I'm still on a doily-crocheting kick! Every so often I'll crochet a scrappy granny square or three, but mostly my crafty energies have been focused on doilies-- for months, now.
Supposedly it's getting closer to autumn. There's no denying that it is September. No-one has told our local weather, yet, but the days keep marching by, so it's only a matter of time. The (theoretical) approach of cooler temperatures has turned my thoughts to knitting. Hats... A brioche cowl... Maybe another try at socks...
But for now, it's still doilies, doilies, doilies!
This one's yet another Grace Fearon design. "Kalani":
"Kalani" has a different look from most of Grace's designs, to date. It strikes me as a little more modern and graphic than her usual style, which is often lacy and ornate, with texture stacked upon texture. I actually really like over-the-top ornate doilies, but I also find myself drawn to this sleeker style. Why not both?! And really, this one does have some of both. It's more streamlined, but there's still loads of texture-- and touches of lace, too. It's beautifully unique.
The pattern is marked as "advanced". There were certainly a few elements of it that I found challenging. (See my project notes for specific details.)
The first difficult maneuver pops up in round five. I found it impossible to place front post stitches around the round-1 sc, so I ended up improvising it slightly. (Again, see notes, if you're interested.) I think my minor changes worked out pretty well, fortunately. I'm not sure if it was just me (possibly a combination of me and the thread I used) or if that bit would be challenging for most crocheters, but if I make this pattern again, I may end up doing the same improvisation to make it more manageable.
I also had some difficulty at first telling if I was making the "y-stitch" correctly, but again, it seems to have worked out.
In round 28, I came across what seemed to me to be a minor typo. It might be that I was just reading/interpreting something incorrectly, but in any case, it wasn't hard to figure out what should be done. (I think I did things right, because it looks good to me, and I didn't end up with the wrong number/type of stitches in subsequent rounds.)
As far as I can remember, this is the first time I've come across what seemed to be a mistake in one of this designer's patterns. She seems to be meticulous, with an eagle-eyed attention to detail-- to the point that I still feel hesitant to say that it is a typo and not just a misunderstanding on my side!
Once you get past the central octagonal "medallion", the bulk of the pattern is easily picked up and memorized. There are a metric ton of back post stitches-- or maybe it just felt that way to me, since I don't usually love making back post stitches (compared to front posts, at least).
However, despite a few head-scratcher moments and a lot of back post stitches, I really enjoyed making this doily! I like how it turned out, too.
Other details... I used my favorite hook (1.75mm Clover Amour), and for thread, I pulled some America's Best Country Cotton Crochet Thread out of my stash.
That thread line was discontinued years ago when the company went out of business (or was sold or something), and I bought a good bit of it, at a steep discount. It's been more than seven years, and I still have quite a few balls left, though my color options are getting somewhat limited-- especially since there are multiple balls of some darker colors that probably wouldn't be great for the highly textured patterns I usually gravitate towards, these days. (I'll have to go "lacy pattern" hunting, sometime...)
Anyway, while I like it well enough, I've long since decided that it's not my very favorite texture of thread-- not quite as firm/"plump" as I like, mainly-- and I'm always happy to use up another ball from the stash. At first, I was concerned it might not be quite as nice for a strongly textured pattern, but I'm satisfied with the results.
Oh, and the color is "Light Lavender". I had some trouble getting the color adjusted accurately in these photos; it's a very soft, almost greyish lavender. There's quite a bit left from the second ball, so you should be seeing it again, at some point.
All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable project!
Supposedly it's getting closer to autumn. There's no denying that it is September. No-one has told our local weather, yet, but the days keep marching by, so it's only a matter of time. The (theoretical) approach of cooler temperatures has turned my thoughts to knitting. Hats... A brioche cowl... Maybe another try at socks...
But for now, it's still doilies, doilies, doilies!
- - - - - - -
This one's yet another Grace Fearon design. "Kalani":
"Kalani" has a different look from most of Grace's designs, to date. It strikes me as a little more modern and graphic than her usual style, which is often lacy and ornate, with texture stacked upon texture. I actually really like over-the-top ornate doilies, but I also find myself drawn to this sleeker style. Why not both?! And really, this one does have some of both. It's more streamlined, but there's still loads of texture-- and touches of lace, too. It's beautifully unique.
The pattern is marked as "advanced". There were certainly a few elements of it that I found challenging. (See my project notes for specific details.)
The first difficult maneuver pops up in round five. I found it impossible to place front post stitches around the round-1 sc, so I ended up improvising it slightly. (Again, see notes, if you're interested.) I think my minor changes worked out pretty well, fortunately. I'm not sure if it was just me (possibly a combination of me and the thread I used) or if that bit would be challenging for most crocheters, but if I make this pattern again, I may end up doing the same improvisation to make it more manageable.
I also had some difficulty at first telling if I was making the "y-stitch" correctly, but again, it seems to have worked out.
In round 28, I came across what seemed to me to be a minor typo. It might be that I was just reading/interpreting something incorrectly, but in any case, it wasn't hard to figure out what should be done. (I think I did things right, because it looks good to me, and I didn't end up with the wrong number/type of stitches in subsequent rounds.)
As far as I can remember, this is the first time I've come across what seemed to be a mistake in one of this designer's patterns. She seems to be meticulous, with an eagle-eyed attention to detail-- to the point that I still feel hesitant to say that it is a typo and not just a misunderstanding on my side!
Once you get past the central octagonal "medallion", the bulk of the pattern is easily picked up and memorized. There are a metric ton of back post stitches-- or maybe it just felt that way to me, since I don't usually love making back post stitches (compared to front posts, at least).
However, despite a few head-scratcher moments and a lot of back post stitches, I really enjoyed making this doily! I like how it turned out, too.
Other details... I used my favorite hook (1.75mm Clover Amour), and for thread, I pulled some America's Best Country Cotton Crochet Thread out of my stash.
That thread line was discontinued years ago when the company went out of business (or was sold or something), and I bought a good bit of it, at a steep discount. It's been more than seven years, and I still have quite a few balls left, though my color options are getting somewhat limited-- especially since there are multiple balls of some darker colors that probably wouldn't be great for the highly textured patterns I usually gravitate towards, these days. (I'll have to go "lacy pattern" hunting, sometime...)
Anyway, while I like it well enough, I've long since decided that it's not my very favorite texture of thread-- not quite as firm/"plump" as I like, mainly-- and I'm always happy to use up another ball from the stash. At first, I was concerned it might not be quite as nice for a strongly textured pattern, but I'm satisfied with the results.
Oh, and the color is "Light Lavender". I had some trouble getting the color adjusted accurately in these photos; it's a very soft, almost greyish lavender. There's quite a bit left from the second ball, so you should be seeing it again, at some point.
All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable project!