Macrame Update and Fancy Rope Work

I continue my experiment with macrame by making a second hemp bracelet. This one turned out much better. My tension was much more even. For the clasp, I made a small (and somewhat malformed) monkey's fist knot on one end and just left a loop on the other end. To close it off, I just use a lark's head around the monkey's fist knot. It's a bit difficult to unclasp, but it was a darned sight better looking than the first attempt.

I've also since done a bit of rope fancywork. I found a black, plastic fishing rod case at a boating store nearby that was half off. I picked it up to store some maps in, and maybe to use as a poster tube for conventions. Then I got the bright idea of covering it in rope and throwing some turk's head knots on it. It doesn't look half bad. I put a french hitching (which is really just a loose serving with a half-hitch knot forming a spiral down the tube) all the way down it. I didn't have long enough lengths of rope to do it in one pass, so I then put some turk's head knots on it to cover the slight gaps where I connected new sections of rope. I also want to put a shoulder strap on it to make it easier to carry. We'll have to see how that plays out.

I still haven't worked any more on the black and blue hexagon blanket. I also still haven't gotten a Flikr account or even taken pictures of anything. I am such a procrastinator.

Macramé

I've started experimenting with macramé this week. I've heard about it for a while, but only now have I tried it. It's interesting. I like it overall.

One mistake I made was to use a variegated, acryllic yarn for a sampler. That didn't work out so well. The multi-colored yarn made it hard to see the stitch definition, and the stretch of the acryllic made it hard to work with.

Last night I made a dinky little hemp bracelet using just square knots and a few beads. That turned out much better, but I didn't end it quite correctly. I tried making a monkey's fist at one end and a loop at the other, but it still didn't connect very well. I think maybe I'll make another attempt, with a monkey's fist again, but just a simple loop. I might be able to connect them with a lark's head knot. That way it would be easily removable without having to cut it. I'm hopeful that would work, anyway. I suppose we'll just have to see.

I'm still working on the blue and black hexagon blanket, but it's proceeding somewhat slowly. Eventually I suppose I'll have to get a Flikr account or something and start posting pictures of things.