December 24, 2014

Christmas Traditions


I'll warn you right up front, this post has nothing to do with micro macrame.  It is the time of year when my thoughts turn toward family and friends and I would like to share something special with you.  My grandfather, Papa Arnie to me, was a first generation American, both of his parents having immigrated as children.  Our heritage is Czech and it is most apparent when we fix holiday meals.  Christmas dinner just wouldn't be complete without potato dumplings and sauerkraut.  Papa tried to teach several of us how to make dumplings over the years but none are as good as his.  A few years ago I took step by step photos and documented every thing he told me.  Papa has since passed away, but this is his recipe:





We usually serve our dumplings with roast turkey (although most of my grandparents liked goose) and we always have to put some of the "drippings" from the bird on the table to be spooned over the dumplings.  You also have to have sauerkraut with them (that's a rule).


If you manage to make enough that there are leftovers, they're really good cut into smaller pieces and fried for the next meal.

I get a little sentimental this time of year and the absence of most of my grandparents seems more apparent during the holidays.  I try to remember fondly all of the celebrations over the years rather than dwell on the loss.  And if I get a little maudlin, it only takes a glance at this sweet face to remind me just how good life is.


I hope your holidays are beautiful and filled with love.

December 18, 2014

Online Micro Macrame Classes on Sale: Enabler Alert


Enabler alert!!  This is just a quicky post to let you know about an awesome sale on my micro macrame classes at CraftArtEdu.com.  ALL of them are on sale through Sunday (December 21, 2014) - up to 33% off!  (Details here.)


You can find the whole list of my classes here, and don't forget the free tutorial in my last post!   Happy knotting!


December 17, 2014

My Holiday Gift to You: A Free Micro Macrame Tutorial

Micro macrame bracelet DIY tutorial from Sherri Stokey of Knot Just Macrame.

I'm in the mood for spreading some holiday cheer, so I'm giving you a little gift:  a micro macrame tutorial that will teach you how to make this twisted bracelet. This one is pretty easy; in fact, I think if you can tie your shoes, you can probably make this.  Really!  Are you ready?  Here's what you'll need:


To recap:  scissors, glue, pliers, cord caps (4-5mm inner diameter), a clasp (I used a lobster clasp & ring, but you could use a toggle instead) and a jump ring for attaching, 3 colors of .5mm nylon bead cord (like C-lon or Superlon) and 1 color of 1mm Tex 400 cord.  Hint:  if you're confused about cord sizes, check out this post.  Cut cord:  for a 6" piece of macrame, I used 60" lengths of the .5mm cords (1 piece of each color) and a 22" length of the Tex 400.  Straighten the cords (covered in this post if you need instructions).  You can adjust the lengths of cord for the length of the piece you want, but you'll have to do the math.


Let's get a little closer in on the knots so you can see better.


Easy, right?  You will notice the knots starting to spiral as you go along and that's exactly what you want.  Once you have the length of knotting that you want, tie off the end with an overhand knot and glue on the caps.


And that's a wrap!  Happy holidays & have fun knotting!

Twisted Micro Macrame bracelet from Knot Just Macrame.

P.S. (because I always think of something more to say when I'm supposed to be finished) I added a little bead dangle to dress mine up a bit (polymer bead by Shane Smith).  

P.P.S.  For some reason the videos aren't showing up in the emailed version of this post.  If you can't see the videos, you probably won't think this is a very good tutorial.   Please go to the actual blog post and give me a chance to change your mind.

EDITED to add this helpful hint from Donna.  Donna was having problems with her piece coming out more flat with ridges rather than a round cord like shown.  The secret to avoiding this issue is to hold your work upright when you knot (so it looks like a squid like in the 3rd video).  Don't think of this has being a flat half knot.  Don't pin the length of your work down flat and don't hold the filler cord down.  Use just one pin to hold it down while you work or even use a safety pin and pin it to the leg of your jeans as you knot - that will force you to hold it up off of the surface while knotting.  Thank you, Donna, for your help!!

December 8, 2014

The Evolution of Woodland Plaid

Micro macrame knotting by Sherri Stokey.

It seems the holiday season is upon us whether or not we agree that a year could possibly have passed since the last holiday season.  Red bows look pretty against bright green trees, but in jewelry I am not a big fan of those traditional colors, so I started playing around withmore muted versions.

Micro macrame bracelets by Knot Just Macrame.
 
I chose cool blue greens of spruce and softer berry tones.  

Micro macrame with beads by Sherri Stokey.
 
I added some woodsy browns to ground the colors and ended up with these:

Micro macrame bracelets in muted holiday colors.

It's always fascinating to me how  the same beads can look so different when tied in another color of cord.  I also like to take the same combination of beads and cord and use it in different patterns.  For this one I used all three colors of cord together.

Woodland plaid in micro macrame by Knot Just Macrame.

And I came up with a pattern that reminds me of a woodland plaid.  And that, of course, led me to add a woodland creature (from Dreams and Elements).

Macrame bracelet by Sherri Stokey with owl from Dreams & Elements.

Now if the woodland elves would come get these things listed in my shop, I could get on with my holiday baking!



Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...