State Fair Winners

I entered my very first Indiana State Fair competition in 2017, at the age of 58 years old.  I had been crocheting for 51 years at this point, and it seems odd that this was my first year entering. 

It was my sister-in-law who suggested I enter the bedspread that had taken me 600 hours and close to 10 months to make.  My first entry in my first year at the fair and it won not only a First Place Ribbon but also won Best of Show!  Yes, I was in tears when I saw those ribbons on my blanket!

The State Fair Bug had bitten me, so I entered the next year (2018) and walked away with two more ribbons. Not first place, but that didn't matter to me.  I was just as excited that I won something!

In 2019, I entered three thread doilies and walked away with three more ribbons.

This one is not a doily but is a small tablecloth.
It measures approximately 45-50" across.

I'm pretty sure I'm addicted to this annual competition now.  I've already picked out next year's project.  Sometimes I wonder why I picked a pattern that starts out with "Chain 485" .... in thread!

I will keep you posted!!

Save Your Family History ... Save the Art

My cousin in California contacted me to see if I could help her.  She came across a number of doilies made by her grandmother (my aunt --- my mother and her grandmother were sisters) and asked if there was any way I could save them.

I had never done doily repair before but being a history person, preserving these pieces of family art and heirlooms became a do-or-die challenge.  I accepted.

Some of the threads were so aged, they were started to disintegrate.  Just stretching the doilies out with my hands would cause them to break.

I began by unraveling threads for a couple of reasons.  I needed a clean start and stop spot to add the new thread, and I needed a thread long enough to weave in so it wouldn't unravel anymore.

The repair itself was just a matter of "eyeballing" the pattern to figure out the stitches, then adding the new thread just like we would do when doing a color change.

On some of the doilies, you can definitely see the color difference.  This is because of new thread being combined into old, aged, and faded threads.  But as I explain to people, when anthropologists find a skull with pieces missing, they intentionally use a different colored clay or rebuilding compound to fill in the spaces, so they can tell which is the original bone and which is the repair.  So I told my cousin (and all future clients who came to be with repairs) "Your item is now anthropologically correct!"

When I finally finished these, I really felt great!  Not because of the newly discovered skill I didn't know I had (which WAS pretty cool!) but because I had managed to save some family heirlooms.  These 50+ year old pieces of hand made art will live on in our family for future generations to love and admire.

Here are the before and after photos.  I hope you like them.

Maric's Blanket

Well, silly me!  I found this article still in draft stage!  A quick update and it is ready for publishing!

Experienced eyes will spot some errors (compare the two "R"s), but my granddaughter won't notice!

This is a stitch called the Popcorn Stitch or I've seen it referred to as the Puffy Stitch.

I used this site for the pattern for the letters:  http://www.crochetnmore.com/babysabcsafghan.htm 

This afghan has about 150 ours invested in it.  I really like making personalized crochet items  like this.

It's All in the Detail Work!

Details.  Details. Do we really need those hand-cramping picots?  Blocking?  Is it really needed?

I am sharing some in-progress and before-and-after photos to show how the details make the difference.

This is a small doily or coaster pattern that I just love.  The way the white thread overlays the red center is just beautiful to me.  The pattern is called "Sunmote", designed by Julia Hart.  The pattern can be found here -->  https://www.draiguna.com/2018/02/sunmote.html  and is also available on Ravelry.com.  

I don't like making picots.  But I love the finish look they give a project.  The first "Sunmote" I made, I omitted the picots.  The pattern calls for 120 of them on this small doily.  Here is the unblocked photo:

It's still pretty.  Looks nice and I wouldn't have a problem putting it .... as is .... on my table.  But then another crocheter posted a photo of the ones she made for her daughter's wedding .... with picots.  Gosh, they looked beautiful, but I was still unwilling to do 120 of them on mine.  So I modified the last row and added a single picot on each "petal" of the doily. Compare them side by side.  The difference is subtle, but it makes a difference.

But wait .... I'm not done.  I always block all of my thread work so I pinned it to my bulletin board (that I use to block projects), sprayed it with just plain water, and let it sit overnight.  With this design, I had to pin the overlap onto the red center.

And here is the final result.  Compare this to the first photo.  With picots and after being blocked, it doesn't look like the same item.  Notice how the design is more clear after the blocking process.....you can see more of the detail.

I then made a set for Easter, in purple and peach.

This pattern is great for using up those leftover threads in your stash.  The pattern calls for size 3 thread and a larger hook for the center (red) and size 10 thread and smaller hook for the outer edging (white).  I didn't use size 3 thread when I made the purple/peach but I just had to add 2 rows to get my inner circle the correct size.  Had to add 2 rows to make the math come out right (final stitch count should be divisible by 4).  Of the two, I like the red one (size 3 thread) better because the thickness works better for use as a coaster.  If you are going to use it as a small doily (under a candy dish or flower vase), the thickness may not make a difference.

If you try this pattern, please visit Julia Hart's page and let her know you found it here!