Been busy here . . .

. . . trying to finish up another grad course and remodel my kitchen so the needlework has been put aside for the moment. I need to wash and block a number of pieces as well as weave in all those pesky little thread ends that bedevil every needleworker. I have a very bad habit of doing a piece and then tossing it in a basket without weaving in the ends. (Bad kitty! Hold our your paw!)

So, bear with me as I finish up my kitchen (took the final exam Thursday night so that's done - YAY!) and try to prepare some completed needlework for photographing this weekend.

Red and white edging

Digging around in one of my snippets boxes I found this red and white edging I crocheted last December. Judging by the size, .75" x 6.75", I think it was destined to go on a pocket. The red is actually a metallic thread woven in with the white cotton thread. It's still a #10 thread.

It's been hot today . . .

. . . so I decided to post a purple fan. I've had the a/c off and the windows open for the last several weeks because the weather has been so cool here in Houston (Shhhh! Don't tell anyone! It's our little secret -- Houston really does have more than a couple of nice weather days each year!)

I don't remember what thread I used. It's a single strand so it could possibly be just plain ole sewing thread on white 100% cotton muslin. The pattern I found at Ladiesinred.org.

Sometimes simple is best . . .

. . .like this potholder I crocheted in rows of hdc (half double crochet) and sc (single crochet) stitches.

I actually prefer this shape to the traditional square potholders. This gives me just enough coverage so my hand won't get burned but not so much coverage that I can't find the pot!

Measuring 8.25" x 5.50" in a heavy weight variegated 100% cotton yarn, it's a totally mindless piece but great to do while watching the telly or sitting in a waiting room. Plus, it's easily cleaned in the washer & dryer! A win-win situation all around!

Why'd I do that???

Did you ever do something and later on ask yourself why you did it? Well, I did it and now I'm asking myself why I crocheted 30 inches of lace in heavy cream-colored cotton.

Was I going to put it on a pillow? Maybe as a collar on a sweatshirt jacket? Who knows? It's in my stash for now . . . at least until I figure out something to do with it.

Wish me luck . . .

I'm trying to get a wiki put together for a class but I'm being hampered by a very slow running computer. (It took me 15 minutes just to get this far!) No time to edit a pic for today's posting -- which should have been on Friday instead a few minutes after midnight on Saturday. GRRRRR!

Better late than never! Here's a shamrock fridgie crocheted in green yarn.

Tickling the ivories . . .

. . . in needlepoint, no less! This fridgie was done in black and white yarn on plastic canvas. Very quick, very simple. Great for a little "thank you" to a friend or a teacher at school. You could even hot glue a ribbon rose on top of it to dress things up a bit.

Another white doily

OK, here's another white doily that isn't exactly as the pattern was written. Well, mostly. I was running out of thread so I modified Rnd 10 by not including a sc (single crochet) between each of the 4 dc (double crochet) stitches and ending the doily on Rnd 10. Nothing fancy here but I think it finished out the doily nicely.

This was Doily #8 from Classic Crochet magazine - January 1987, Volume 2, Issue 1. The thread was Aunt Lydia's Classic Crochet Cotton #10 in white crocheted with a Susan Bates US B1/2.25mm aluminum hook. Diameter is 6.5".

Sometimes we goof . . .

. . . and this is how it turns out. Oh well. It still looks nice.

This little white coaster is crocheted in some white cotton with sparkly stuff already in it. You can't really see the sparkly stuff in this picture; you just have to take my word for it. Anyway, the coaster measures 3.5" x 3.5" and was very easy to make. Now, if I could just find the pattern again so I could finish a full set . . .

Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home . . .

. . . and here's where she landed! Right on my refrigerator as a crocheted fridgie minus her antennnae.

She's 3.25" x 2" in good ole Red Heart yarn. Very, very simple to make and great as a little tuck-in to a card or letter. (You do still write cards and letters, don't you?!? Of course, you do!) Alternatively, you could stitch her to a hat or a bag or a sweater or . . . well, you get the idea.

My favorite color is . . .

PURPLE! So I embroidered this cute little angel in purple stem stitches, cross stitches, straight stitches and colonial knots on 100% cotton white muslin with 2 plies of DMC cotton floss (#???). She measured 4.5" x 2.75" on 7.5" x 5.75" fabric.

Sorry, I haven't a clue as to where I found the pattern other than somewhere on the Internet. (Note to self: Cite those sources!) I'm not sure what I'm going to do with her yet. I've thought of making a quilt (that takes a lot of time!) but I'll probably just make one of those tiny little pillows that has a cord attached so I can hang it on a door knob in my bedroom. She's just too big to be turned into a pincushion.

She'd also look nice in a smaller size using regular sewing thread or some fancy metallic thread and made into a tiny pillow ornament to go on a Christmas tree.

Pippin on my pillow . . .

. . . makes me happy (apologies to John Denver!). So does doing redwork.

A classmate of mine asked me about redwork yesterday so I promised him I would post some of mine. Redwork is simple embroidery done in red, or more properly, "turkey red." If you're familiar with DMC floss (available at any good craft store), #321 is fairly close to turkey red. The embroidery is usually done in an outline or stem stitch with colonial or French knots (and sometimes satin stitches) thrown in for good measure.

Red dyes were not always colorfast so when a colorfast red first hit the market, it was being manufactured in Turkey (or so I'm told). Hence the name, "turkey red." Women would order squares of 100% cotton with pictures printed on them for a penny apiece from various magazines. (These squares were imaginatively called "penny squares.") The idea was to embroider the squares (keeping those idle hands busy!) then stitch them together to make quilts for family and friends.

I don't remember where I acquired this square -- probably a kit in resale shop because it's on a polycotton blend fabric. (I prefer to do my redwork on 100% cotton.) While the design is 3 1/2" x 7 1/8", the square itself is 8.5"x8.5". (You do the decimal conversions. I never was very good at math. I'm a writer, not a mathematician!) The subject matter was what caught my eye -- a kitten asleep on a pillow.

What can I do in 30 minutes?

Well, I can crochet this cutie.

"It's a Small World" was Project #26 in Issue 66 of Decorative Crochet published in November 1998. Crocheted in #10 variegated yellow cotton thread with a Bates USB1/2.25mm hook from Mexico, it measured 3.5"x3.5". I was trying to finish up a ball of thread but ran out so I ended the coaster at Rnd 5.

Still, I think it looks nice even if yellow isn't my favorite color.

Live and learn

Did you ever get all excited about a pattern, buy the materials, and start working on it only to find that you didn't really like working the pattern for one reason or another? That's what happened with these Peppermint Coasters.

Designed by Wendy Bennett, the pattern was published in Crochet Home Magazine, No 62, page 22. I had seen the pattern in the magazine and liked it so when the Annie's Attic website offered a free PDF of the pattern on their free pattern of the day page, I decided to download the PDF and make some.

Following the pattern instructions I used worsted weight cotton yarn and a G hook. The top coaster came out 3.25" in diameter. OK, that was a little small. I increased the size of the hook (don't remember now to what size) and I ended up with a diameter of 4.25" (the bottom coaster). That was a much better size for a coaster.

After finishing the second coaster I decided I really didn't like the technique of dropping loops and picking them up again in Rnd 4 to get the swirly red and white effect. Plus, when I compared my coasters to the ones in the magazine, I saw that I had a lot of room between each of the red and white spokes where the originals didn't. ARRRRGGGHHHHH!

Well, they are cute and I guess they'll look nice under a couple of my Santa mugs (regular and miniature sized) like they styled in the magazine but I'm NOT going to make any more of them.

Missing my mind . . .

I miss my mind. It really irks me when I can't put my hands on something -- like a particular pattern I want to make. Oh well.

Today's pic is of a coaster I made several years ago. I'm pretty sure the pattern was from one of the Annie's Attic group of magazines but I just can't put my hands on it right now. I remember making a set of them out of heavy cotton. Of course, once I post this, the pattern will magically appear out of nowhere.

I mentioned previously that I collect patterns. I probably have over 50 different magazine titles just for crochet. Some of those titles have in excess of 300 issues. Plus, I download patterns from the Internet almost daily.

OK, so where do I keep this staggering amount of patterns? "EVERYWHERE!" groans my husband. Well, that's not entirely accurate. Most of the magazines are stored in boxes in my study. The online patterns I download, convert into PDFs (if they're not already in that format), and burn to CDs.

Patterns are then printed out in color and placed alphabetically in topical 3-ring binders for easy access. (Yes, I am a bit obsessive-compulsive!) For example, I have binders for snowflakes, coasters, postholders, shawls & wraps, and doilies.

I've also been known to scan/photocopy patterns from my magazines for my personal use. That way I can blow up (I'm nearsighted) or mark up the copy (notes on hook size, thread/yarn, highlighting rows as they are completed) without damaging my original. When the project is completed, I enter my notes into a database and destroy the copy. Since I own an original and destroy the copy without passing it on, it is considered fair and personal use. Besides, if I bought a copy of your pattern, took it home and shredded it for the cat box, what would you do? Sue me? I think not.

Now, before anyone gets a burr under their saddle about copyright issues, I'm NOT sharing copies with anyone. (Mean MammaKitty!) I'll be glad to share the URL or other publishing data that I might have but PLEASE don't ask me for the actual pattern. That's not fair to the author and brings a lot of bad karma to everyone else involved.

"Reading Nook" doily

OK, I promised to show pictures of my needlework (preferably completed needlework, thank you very much). So . . . on with the show!

This doily is called "Reading Nook." It measures 7"x7" and is made from heavy cotton thread. (Sorry, I don't remember the brand.)

The pattern was from one of my favorite magazines, Magic Crochet (Vol. 132 - June 2001), now defunct. Fortunately, I managed to acquire most of the issues since it was one of the few magazines that published crochet patterns in the international symbols as well as the traditional crochet shorthand.

While this was a simple pattern to follow, I have found that I tend to attempt more of the advanced patterns when they are written in the international symbols. And isn't that what we all want to do -- advance our skills as much as we can?

Getting Started

I love needlework. There. I've said it. I don't care if it is embroidery (redwork, whitework, blackwork, bluework, etc.), crocheting, knitting, quilting, beading, lacemaking, whatever -- I love needlework. Not only do I collect needlework and patterns (yes, I have a horrible case of PAS -- Pattern Acquisition Syndrome!) but I also produce it myself.

I come from a long line of needleworkers -- on both sides of my family. All our womenfolk sew. My mom and a great-aunt taught me how to embroider when I was a child. Mom and her sisters did needlepoint. Mom's oldest sister and my grandmother knitted for years. Many of my great-aunts and g-great-aunts crocheted. Several of my 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-cousins quilted.

To a greater or lesser extent, I also sew, embroider, needlepoint, knit, crochet, and quilt. I've also been known to do a little lacemaking or dollmaking but I mainly prefer to crochet or embroider. I like the portability of the craft since I never know where I'm going to be or how long I'm going to be there (teaching school, attending school, doctor's offices, waiting on hubby, etc.).

I'm hoping to use this blog to encourage myself to not only finish some of those UFOs (unfinished objects) but to get some of those nagging WIMs (works-in-mind) into reality!