Sew I See!

I finished the latest WIP doily, but have yet to weave in the ends, block, or photograph it-- so that makes two on the waiting list for blocking. Instead of starting another doily (and there are multiple patterns in the queue!), I decided to focus on an afghan.  It feels like a long time since I last crocheted much in worsted weight, but it didn't take long to get back in the groove. I'm crocheting "Lotus Moon Tiles" , a pattern by Polly Plum. A dive in the stash yielded the following: -- Caron One Pound in "Off White", "Sunflower", "Limeaide", "Grass Green", and "Denim" -- I Love This Yarn! in "Mulberry" and "Hyacinth" -- Stitch Studio Earthtone in "Teal" and "Silver Fox" -- two batches of heathery/tweedy mill ends in purple My in-progress photos aren't the best for color accuracy or tidiness, but at least you can get an idea of the pattern. So far, I...

Last doily of the day! This is "Athena" , also designed by Grace Fearon.  This was a CAL pattern, which means that the pattern comes with a round-by-round photo tutorial-- very helpful if you're more of a visual learner or if you're new to advanced crochet doilies.  Crocheted with Aunt Lydia's Classic Crochet (size 10), "Wasabi".  As usual, the color isn't consistent across all my photos.  It's a bright yellow-green/spring green. I had some issues with the overlapping, interwoven section near the center of the doily.  I'm still not completely convinced that I did it just right, but it seems to have worked out okay.  The rest of the pattern, I think I enjoyed crocheting.  Lots of texture-- and that yellow-green was fun to work with, too. 

Another doily! "Icarus" , pattern designed by Grace Fearon. Crocheted in Artiste Mercerized Egyptian Cotton #10, "Antique".  It's a chameleon of a color.  In some lights, it's distinctly pinkish/mauve, but in others, it sees more like a dark ecru or light tan.  I really enjoyed crocheting this one!  I love the starry motif in the center of the doily, and I'm also a fan of the flowers in the border-- and the thick, "rope" frame around each flower. 

"Lorelai" , designed by Grace Fearon. Crocheted in America's Best Country Cotton (size 10), "American Beauty".  (That thread brand was discontinued years ago.  I'm still working through my stash.)  It's less of a true, "Christmas" red than it looks in some photos.  The dark rose-red is closer to the reality. This pattern is available for free-- a good way to sample the designer's pattern-writing style and difficulty level.  This wasn't one of my favorites, for some reason... I'm not sure why (no longer remember, at this point, if I ever knew).  Maybe the thread has something to do with it-- not my favorite brand and not my favorite color for thread crochet, either.  Still, I think it turned out nicely enough (even though I did cheat a bit on Round 21, since I couldn't face crocheting into the back loop of each individual chain). 

Earlier this week I took some photos of the backlog of finished doilies.  I have a hard time getting good photos of doilies, these days, but I think these are at least passable.  I'll give each doily its own blog post, I think... Why not?! "Fiona" is a design by Grace Fearon. I used Artiste Mercerized Egyptian Cotton #10 in  "Boysenberry".  (It's a gorgeous color, by the way! The color seems to vary from photo to photo, but I think the ones that look red-violet are more accurate than the ones that look like a bluer purple.) Beautiful design! 

Last time, I shared a photo of supplies gathered for making mini bunting to decorate my craft room.  I made most of it during the weekend.  I was surprised at how quickly it came together-- but also by how far those triangles went.  I ended up with much more bunting than I'd expected!  Not a problem, really.  If I get tired of it (or if it gets in the way), I may take it down, but for now, I think it's fun! The supplies I used, in case anyone's interested, are as follows: -- colorful felt triangles (synthetic felt, cut with an old rotary cutter) -- cotton crochet thread (size 10; rainbow variegated, probably South Maid 'Mexicana') -- colorful glass beads (larger seed beads, maybe "E beads"?) -- needle (small enough to fit through beads, but not too tiny) I'm not great with a needle and thread, so my stitches are far from even, but I don't think that really matters with this project.  I alternated triangles with beads until I had what f...

There are too many random photos to give them each their own blog entry, so I'm going for the hodge-podge method. - - - - - - - I believe this was the first quilt top I pieced. (If it wasn't this, it was the string quilt from the kit Mom made for me, but I think  I sewed this one first.)  Half-square triangles (HSTs) in a simple herringbone pattern. I decided I was finally read to quilt it.  Here it is "before".  It's now ready for trimming and binding-- and its first trip through the wash-- and then photos! - - - - - - - You may remember (if I ever told you... which I think I did...) that I was working on a scrappy Arkansas Crossroads quilt as a leader & ender project?  I got impatient with whatever else I was sewing at the time and let that become my main project.  Here are some of the units and pieces waiting...  (This project makes a sneak-peeky reappearance further down the page.) - - - - - - - My current main piecing ...

I've mentioned before that I was playing around with quilting on some flannel and then turning it into crate pads for Frodo.  Well, I've done some more of that.  I had a lot of fun practicing my FMQ (free-motion quilting), and I do think I'm getting better at controlling the machine.  (Better than I was, at least!) I thought I'd stick a few photos here to document that improvement. 

Hey, long-neglected blog!  There's a lot to catch up on, so I'll just dive in with a handful of doilies.  There are more (most of which are even blocked, wonder of wonders!), but these are the only new ones photographed, at this point. "Ivy" Pattern by Grace Fearon. The thread is Alize Miss Batik, colorway 3715.  I had some leftover thread from that ball, after crocheting "Ivy", so I decided to make "Siobhán" , by the same designer.  (Free pattern!) I ended up crocheting three of that pattern with the leftovers, and it's interesting how different the results can be with these small doilies worked in slow-change variegated threads.  And that's it for those!  Fun to crochet, as always.  The variegated thread helps keep things interesting, of course.  Little doilies are also just about the closest you'll get to instant gratification in the world of thread crochet!