Tag Archives: crochet
Mission Accomplished!
The doily, it be done! Take a look:
I tried to create a simpler alphabet than I’ve used in the past, and I am very happy with the way it turned out. Worth using again.
I used size 20 white thread, intending to tea-stain the finished piece for an old-fashioned look; I normally use off-white thread. But in the end, the client requested I just leave it white. She plans to frame it on a purple background.
This is an attempt to show the edgeing detail.
Yay! All done! I hope to deliver it Sunday at church.
My current (for several months now!) project:
The doily-in-progress; as you can see, I’m working on the border, which is going to be a scallop:
Self-Portrait! 
Cross Bookmarks
Well, I got busy yesterday and crocheted up a couple of bookmarks for Christmas gifts. These are two Annie’s Attic patterns; they both remind me of stained glass.
Cluster cross:
And the Gothic cross:
Both are around 3-4 inches long. I think a long chain with a tassel attatched to the end would suit them well.
Lest You Think…
I had totally given up on the name doily: I finished it yesterday. Yippee! I was pretty happy with the way it turned out; it ended up with a narrow, slightly scalloped border and then a row of large, triangular chain-stitch-and-picot points. I was ready to be done. And then in my haste to deliver it, I left without getting a picture of it for the blog. 
I suppose I really ought to work something up in a hurry for somebody’s Christmas present. Hmm….
Voila
So, I really did finish The Doily. I’m having to use the scanner, so I couldn’t get a picture of the whole thing. But this should give you the idea:
Ready to give away to one of the sweetest ladies!
And this is my new project. One of the dreaded name doilies (which is coming along much faster than I’d hoped, actually, and much less dreadfully):
It will eventually read, “Nelson”, and of course I’ll add a border later. Do you think it’s legible?
Since we are on the subject
… I did find a blog with some photos of very nicely done and quite beautiful thread crochet projects. If anyone else but me is interested in this sort of thing, you can go here to see!
Yikes!
I should have gone home. You know, if you are sick and have worked all morning and waited around in town until time to drop your brother off at his Boy Scout event and have a couple hours to kill, you really should go home and take a nap and forget about the gas expense.
And I was going to. But alas, I decided to stop at Chick-fil-A for a big sweet tea, which paused my homeward motion enough that I reconsidered. Maybe I would go to the library instead, at least for a while, and use the computers. So I turned away from the highway and started off through the residential streets of our quaint little Town toward the library. I had almost made it… within a mile or so… when I was stopped, dead in my tracks, by some force eminating from a sign on the side of the road.
“Estate Sale”, it beckoned.
Never mind I am trying to save whatever cash has made it through the week still in my wallet. I stopped and went in, and realized that some acquaintances were running the sale. And that there was very little left. I found a cute little americana-painting-style metal sign and had obtained a nicely discounted price when Mrs. Acquaintance said, “I want to talk to you about making me something.” She had to run over and help some other customers first.
You see, several years ago this lady, who was running the cafe at the antique store I work at, found out that I crochet, and commissioned me to make a few name doilies for herself and as gifts. She was my guinea pig, and I went on to make several more special orders for people until demand waned and I gladly stopped. I was ready for a break. In fact, over the last few years I have not crocheted all that much at all. Then I started my current doily (I decided I wanted to give this one as a gift), was spotted crocheting by a vendor at the antique shop, confessed that I also have made “those name doilies” (here’s what I get for bragging!), and was so overwhelmed by the lady’s delight that I agreed to make her one (or was it several?) when I finish my current doily. So I have (at least) one in my queue. It is not that I don’t enjoy making them; indeed, I make up and graph out my own patterns, which is fun, since I like playing around with alphabets. I just have always gotten sick and tired somewhere in the middle of crocheting the body of the doily (you use two basic stitches, which make either empty or filled squares, on and on and on), and in the past it has always taken me quite a while to actually finish one. I’m sure it is due to a lack of discipline.
But back to Mrs. Acquaintace. It turns out she wants me to come over to her historic victorian home so she can show me a type of window covering she wants me to recreate, in a set of two. Then, since her brother who recieved one of my creations years ago was so delighted with it, she also wants me to make name doilies for all of her homebuyers (she is a prominent realtor here). I told her I had at least one on my waiting list, but I would get back with her. She instructed me to take one of her cards and call her when I am available.
Hmm. I suppose I shall just have to see how much my speed has improved since I finished my last one. Do I really want to get myself into this again? I could just point her to one of the many websites I’ve found that make doilies to order. But then again….
Progress
Sorry for the twisting– I didn’t take the time to pin this out so it would look just right. I was just glad I finally got the picture to upload to the blog. Computers! Bleh!! 
See the pineapples taking shape? I think the last time I checked, I was less than ten rounds away from done. It’s been really busy at work, which is where I get most of my crocheting done in quiet moments.
Now I’m Drooling.
Searching for links is dangerous! Look what else I found: http://www.pkcrochet.com/1450.html
Look at these baby blankets: http://www.pkcrochet.com/1451.html
This is my other favorite book of patterns, although my copy has gone AWOL: http://www.pkcrochet.com/2879agd.html
And… http://www.pkcrochet.com/3494pg.html
And… http://www.pkcrochet.com/3401ud.html
I’ll have to remember this website when someone asks me what I want for Christmas!
