Quiet Time

Quiet time... or What I Did This Summer....



This is a mat from Treasures in Crochet, Book 296 from Coats and Clark, 1981. It isn't named, although I think of it as the optical illusions mat. These are nine lucky-clover-shaped motifs joined together; see in the center it looks like four circles? I didn't crochet any circles. Makes me smile! The mat was a special request from Gryph, who saw the pattern on the cover of the booklet and asked for it. Someday there may be more motifs added, but for now I am on to Yule gifts.

The main doily hasn't been blocked yet and REALLY needs it--tis the center of a round tablecloth, extremely lacy, and bigger than I can smooth out without a blocking board. It's actually what took up most of my crocheting time this summer, before I made Gryph's mat. Once I block it, there will be a pic.




I'm calling this one "Gothic Arches" because the original name really didn't suit it. It's from a free 1947 pattern I found called "Spiderweb Lace" that I cannot find now *blink* who knew it could disappear in a week? Well, anyhow, here are two sites for free patterns.

http://www.freevintagecrochet.com/doilies.html

http://www.purplekittyyarns.com/free-doily-patterns

This edging was QUITE the challenge for two reasons. The first was that the publisher evidently assumed a high skill-and-experience level on the part of the crocheter, and the second is that it was meant to be sewn into fabric--most likely pillowcase seams. Giving it finished edges on the sides was a challenge, and so was getting it to block properly.

The way the pattern was written, the center loops are done first, then the entire bottom half is done, turning each row and working back and forth. Then the top half is done in the same manner. It was extremely awkward and I wasn't satisfied with the way it came out, especially since, in order to make the 7-chain strands arch properly the pattern called for "long treble crochets" to make the fans.

Now I ask you, who can keep the gauge consistent, motif to motif, row to row, top to bottom, when it calls for something so nebulous?! So I rewrote the pattern.

It wasn't exactly successful. *wry smile*



You can see that my attempt to make the 7-chain strands arch properly was not best served by the changes I made--look how those motifs skewed! I used double trebles to keep the gauge consistent, but I also worked in rounds rather than back and forth.... and you can see that I didn't realize I had an even number of loops in time to correct it. (That's an easy fix when you're working back and forth; you just undo the few extra stitches when you come to them.)

I think the worst problem with this experiment is through the center. One reason the motifs skewed the way they did is that the center is rigid and has no give to it. As far as I can tell, that's because I worked in rounds.

So, in the version which is on my hook now, I am making the center loops my way, a long row of them to fit my desired measurement (and definitely an odd number, I counted twice!) and I am working back and forth in rows, but instead of "long treble crochets" I am using quadruple crochets. We'll see if I have to take this one apart as many times as I did the other two!

Oh! And I bought "Cebelia" thread from DMC.... ohhhhh my.... I have never used such nice thread before! Now I see what the price difference is about... no fuzziness, no splitting, just smooth tight thread all the way. Tis like heaven!

That Crochet post I promised you

Thought I would share not just the crochet, but also the books... well, booklets. I started collecting these not long after I first learned to crochet in the very late 1970s. Fanciworks is one of my favorites... probably as much for the name as for anything. *smiling*

When I was first taking art classes, my teacher said that one of the secrets to art is not only knowing what to put in, but also when to stop. See that ordinary doily on the cover up there?

If you stop at the right place, it suddenly looks Art Deco. This reminds me very much of the Egyptian craze that swept the US in the 1920s. The pattern is called "Crocus" and you can see the flowers do look like crocuses... but they are just stylized enough to remind me of the flower-topped Egyptian pillars in the pyramids, and the pattern at the edges reinforces that.

So I stopped. *grin*

I'm not going to block this one--or even press it--because I like that slightly ruffled look. We have a small carved wooden box sitting on this doily and the ruffle frames the box and contrasts with it very nicely.

More of my fav booklets. The Starwheels are from Treasures in Crochet and the Queen's Scroll (a new one) is from Tablecloths and Bedspreads.

Edgings, oh edgings... how I love my edgings! And the Crazy Quilt book was all about lace and edgings on the seams of the crazy patches... yet I have none. So surely it is most logical to make some? After all, the sewing machine is still buried...

Here is my assortment of motifs and edgings. Starwheels are at the bottom, and Queen's Scroll is in the upper left. It's giving me a TON of a trouble and I haven;t decided yet if the instructions are wrong--it happens--or if I am not getting it yet. I finally had to give up, count the spaces in the corner loops in the illustration, and do it my way. Sheesh!

There are several different edgings in this pic, but the one I am most taken with is a simple little repeat that makes... of all things!... RIC-RAC!!! You can see it crossed through the center, and the liiiitttttttle teeeeeensy one just to the side is the same exact thing, but instead of doing it in size 30 thread--the rainbow is size 30--I did it in size 80 like the motifs. Astonishing difference.

So. I intended to make a mini-mat with four of these starwheels, but I have given up. When I finally finished the sec0ond one--which gave me a pile of trouble!--I discovered I had already finished the first one as an ornament. The HECK with it! I did the second one as an ornament too, and I am done with Starwheels for the foreseeable future! Then I went to take this pic and was I surprised! See how the right-hand side one is smaller? That's the second one, and no wonder it ghave me trouble!! I changed the gauge!! Lord love a DUCK, that was entirely too tight for my hands to be working, and it hurt. I'm not making that mistake with Queen's Scroll.

Oh, btw, I should probably mention that I took these pics by lamplight and I guess even flourescents are kind of yellow like incandescents. The Starwheels are actually pristine snow white, not ecru. That might have shown if I had used the flash, but the pics generally come out better without it.

Friday on the way home from the library, we caught a bus with Pockets the Clown (in her Muggle disguise as a bus driver, lol). We had fun talking to her about clowning. She has 19 pockets in her suit. *grin*

Well, you know I'd already been ric-racking, and when I held up the rainbow ric-rac, Gryph liked the way it twisted (as skinny crochet does before you press it).

Then I made my book review and started reading the new books (review of them at a later date)... and something was percolating in my mind....

Hmmmmm, how interesting... yes, rainbow ric-rac does go with denim... the fringed seams on the Western crazy-quilt items in Crazy Quilt Decor were on my mind.... and Pockets the Clown was on my mind....
This is the crochet project I had a little trouble finishing. That is a lot of ric-rac, two separate pieces, one to go around the pocket and the other to be the handle. It's easy but monotonous and my hands are tired right now, swollen and sore, so I got bored with the ric-rac before I finished; but I did persevere and I am so glad I did!

What's a pocket without a pal? Those are mini jingle bells, standing in for buttons. The hair is made from some of the threads I pulled out when I was fringing the denim. This little pal is handsewn--I did it last night while Gryph and I listened to the first Amanda Peabody mystery, Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters.

And here ya go, a pocket for Pockets' pocket collection! I clipped the pal in with two teeeeensy lil clothespins, one blue and one green. Hope she likes it; this one is kinda hard to give away! *grin*