Friday, May 30, 2008

That doily I mentioned...

So I have been having some scary heart symptoms that pretty much dictated time every day with my feet up. There aren't too many things I can do with my feet up and I confess that I took shameless advantage of the situation and read lots of books *grin* but I have been making something, too.

When I found our beauty at the thrift store, they were having a craft sale. I was pretty shameless about that, too, lol... and I am VERY happy to say that I have a crochet thread stash again! Not only that, but I found a copy of one of my fav crochet magazines!

Well, they're right--the mats are mighty pretty! I paged through and found several that interested me. I love lace, just love it, and before I got the carpal tunnel syndrome I made very nice crocheted doilies for everyone---well, everyone but me. Now I don't have the same control I used to have (or the same eyesight, sheesh!), but I still love lace so yanno... I had to choose one and start it right away!

I chose one called Romantic Oval which is lacier than I usually do, and I chose a thread that intrigued me no end when I bought it. Whoever had originally owned this thread had taken the time and trouble to take it off the cardboard core it had been on, had tea-died it, and had wrapped it back into balls... I sooo wanted to see how the tea-dying would play out in a pattern!

Well, the laciness of this pattern kept the doily looking like "a buncha nuthin" for quite a while, and I knew I would not be able to get a pic that looked like anything... cuz yanno... even looking at it in my lap, I couldn't see anything more than a buncha nuthin! I almost gave up. I even more almost gave up when I saw the blotchiness of the tea-dye job, and the weird way it worked itself through the lace. But I had to have my feet up, and the alternative was to go back to that size 80 thread and finish the star wheel mat, and my wrists needed to NOT do anything that fussy, so I persevered.

Last night, as I started the pineapples that make up the border, the whole thing suddenly came together and turned from a buncha nuthin into a doily! I was so excited that I took a pic!

The trouble with furniture that has a nice finish on it is that it is reflective..... ooooooopsie, what's that huge white blotch in the middle of the pic? Why, the camera flash, which I cannot seem to turn off no matter what I do!

*gnashing teeth*

Wait! I know!! My favorite paper to the rescue!


I love Strathmore papers! Matte black to the rescue!
I do have to say, the pic makes the doily look more solid and also more finished than it actually is. I haven't starched it yet and when I do, I expect it will gain some size. This is gonna be a big one! I could stop now and it would be pretty enough, but I'm going to finish it because I love pineapples.

Do you see my problem with the tea-dye, though? The doily doesn't look dyed; it just looks like someone spilled something on it. If I bleach it, I'll risk weakening the fibers... I may have to boil it in coffee and just hope it takes the color evenly.

It's a shame, because the thread was shiny before the tea-dying.

I think when I do the cover doily (I do love pineapples!), I'll do it in thread that hasn't been altered.

Hey, I found a treasure at the Friends of the Library store last week! I paid the same price it originally sold for, too... just one thin dime.


Hmmmm. Makes me want to go get some hankies! Except for one thing.... these are delicate, delicate, delicate... the BIGGEST thread they call for is size 50! Most of the edgings call for size 70... but the clincher? One uses my Starwheel motif, like I blogged about early on, the one I am working up in size 80 thread... only guess what size they call for... one I have never even SEEN---size 100 thread!!!

I have to say, the Starwheel is pretty doggoned challenging in size 80. I cannot IMAGINE doing it in size 100! Seriously... wouldn't that be *thinner* than sewing thread?! I am blown away by the determination and dedication of the women who sat patiently with their thinnest threads and finest hankies, making such beautiful things...

1 comment:

  1. I too am 'blown away' by the dedication of these women to meticulously stitch such beautiful crocheted items! Your work is beautiful---although the size of thread just astounds me. And Decorative Crochet is one of my favs too!

    ReplyDelete

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