Christopher M. Ochs Arts & Crafts

11/10/2024

What’s been on the needles lately: a triangular shawl made entirely from my own handspun. The darker shades are Shetland wool and silk; the lighter shades Merino and silk.

11/09/2024

After an extended absence from earnest work in the studio, I’m dedicating the weekend here to rest, recharge, and answer the soul’s call for creativity.

I’m continuing on my latest scarf, now-named Diwali Marigolds, that’s been patiently waiting on the loom. There’s also spinning, crocheting, and knitting, as often as I can fit them all in in satisfying rotation.

Of course, studio imps are never far away while I work. 😼😸

08/18/2024

It looks like knitting and sometimes like weaving. Making a happy return to Tunisian crochet. 😊🧶

07/22/2024

My new "Sunset" hand-knit beanie is now listed in the shop: https://www.christophermochs.com/product/15357118/sunset-hand-knit-beanie.

This colourway of the "GINA" line of yarn by Plymouth Yarn Company reminded me of sunsets I've seen, most recently one at Rialto Beach on Washington state's Olympic Peninsula. Between a bank of clouds overhead and the ocean water, the setting sun created the most spectacular strip of warm, yellow light between the two before it dipped below the horizon. 🌅

"Sunset" hand-knit beanie. Two knit, two purl vertical rib and stockinette pattern.Fit-all adult size*. 100% wool ("GINA" by Plymouth Yarn Company).(*Note: Mannequin head display is a smaller-than-average model. The featured hat will comfortably fit an average adult-size head).Photos (c) Christopher...

03/01/2024

My new "Meraki" hand-crocheted shawl/throw/wrap is now listed in the shop: https://www.christophermochs.com/product/13677227/meraki-hand-crocheted-shawl-throw-wrap

Meraki [merak-kee] is a Greek word attributed to activity done with creativity, love, passion, and soul; it's from the heart and part of you in the purest sense.

I chose this word because it seemed perfect for a new crocheted shawl/throw/wrap, something I haven't done in a long time. Crochet was also my first-learned fibre art, so putting the skill back to use to create this cozy piece was certainly a meraki-inspired effort.

"Meraki" hand-crocheted shawl/throw/wrap. Slanted Shell stitch.Approximately 8' long, 2' wide; 100% wool.Photos (c) Christopher M. OchsCLEANING: Hand-soak in a solution of warm water and gentle liquid soap (e.g., Dr. Bronner's Pure-Castile Soap, Eucalan, Soak), ensuring not to agitate. Gently squeez...

02/24/2024

My first-in-a-long-time crocheted shawl/throw/wrap was finished today! The pattern is a favourite Slanted Shell and the yarn is Fishermen’s Wool by Lion Brand Yarn.

The listing on my website will follow soon. 😊

02/10/2024

🌞☺️

02/03/2024

Heh--if I've found the dropped stitch(es) in time, I've learned to be fine with that. However, if it's rows upon rows earlier, I can relate, at first.

Fortunately, after well over a decade of knitting, I've learned to grow comfortable with dropped stitches, even those found many, many rows ago 😑. Interestingly, a crochet hook is quite useful for picking up dropped stitches. And sometimes, if I'm feeling spicy, I just slip the yarn off the needles, do the rip-it, rip-it 🐸🐸 until I get back to my mistake, fix it, and continue.

Fixing one's own mistakes is a wonderful lesson in life, something even knitting teaches us. Just never use the pokey-things for stabby-stab if frustrated. 😉

01/29/2024

Sunday’s spinnables: Merino with silk, one of my favourite roving blends for a luxurious, pearlescent, handspun yarn. ☺️

01/24/2024

…then I get bored with hand-processing from fleece and just want to spin from simple, easy roving. 😂

This is some lovely brown alpaca I dug out of the stash. Alpaca is a favourite as it’s like buttah 🧈 to spin. 😊

01/21/2024

Tonight I opted for a more challenging spin. Sometimes spinning roving (long and narrow bundle of machine-processed fibre) can feel monotonous and a little *too easy,* so if I'm craving more involvement in my spinning, I will work with fleece.

I've had this beautiful, pearlescent-white sheep fleece for a long time; so long that I can't remember, for the life of me, what the sheep breed is. (Pro Tip: *ALWAYS* label your fibre! 🙃) Some time ago, I had already begun hand-processing and spinning this fleece, having left a partially-full bobbin with it. This mystery fleece, with its beautifully crimped locks, makes it a joy to 'harvest' the locks by hand, then delicately spread them into little floof squares for spinning.

Rather than spin from the prepared locks as I had been doing, I decided to use my Brother Drum Carder. The locks still required processing by hand before feeding them into the carder, but I was able to produce a higher volume of organised fibre. This helped me spin more consistently and for longer sessions than stop-and-go with individual locks.

Once I have two bobbins full of this mystery fleece, I'll ply onto one another for a final two-ply yarn that I will soak and hang to dry. Processing fleece this way can be humbling, as it reminds me how much work some of our ancestors had to do in order to produce their own woollens, even without the help of a drum carder.

01/18/2024

The jumbo jar of buttons ended up going into a bath to clean off all the dust, loose thread and cloth bits, and overall smell of vintage mustiness.

While sifting through them in the soap bath, I found little oddities like beads, googly eyes, marbles, and pennies. After the water ran clear, I rinsed the buttons once more and dumped them onto a towel to dry. Spreading a beautiful array of buttons around through my fingers is a new ASMR experience for me, maybe reminiscent of playing with seashells at the beach as a kid.

As I had a better look at the hoard, I admit a felt a bit like Smaug from The Hobbit, consumed by his love of gold. Hopefully I won’t get button sickness. 🐉😏

01/16/2024

This may be the most ridiculous purchase I’ve made so far this year, but I had to have ‘em. 🤣 I decided to get out of the house today for a bit of antiquing and came upon this jumbo jar of buttons. I’ve seen many a button jar on my antiquing adventures, but none quite like this, and for such a reasonable price.

Having no real button collection before this (just a few spares in my mending kit), I saw real possibility in incorporating these into textiles for both functional and aesthetic purposes.

In the meantime, my curious, OCD self is going to have a ball sorting through these. 🤪

01/15/2024

My "Forests of Avalon" handspun and hand-knit beanie is now off the needles and listed in my shop: https://www.christophermochs.com/product/13048092/forests-of-avalon-handpun-and-hand-knit-beanie.

I was inspired to knit this piece after sorting through a growing stash of my handspun yarns. These days, I tend to reserve my handspun for crocheted and knitted projects as there is nothing quite like the feel of handspun yarn through your fingers as you whip it into a wearable creation, stitch by stitch.

This particular yarn came from an art batt (a rolled up bundle of mixed fibres that have been combed/carded together on a drum carder: https://woolery.com/fiber-tools/drum-carders.html) I purchased consisting of wool, mohair (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohair), and angelina/firestar (fibrous, synthetic materials that add sparkle). What I love about art batts is, with their mixture of materials, I'm almost forced to break my habit of consistent spinning for a resulting thick-thin yarn that looks more artfully 'handspun.'

I don't put cables into beanies/hats often enough, so I chose a cable design to resemble whimsical tree trunks that join into one canopy of subtle, interconnected cabling work that becomes the crown of the beanie. The soft, misty green of the yarn made me think of the forests within a shroud of mists on the legendary isle of Avalon.

"Forests of Avalon" handspun and hand-knit beanie. Knit, purl, and cabled pattern.Fit-all adult size*. Approximately 90% handspun wool and mohair blend, and 10% kid mohair (plied onto the handspun yarn).(*Note: Mannequin head display is a smaller-than-average model. The featured beanie will comforta...

01/08/2024

Mowgli (and sometimes Arthur) joined me today in the loft where I was flitting between projects.

I know some followers already know this about me 😂, but I can have a grand ol’ time working on multiple projects in a rotation-style process. It’s my way of maintaining momentum on projects and keeping things interesting during long crafting spells. 😊 Today was crochet, knitting, and weaving.

A friend also dropped by this weekend on her way to do some antiquing at a local antique hotspot. She kindly brought flowers 💐 which now grace the loft where I can make sure they don’t fall victim to house-imp shenanigans. 😼😼😼

01/05/2024

Making great progress on the new scarf tonight. For added warmth, I thought a mustard-yellow weft would look great with the orange-pink-red warp. I’m also including a bit of pick-up-stick technique to add some texture and horizontality to the pattern.

Sometimes I never know how the weave will look like once chosen warp and weft colours are blended together. I often liken weaving to painting with yarn. 🎨

01/05/2024

Dressing a loom for weaving (or warping) can be tedious, but if you’re playing with fun art yarns like these, it makes it a pleasurable process.

Since my last woven scarf was in hues of blue and purple, I wanted to make this next one warmer. I believe what colours we keep in our immediate environment have a direct impact on our mood and general outlook.

With freezing temperatures heading to my neck of the woods (and possibly snow next week 🌨️❄️☃️😁), I wanted a ‘cozy-coloured’ woven to work on in the coming days.