Square Doily
This beautifully crocheted square doily was part of my inheritance from my mother. It is large -- about 19" square -- and made from cotton crochet thread. Thread crochet is a technique I've tried, but have not been very successful with. I have trouble feeling the correct tension. So I can really appreciate the work it took to create such a gorgeous piece.
I'm not certain who stitched this doily, but I believe it was created by either my maternal grandmother, Bertha, or by my maternal great grandmother. My best guess is that my grandmother stitched it, because I know that while her health was failing, she turned to thread crochet as a means of keeping herself occupied. My mom had stored this doily in her linen closet for years. She rarely displayed it.
In October 2002, I found a way to display it.
I stitched the doily onto some red velvet. The velvet came from curtains that belonged to my parents. And even these curtains have an interesting history.
In the 1980s, my mom wanted to open a day care center in Moscow, Idaho. She and Dad searched quite a while for a suitable building. They finally decided to buy the Old Grange building on Main Street. At the time, it was a huge, stinky, crusty, dark, smelly bar! But in it, they saw the bones of a strong building. With the help of a team of talented architects and builders, they transformed the bar into a daycare center, gymnastics studio, apartment, workshop and series of offices.
The heavy red velvet curtains from the original Grange stage were in the building when they bought it. They hung floor-to-ceiling before a full-sized stage. Being the thrify people my parents were, Mom rescued the curtains and washed them. She used them for costumes for the kids — including a robe for one of the three kings in the Christmas pageant. I somehow inherited pieces of those curtains, and used them for years as curtains in my bedroom. Now they've gone through another transformation as the background for this doily.
I now have a three-generation piece hanging in my living room:
- crocheted by a grandparent
- curtains from a piece of my parents' history
- framed by me
Here's a detail of one of the medallions:
Today, I hung this piece over our mantle as a Christmas decoration. I think of it as a giant snowflake.
I have another beautiful doily, round, and nearly as large. I purchased a frame for it at the same time as framing this piece. Maybe that's one of the pieces I'll do the finishing work on next year as part of my 19 in 2019 goals.
Pumpkin Line
Pumpkin Line is my own design!
Actually, it's an adaptation of a couple pumpkin and fall charts I saw online. I liked portions of two different charts, and wanted to try my hand at charting a design myself.
My design is pretty flat ... no shading to give it dimension. But it's whimsical and quirky. I display it each Halloween.
I framed it fairly simply in a gold frame. I used wide orange ribbon as a mat. Neat idea.
Old St. Nick
I enjoy these Daydreams kits by Dimensions. The charts are clear. The details are nice. The price is right. (Most are around $10.00 US). The kit comes complete with pattern, floss, needle, designer mat, glass and stand. The finished piece is 4" x 8" [10 x 20cm].
I stitched this kit up for my friends who run a non-profit group. Their organization held a fundraiser just before Christmas. Part of the excitement of the night included a raffle. This little Old St. Nick was one of the raffle prizes.
This one was so cute that I kept the pattern, and made a photocopy of the background so that I might stitch it again for myself. 16 years later ... hmmm. Maybe it won't get done.
Winter Scarves
In 2002 I decided to conquer the Knitting Monster. My grandma first taught me to knit when I was eight years old. I was working on a hanger cover, but just didn't get very far. I do still have the knitting needles Grandma gave me, though! (I like how the top one is bent. Makes me smile, thinking of my grandma).
I tried knitting again in 1987. That time I had a left-handed teacher, and I got further. I actually made a red pullover sweater. But then someone took a photo of me wearing that sweater. I looked like a tomato. I never wore the sweater again. I didn't knit again, either.
This time, I decided to start with a very simple project. I decided to make a straight knit (no purl, no other design) scarf. But instead of using the normal 4-ply yarn that I'd always used before, I decided to try some specialty yarns. Oh! what a difference!
I ended up knitting seven winter scarves. One for each of my kids, one for my husband, one for a Secret Santa buddy from my quilt group, and two for myself.
TWO you ask? I couldn't help it! I made one for myself out of one kind of yarn. Then I made four out of chenille yarn. They are absolutely yummy! The colors are rich and jewel-like and the texture is lush. So I had to have one of them for myself, too.
The chenille scarves — black with colored dots, steel grey, purple, midnight blue, red — are made from Lion Brand Yarn, "Thick & Quick" Chenille yarn. Each scarf takes about 1-1/2 skeins. This yarn does not ravel, so the fringe could be cut without fraying.
The pink and yellow scarf is made from one skein of Red Heart Baby Clouds yarn. It's color #9322, Creamsickle. This is a pretty yarn with a kinky texture. It does not ravel, either, so the fringe could be cut without fraying.
The blue scarf (the one on the right in the lower photo) is made from Lion Brand Homespun yarn. This was a bit of a challenge to work with. It also has a kinky texture, but the kinks tend to move up and down a base strand in the yarn as you work with it. So I just needed to massage the yarn as I worked with it to keep the kinks even as I stitched. This yarn ravels a lot, so I could not just cut it into fringe. Instead, I used this yarn to make bouillon fringe which I sewed onto the ends of the scarf.
I'm extremely pleased with all my scarves. And my family liked theirs so much, they wanted to wear them before Christmas.
I'm just glad I'm finally conquering the Knitting Monster -- at least a little -- and no longer allow this form of needlework get the better of me!
2002 Christmas Ornaments
In 2002 I created a batch of ornaments that I gave out to whomever stopped by my home during the holidays. For example, I l gave one to our mail carrier, the UPS delivery lady, the Fed Ex gal. I also gave an ornament to each of the nice helpers at the post office when I mailed my stack of Christmas cards.
That year, I also gave an ornament to each member of my Quilt Group along with their Christmas cards. I made one for each member of my family. And then I had a few extra for our favorite waitresses and any friends that happened to stop by our home.
I enjoyed finding a simple ornament to create that I could make en masse in an assembly line manner. That year I made about 35 of these little puffy tree ornaments using two different Christmas fabrics.
My next Throwback Thursday post will begin with projects I made in 2003.
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