Bach's Toccata in D Minor - for Harp

 

Coming up on Halloween, here's a harp arrangement of Bach's Toccata in D Minor.  I've always wanted to arrange this, and I discovered that it takes 2 harps to make this pipe-organ piece sound good.  It's 2 minutes long.

Pictures in Video -

1 - Harp of Life, from book cover, written by George Augustus Lofton, Nashville, Tennessee, 1896
2 - Harp at Night, pencil drawing by Carl Gustav Carus, circa 1895
3 - Patrick Byrne, photo by Hill and Adamson, circa 1845
4 - The Harp Player, oil painting by Kenyon Cox, 1888
5 - Quadrangle at King's College Cambridge, etching by Thomas Rowlandson, 1811
6 - Elizabeth Francis Standing to the Left with a Harp, cut paper silhouette by Auguste Edouart, Philadelphia, 1843
7 - The Harp Lesson, oil painting by Jean-Antoine-Theodore-Giroust, 1791
8 - Prophets, Patriarchs, Saints, and Music-Making Angels in Glory, drawing by Giovanni Bautista Gaulli, circa 1670
9 - David the Boy Harper, from book cover, written by Mrs. Annie E. Smiley, 1900
10 - Angel with Harp, by Jan Matejko, Poland, 1895

Totentanz

This is the last in my series of Fall classical harp arrangements.  The music is "Totentanz" by Franz Liszt, and I've excerpted and arranged parts of it for two harps.  It's about death, and I have included lots of pictures of angels, saints, and heaven.  3-1/2 minutes of some amazing music!

Pictures in Video -

1 - Die Musick, painting by Carl Gustav Carus, Germany, 1826
2 - The Raven, book illustration by Gustave Dore, France, 1884
3 - The Raven, book illustration by Gustave Dore, France, 1884
4 - The Raven, book illustration by Gustave Dore, France, 1884
5 - Passage, painting by Anna Sahlsten, Finland, 1894
6 - The Body of St. Catherine of Alexandria, Taken Up to Paradise by Angels, painting by Heinrich Mucke, Germany, 1836
7 - The Woman Who Remained, magazine illustration by Cyrus Cuneo, London, 1900
8 - Fervaal, opera illustration by Carlos Schwabe, Paris, 1898
9 - Christian Martyrs, painting by Gustave Dore, France, 1871
10 - Jacob's Dream, Bible illustration by Gustave Dore, France, 1866
11 - And There Was a Great Cry in Egypt, painting by Arthur Hacker, London, 1897
12 - Jack and the Fairy Harp, illustration by George Cruikshank, London, 1853
13 - Angel with Harp, watercolor by Jan Matejko, Poland, 1895
14 - Divine Comedy, book illustration by the Pico Master, Venice, 1491
15 - The Boat of Souls, book illustration by Gustave Dore for The Divine Comedy, France, 1880
16 - Cemeteries for Animals, book illustration by Anna Harris Smith, Boston, 1900
17 - Dante in Heaven, painting by William Cave Thomas, London, circa 1900
18 - Highest Heaven, book illustration by Gustave Dore for The Divine Comedy, France, 1880
19 - Divine Comedy, book illustration by the Pico Master, Venice, 1491
20 - The Celestial Country, book illustration for Edwin S. Gorham publ., New York, 1900
21 - The Ninth Heaven, book illustration by Gustave Dore for The Divine Comedy, France, 1880

Passacaille by G.F. Handel, transcribed for Harp

Here's another classical harp transcription with a very fall-October-marching-into-Halloween feel.  The piece is "Passacaille" by Handel, transcribed for harp by Tiny Beon.  It's 3 minutes of pure harpistic drama and lots of pictures of fairies, gnomes, and such.

Pictures in Video -

1 - A Carnival Evening, painting by Henri Rousseau, France, 1886
2 - The Princess and the Trolls, book illustration by John Bauer, Sweden, 1913
3 - The Pied Piper of Hamelin, book illustration by Kate Greenaway, London, 1888
4 - Walking Mice in Landscape, book illustration by Elly Verstynen, Netherlands, circa 1915
5 - The Pied Piper of Hamelin, painting by James Elder Christie, Scotland, 1881
6 - Water-Lilies and Water Fairies, book illustration by Richard Doyle, London, 1870
7 - Gnomes, book illustration by Maria Konopnicka, Poland, 1909
8 - Arrival of the King and Queen of Fairyland, book illustration by E. Stuart Hardy, London, 1895
9 - The Brownies, book illustration by Palmer Cox, Canada, 1906
10 - Fairy Hordes Attacking a Bat, painting by John Anster Fitzgerald, London, circa 1860
11 - The Fairy Queen Takes an Airy Drive, book illustration by Richard Doyle, London, 1870
12 - The Waterfall, painting by Henri Rousseau, France, 1910
13 - Fairy Islands, book illustration by Ida Rentoul Outhwaite, Australia, 1916
14 - In Fairyland, book illustration by Richard Doyle, London, 1870
15 - Midsummer Eve, painting by Edward Robert Hughes, London, 1908
16 - Brownies in the Clock Tower, drawing by Palmer Cox, Canada, circa 1900
17 - The Brownies in the Orchard, drawing by Palmer Cox, Canada, circa 1900

Mysterious Barricades

In honor of Autumn and October, I've made a series of classical harp music videos. This first one is my transcription of "Mysterious Barricades" by Francois Couperin. It's 2-1/2 minutes of happy, harpy French Baroque clockwork.

Pictures in Video -

1 - Gold pendant from Germany, circa 1610
2 - Fence at Buckingham Palace, London
3 - Blue fence in St. Helier, Jersey, UK
4 - Black fence in St. Helier, Jersey, UK
5 - Railing for Crystal Palace exhibition, London, 1851
6 - Altar rail, Holmens Kirke, Copenhagen
7 - Main entrance, Jardins des Plantes a Paris
8 - Milliken Brothers catalog, New York, 1900
9 - Red fence in St. Helier, Jersey, UK
10 - Harbour fence, Port of Auckland, New Zealand
11 - Victoria College fence, Jersey, UK
12 - Parish church fence, St. Helier, Jersey, UK
13 - Tomb with rail at Notre Dame, Paris

The Halloween March

I wrote this little piece for harp--it's called The Halloween March.   You get 52 seconds of vintage photos and harpistic Halloweening in the video.  Enjoy!

The Corrected Whimsical Witch-Hat and Elfitude Patterns

Well this is embarrassing.

I have replaced the Whimsical Witch-Hat and Elfitude patterns with corrected versions.  The crochet hook I used for developing the patterns was a brand-new one with the wrong size indicated on the molded label and on the printed package.  To make these hats, please use US size L, or 8 mm.  If you have a Boye hook that says 'N', it might be incorrect like mine, and it will work fine.  The best bet is to measure your hook with a caliper to get the millimeters.  And always make a gauge swatch. 

Thank you for your patience!

An Accidentally Scary Halloween Window

Here's one of two* Halloween windows I decorated last year for my friend, Peggy's shop in downtown Rockport, Texas.  This is the scary one.  My goal was to come out with eye-catching windows that wouldn't scare the little kids in town.  Well, I tried.  But it turned out pretty scary anyway.  I got the only not-scary mask in our small town, and when the blacklights came on, he just couldn't help it.  He became scary.  Here's how I made this window:

1. Make an adult-sized dummy by stuffing a long-sleeved shirt and blue jeans with packing material like air bags, bubble wrap, craft paper, whatever you have handy. Set him up in a chair or dress him on a dressmaker's form.  Be sure there is some kind of support for him up through the middle, to attach the head onto.  You can add things to make him interesting, like the cowboy boots, silver-buckle belt, and bolo-tie I used.

2. Get a plastic pumpkin and turn it upside down.  Place a life-like mask on the front of the pumpkin so the opening and handle are at the bottom.  Depending upon the mask, you might need to get some small pieces of paper and draw eyes on them (black dots will do) and tape them inside the eye holes. Then put a hat on him.  I used an over-sized cowboy hat, which is available here in Texas where the sun is really strong.

3. Affix the head onto the body.  You might need a lot of duct tape for this.  Here's where your inside body support is important.

4. Run a straightened-out wire coat hanger through the inside of each arm, with 4 or 5 inches sticking out of the cuffs.  Stuff a couple of rubber gloves--I used purple ones-- and put one on the end of each arm over the wire.  You'll want to put the bottom of each glove down into its shirt cuff and probably do some more duct-taping.

5. Here's the magic: Run a fishing-line from the ceiling down to each wrist and tie so the arms are held aloft by the string.  It's starting to get scary.

6. Place plug-in jack-o-lanterns of different sizes, on each side of your dummy.  For a better look, replace the bulbs with orange or "flame" colored Christmas bulbs, and set them at varying heights.  You can set them on boxes draped with black fabric or t-shirts.

7. At the front of the window, place a blacklight so it shines up onto the dummy.  Then attach 2 blacklights to the ceiling over the dummy, each pointing at one of his shoulders.

8. When nighttime comes, turn off the indoor lights in the room, turn on your window lights, and prepare to be scared.

This was a fun window in the daytime.  It looked kinda cute.  But at night it was downright ghoulish.

Bwahaha.

*Click here for the other window--cute, even at night.

A Window Full of Halloween

Last October I decorated the store windows* for one of our local downtown shops.  It occurred to me this year, that window decorating is a great way to have a home Halloween display that doesn't get stolen at some point during the month.  Here's how this one was put together.

1. Start with a yard decoration, like this Blo-Mold ghost, and replace the light bulb with a green one, or purple or orange, or whatever enhances the subject best.  I tried a blacklight screw-in bulb, but it was way too dim.  You can add something to make it special, like the cowboy hat here.

2. Then get a plug-in jack-o-lantern, and replace the clear bulb with an orange or "flame" colored Christmas bulb.  Set it on a box covered with a decorative cloth so it's a little higher than the Blo-Mold.  This one is red gingham.

3. Blow up a LOT of party balloons in a Halloweeny color that complements the other items in the window.  Since orange was the most important lower color in this window, lime green balloons were perfect.  Fill the bottom section of the window with balloons.

4. When night rolls around, light 'em up and watch them glow.  Be sure to darken the room for an eye-popping effect from outside.

*Click here for the other window--the scary one.

Lil' Punkin Hats

These are extra- and super-small sized versions of The Whimsical Witch-Hat pattern.  You can make a fast Halloween table decoration, centerpiece, or hat for a pumpkin.  The new smaller sizes are great for children, as well.

Here are the modifications to the pattern for these little hats:

1. Starting ring: for an 18" head circumference, ch 51; for 16", ch 48.

2. Brim: work only rounds 1-6.

The Whimsical Witch-Hat

This fast, easy hat is designed with a floppy brim as well as a flopped-over point. Whip one up for yourself, and another for your favorite pumpkin. (Shown with neckwarmer from the Witch Warmers pattern.)

UPDATE:  To make this hat, please use US size L / 8 mm--or the hook that gives you the correct gauge.  I have replaced the downloadable file with a corrected version.

Skill Level   Easy

Yarn
156-206 yds / 143-189m acrylic, wool, or blend worsted weight
in 3 colors

Schematic diagram included.

A free .pdf of this pattern is available as a download.

download now

You can find a tip and a variation for this pattern in the following posts:
Lil' Punkin Hats
Base Chain Circle
Felted Variation by designer, Daile Boulis

More Halloween crochet projects:
Witch Warmers in Crochet
Pumpkin Warmers
Halloween Treatwarmers

FO Friday: A Funny Witch Hat

I got this hat done, and it's the final prototype for The Whimsical Witch-Hat, a free pattern which will be done in a day or two.  I just need to make the Small size to get the yardage and dimensions... Medium and Large are done.  The pattern document and schematic are pretty much done, also.

In the photo, I'm also wearing the neckwarmer from the Witch Warmers pattern.

Happy Halloween!

How to Make a Greeting Card

This year, I decided to make and mail Halloween cards to my family. For some unknown reason, I have saved quite a few calendars from past years... I guess I liked the art. My son's old super-hero calendar was perfect for Halloween cards.

Here's how to do it:

1. Choose a picture that can be folded so the focal point looks good on the front. Cut it so the folded card will fit in an envelope. I used 6.5" x 4.75" envelopes that I had on hand.

2. For the liner, get some nice paper that is heavy enough to cover anything that's printed on the back of the card's outer piece. Cut it to exactly the same size as the outer piece.

3. Fold each piece in half, individually.

4. Write your message on the liner. I used a brush marker, which has a long, pointed felt tip. You can make cool writing with these pens by giving a whoosh to each stroke in a letter.

5. Apply double-stick tape to the back of the liner on the fold and on the left and right edges. Try to get the tape all the way out to the edges, from top to bottom. This gives a unified card edge for the recipient to open.

6. Line up the folds on the outer card and liner, and press just the folds together. Then shut the card and smooth it out to stick the edges together.

7. With scissors, trim off any liner that shows on the outside of the card.

WIP Wednesday: Halloween Treat-Socks

It's WIP Wednesday, and I have just started a Halloween sock. The yarn is "Halloween Treats," the sock of the month yarn from Tami (Candy Skein).

This is my basic sock design, which I have not yet published as a pattern. I think Tami's colorway is coming out like a nice, Halloween tweed. It would even be good for a man's sock. Oh boy, I'd love to have a sweater like this!

For more WIP Wednesday posts on other blogs, check here.

Wizard Warmers

Striped and cuffed, this set of armwarmers, legwarmers, and a neckwarmer is a men's version of the knitted Witch Warmers pattern. The armwarmers have French cuffs and easy-to-make cuff links. The buttoned neckwarmer opens with a wingtip effect at the top, and the legwarmers feature front and back extensions for a spats-look. They're fast and fun to make: no seaming or blocking.

U.S. knitting terms

Sizes
Neckwarmer: Men's X-Small (Small, Medium, Large)
Armwarmers: Men's one size
Legwarmers: Men's one size

Skill Level  Intermediate

Yarn  434 yds /397m
for complete set

Plymouth Encore DK wool blend
2 skeins #217 black: main color (MC)
1 skein #678 gray: contrast color (CC)
Photo shows discontinued Lion Brand Wool-Ease sportweight, #152 Oxford Gray and #153 Black.

Substitute Yarns: any wool, wool blend, or acrylic sportweight / DK yarn that knits to pattern gauge

Additional Materials
US 5 /3.75mm circ. needle, 40" /102cm cable
4 shank buttons, 3/4" /2cm for armwarmer
2 buttons, 1/2" /1.5cm for neckwarmer
1 large-eyed needle, size 18

Gauge 20 st x 17 rows = 2.75" x 2.75" /7cm x 7cm in K1P1 rib (unstretched flat swatch)

3 Schematic Diagrams: Armwarmer, Legwarmer, Neckwarmer

The Wizard Warmers pattern is available for purchase as a download here and on Ravelry. $3.00 USD



I owe a debt of gratitude to the brilliant Swedish knitter and crocheter, Absinthia, who improved the buttonhole on this pattern.

You can find tips and variations for this pattern in the following posts:
Add a Necktie!
Slytherin Neckwarmer
Swatch Wars
I Love Cable Cast-On
Cast-Ons: Keeping Count
Black Attack: Working with Dark Yarn
Magic Loop Rocks!
Straightening and Joining in the Round
Preventing Ladders
Preventing Uneven Ribs and Moss
Adding a Color in the Round
Quick and Dirty Striping in the Round
Exquisite Striping in the Round

Designer of the Month: Erssie Major!

Tomorrow is Dia de los Muertos, and what better time could there be to feature Erssie Major as Designer of the Month? Based in the UK, Erssie is a well-known knit and crochet designer, whose work often includes skeletons and skulls. Some of her patterns were created to celebrate the Day of the Dead.  (see below)

Erssie Major
Erssie's designs are sometimes goth and sometimes folkloric--all with her unmistakeable style. She has a way with color and pattern that only an artist could accomplish. She designs knit patterns, and has recently added crochet patterns to her site.  And if that weren't enough, she is prolific in her creation of marvelously designed stitch charts, which can be found here.

Here are some Dia de los Muertos patterns by Erssie:

Las Calacas Danzantes
(The Dancing Skeletons)

Calavera
(Skull Chart)

Los Pequeños Relojes de Arena
(The Little Hourglasses)

The Samhain Collection:
Skull & Ghost Charts E-book










Erssie has kindly answered some interview questions for us, and she did such a great job of it, that I'm going to publish them as a series. Every Monday this month, there will be another installment. Here's the first:

How did you get started designing patterns?
I started making my own toys and clothes for my action figure doll (a boy’s one) when I was very young. I was the only kid to have an action figure soldier that had a crochet dressing gown, felt slippers and duvet for his camp bed.

What is your design preference: knit or crochet?
I don’t actually have a preference for knit or crochet and really I don’t like to limit crafts by dividing them into technique categories because I think it limits the design. I feel the same way about categorizing within knit or crochet, e.g. lace v. colour work, texture v. smooth, etc. I prefer to just use whatever is needed to make the piece work at that point.
I understand though that it is necessary in pattern designing to divide the craft because that is what the customers expect and not everybody has a range of textiles techniques. However, when I am given a free rein I just like to use the technique that best suits my purpose. For example, if I want a fabric with fantastic drape and a smooth surface I pick up the needles, but if I was working on a sculptural piece that needed to be freeform or have shape in any dimension, then I would pick up the hook. I am happy to mix my media and flit between the two.

Who or what was your earliest inspiration that started you on your way to being the designer you are today?
The grandmother I never met, was an inspiration to me. My mother could knit well but she used to tell me stories of how my grandmother was good but also really speedy. She grew up in a kids home in the early 1900’s and being the eldest girl in a family of 13 kids (my great granny had 16 kids but 3 died) she was allotted the family knitting in the home. Often she had ridiculous deadlines and she learned to knit, in the dark, under the bedclothes at night. The punishment for not completing was to be locked in a dark cupboard with no light visible, and creepy crawlies, and her closest friend there died of heart failure whilst on one of these punishments. When I think of some of the setbacks I have, I just think of her, and I wonder how on earth she still managed to enjoy knitting for the whole of her life.

Part 2 of Erssie's interview is here.

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You can keep up with Erssie's new designs by visiting her website, Erssie Knits.
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Happy Halloween!

Hallowitch Warmers

This year I decided to go with classic Halloween colors for my legwarmers. These are made from the Witch Warmers pattern, which includes instructions for armwarmers and a neckwarmer as well.  A crochet version of the pattern is available, Witch Warmers in Crochet.

Woohoo… autumn leaves, Halloween, I want chocolate now.

For more FO posts on other blogs, check here.

I'm Famous!

I'm so excited!!  Kala, over at vegancraftastic.blogspot.com, has featured some of my patterns in her Do-It-Yourself Halloween Series. She's posting great Halloween ideas, crafts, and recipes this month on her blog. Check it out:

http://vegancraftastic.blogspot.com/2010/10/diy-halloween-series-part-4-get-witchy.html

WIP Wednesday: Legwarmers

It's Work-In-Progress Wednesday! Today I'm working on the second of a pair of knitted Halloween legwarmers. This year I decided to use the classic Halloween colors for my legwarmers. Being a dress-wearer, I get a lot of use out of legwarmers in cool weather. This pair is made from a pattern I published on Ravelry last year, Witch Warmers, and it includes legwarmers, armwarmers, and a neckwarmer.

For more WIP Wednesday blog posts, check here.