Yikes, has it really been that long since my last "craft-blog" post?! My excuse this time is that spring came really early, this year, and when I've blogged, it has been garden-related. (I always blame the garden blog, don't I?)
I have been crafting, but a few projects have no photos, yet. There's that doily that I ran out of thread on... (Still haven't looked for a match in the stores...)
Then I knitted a single hat pattern a couple of times... The first time, it came out smaller than I wanted, so I went ahead and knitted it a second time with bigger needles. Both of those are still waiting for finishing work (weaving in ends) and photos.
Then I started crocheting some more doilies. I'm on the last round of one (no photos of that), but there are pictures of a few "little doilies" that I not only finished, but blocked and gave as part of a birthday gift to my mother (along with the "Momentous Occasion" I crocheted last year).
These are all from Patricia Kristoffersen's book of 99 Little Doilies.
Small doilies are an excellent way to use up those remnants of partially-used-up balls of thread doily-makers accumulate over the years. Because they're small, they work up pretty quickly, so they make good (relatively) last-minute gifts. Bonus: They're cute and perfectly suited to spots where larger doilies just won't fit (narrow shelves, window sills, etc.).
First up, Little Doily #41:
I was using up small balls of leftover thread. I was running out of the sage/frosty green, so I switched over to golden yellow. The two colors together have a vintage feeling, I think-- plus it has a floral vibe, this way.
Next, Little Doily #99:
I was running low on the blue by the next-to-last round, so I swapped to some pastel variegated thread. I really like how it turned out! (I need to use more of the small stash of variegated thread I've collected.)
And last, Little Doily #49:
This is the most boring-looking of the bunch, since I didn't make it multi-colored, but it's still a nice doily pattern. The last round was fun to make. I always enjoy it when a round/row of crochet goes up and down the scale of stitch heights-- sc, hdc, dc, tr, etc., and back down again. For some reason, that's just very pleasant to crochet, I think, and I tend to like the scallops and points those kinds of patterns create.
So, that's all I have to share, at the moment, until I get around to doing more finishing-work and photographing of FOs.
I've also been thinking a lot about other projects to come... I really want to get my current sewing WIP (two kitchen window-dressings) finished so I can start on my next quilting project, which I think will be a king-size quilt made from vintage sheets. (I plan on machine-quilting the proposed king-size quilt on my standard-size domestic machine. Is that insane?)
...And I want to learn to knit socks. I ordered some pretty self-striping sock yarn from KnitPicks (Felici in "Jamboree" and "Dark Side")-- plus I have a few skeins of sock yarn already, from various sales/discount bins-- but I can't decide if I should start with sock yarn or make my first pair from worsted weight (as I've seen recommended). The problem with starting with heavier weight yarn is that I'm not sure what I'd use... I have plenty of acrylic. I guess I could use that and let them be "house socks".
It's perfect weather today for taking a project outside, so time to decide!
I have been crafting, but a few projects have no photos, yet. There's that doily that I ran out of thread on... (Still haven't looked for a match in the stores...)
Then I knitted a single hat pattern a couple of times... The first time, it came out smaller than I wanted, so I went ahead and knitted it a second time with bigger needles. Both of those are still waiting for finishing work (weaving in ends) and photos.
Then I started crocheting some more doilies. I'm on the last round of one (no photos of that), but there are pictures of a few "little doilies" that I not only finished, but blocked and gave as part of a birthday gift to my mother (along with the "Momentous Occasion" I crocheted last year).
These are all from Patricia Kristoffersen's book of 99 Little Doilies.
Small doilies are an excellent way to use up those remnants of partially-used-up balls of thread doily-makers accumulate over the years. Because they're small, they work up pretty quickly, so they make good (relatively) last-minute gifts. Bonus: They're cute and perfectly suited to spots where larger doilies just won't fit (narrow shelves, window sills, etc.).
First up, Little Doily #41:
I was using up small balls of leftover thread. I was running out of the sage/frosty green, so I switched over to golden yellow. The two colors together have a vintage feeling, I think-- plus it has a floral vibe, this way.
Next, Little Doily #99:
I was running low on the blue by the next-to-last round, so I swapped to some pastel variegated thread. I really like how it turned out! (I need to use more of the small stash of variegated thread I've collected.)
And last, Little Doily #49:
This is the most boring-looking of the bunch, since I didn't make it multi-colored, but it's still a nice doily pattern. The last round was fun to make. I always enjoy it when a round/row of crochet goes up and down the scale of stitch heights-- sc, hdc, dc, tr, etc., and back down again. For some reason, that's just very pleasant to crochet, I think, and I tend to like the scallops and points those kinds of patterns create.
So, that's all I have to share, at the moment, until I get around to doing more finishing-work and photographing of FOs.
I've also been thinking a lot about other projects to come... I really want to get my current sewing WIP (two kitchen window-dressings) finished so I can start on my next quilting project, which I think will be a king-size quilt made from vintage sheets. (I plan on machine-quilting the proposed king-size quilt on my standard-size domestic machine. Is that insane?)
...And I want to learn to knit socks. I ordered some pretty self-striping sock yarn from KnitPicks (Felici in "Jamboree" and "Dark Side")-- plus I have a few skeins of sock yarn already, from various sales/discount bins-- but I can't decide if I should start with sock yarn or make my first pair from worsted weight (as I've seen recommended). The problem with starting with heavier weight yarn is that I'm not sure what I'd use... I have plenty of acrylic. I guess I could use that and let them be "house socks".
It's perfect weather today for taking a project outside, so time to decide!