chose some net mesh poi for having the correct answers in my contest.  When I checked with Lucy I discovered that she wanted the same thing - in a different color.  So this past week I have been busy netting Mesh Poi.  I made sure that the pocket or bag section would hold several different sizes of balls.

The blue ones have been delivered to Lucy.  

The pink ones were delivered to Carmen.

Since I have no idea how long the cotton yarn will last before it wears out, I wondered what the mesh poi would look like if I made it from something more sturdy -- parachute cord.

I had some extra black around the house, so I decided to use it up.  It is more challenging to net with since I cannot put as much cord on the shuttle; however, I think it would last much longer.

I think I'll let my son, who started the whole project, test this style and compare it to the cotton ones I sent him earlier.  He'll be visiting in October and I can wait that long for his opinion.

Why I make netting class patterns several times

In May, 2012, I displayed photos of the net dishcloths I've designed for my circular netting class.  Recently I remade the same dishcloths using colored yarn.  I've learned that by making them a second and maybe a third time, I will often pick up mistakes I made when I wrote the instructions.

Carrots Net Dishcloth

Skirt Net Dishcloth

There was not much to fix on the Carrots Net Dishcloth or the Skirt Net Dishcloth instructions.

I needed to make several changes to the Fan Net Dishcloth pattern.  I had to increase the size of some of the mesh sticks and change the placement of the Fan Stitches.  After a couple of tries, I ended up with a larger dishcloth, fewer knots, but about the same amount of yarn used.

Fan Net Dishcloth

Even though I had to net this pattern more times than the other two patterns, I like the results. 

I wonder what would happen if I used a 3/8" gauge for the large mesh stick instead of the small mesh stick.  I wonder if it would fit on top of a net bookmark.  I wonder . . . 

A New Net Toy and Netting Contest Results

My oldest son seems to enjoy finding and helping me design new and different netting projects.  He suggested that I net something other than doilies.  When I asked him what, he suggested netting snoods.  He was the one who helped me design the net Klein bottle bag.  So I was not too surprised when he recently suggested a new project.  He wanted me to net a poi.

"A what?" I asked, thinking that poi was something to eat.

It turns out that he was thinking of another kind of poi.  The kind of poi he meant is a ball on a chain, or a length of fabric that holds a ball.  Since he is into juggling and martial arts, I could see why he might want me to make one.

He was willing to help me design it, provided I make him a set in black and white. We came up with a single poi and a double poi.

I made the 2" balls out of black and white denim, using only two pieces and one seam.  The seam on the balls makes them look like baseball-shaped beanbags.  I used poly-fil by Fairfield to give them some weight and allow them to be washed.

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The contest that ended last week had only two people brave enough to post their guesses.  They were both right, so I decided to make something for each of them.  Carmen has chosen to have me make her a set of mesh poi.  Lucy, let me know what you want.

An unusual-looking net bag

I have a friend who is battling cancer.  She has a PAC, a small machine that provides pain medication as she needs it.   That machine needs to stay with her.  The hospital provided her with a bag that was supposed to go over her head and one shoulder and hang down.  Because of various medical reasons no bag could hang across her neck and shoulder, so she asked me for help in designing a bag that would work for her.

We chose to make the bag of netting rather than fabric so she could access her machine without removing it from the bag.  The finished bag was certainly different from other net bags I have designed.

We attached the bag to a net belt that was pointed at each end.  The pointed ends make it easy to find the ends of the net belt.

The belt tied around her waist - the knot at one side.

Her machine was along her leg and within easy reach, so she could make any adjustments she needed to through the netting.

Now her machine rests beside her on her chair or the couch while she is sitting.  No more forgetting to grab it when she starts to walk.

It took only a bit of netting and part of an afternoon to help a friend.


UPDATE:  Some changes in the style of the bag.