26
Jul
A Doily Break!
Published in Doily, Projects
Absolutely Gorgeous Doilies by Leisure Arts
So, today, I decided to take a break from the ordinary (i.e.: granny square purses and the Knook).
I also looked through my projects-to-do list and saw that I owe my mom a doily and a table runner, so I pulled this awesome book I had been meaning to try out and started working on the doily! You may be asking “What’s up with all the Leisure Arts stuff?” to what I’d reply “I’m a HUGE fan of their books and have TONS of them around my place!” And this is one of them.
The doily I am working on is actually the main one from the cover, and I got 9 rows done so far, so not a whole lot, but moving along. I am posting below a few pictures of what I have so far.
Doily - 9 Rows
Of course, if you are going to work on something like a doily where each row is different and numbers do matter, you need to use a counter. I have some knitting counters that I will sometimes attach to the work with a large safety-pin, or a cable holder, but my favorite one is this table top counter. The real trick for using counters is to have a standard behavior using it. Whether you change the row number at the beginning of the row or at the end is irrelevant, what really matters is that you ALWAYS do it at the same time. I, for one, always hit the counter when I finish the rows. If you don’t always do the same, you will often find yourself looking at your counter and wondering which row that number actually is. It can be very confusing.
- Doily in Progress
As you can see on the picture above, I am still at the very beginning of the doily. But, so far, so good. I am enjoying the pattern quite a bit, the stitches are fun to work with, and the pattern instructions is nice and clear. It’s true that when you work with something like this, you do need to pay a lot of attention to what you’re doing. But when it’s a fun project, paying attention isn’t difficult because you are anxiously watching as the doily develops at each row.
Another cool thing about this project is that I am using my totally cool Boye Interchangeable Head Crochet Set for the very first time! I know, call me old-fashioned, but I had always just used the regular steel hooks when working with thread until today. And, to be honest, I would have never bought the set if it hadn’t been on clearance at JoAnn’s when I went in for a class. The price was so good that I just had to get it. Yeah, teaching at JoAnn’s can cost you a fortune!
While I love Boye hooks and think they are the best in the world (I really rave about them to my students), the concept of an interchangeable head just didn’t feel right to me. And having heard stories about them not working so great and coming apart or snagging the thread, I had just discarded the idea completely until the day I decided to buy this set. Once I bought it, the set just sat with my crochet stuff for months, until today, when I finally decided to give it a try. I had my regular hooks by me too, I was just going to try it real quick and put it away. And, at first, I did have a problem with the little part in the center unscrewing, but it soon started working without problems and I decided to continue using it.
- Doily in Progress
Anyway, if you know me, you know that I started crocheting with thread, making doilies, so working on these are so much fun to me, and it brings a somewhat cozy feeling.
The volunteer whose shift started after mine today saw my barely started project and was talking about how people used to take doilies for granted when they were kids because everyone had a grandmother, or aunt, who crocheted and there were always doilies around the homes. She was mentioning how sad it is that these days, we mostly find only the made-in-China doilies and it’s just not the same thing.
To me, besides the cozy feeling of being back in my childhood, doilies remain something fascinating. They are so pretty, so delicate, and when you look at them from the distance, they look awesome and very different from what they look like when they’re in your hands. That, and the combination of so many different stitches and techniques that are used to get the effects, make doilies a wonderful project when you want to take a break and just relax while you allow your project to entertain and fascinate you.
1
Jul
Blue Doily
Published in Doily, Projects
Now, this is a fancy doily I made from a book. The name of the book is “Doilies with a Twist” and it was published by Leisure Arts.
The whole book shows patterns of doilies made with those curly legs, the twists. I really liked this pattern, it was nice to work on and produced a very pretty final product.
Here’s the bigger picture, taken prior to blocking.
My Name Is Lu (kitty!!)
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