Doilies

I know I've not been around in quite some time. Truth is, I spend much of my online energy on twitter or my facebook page and even that is usually just to catch up or drop a photo or two. As I'm sure is true for so many people, I'm just not operating at anywhere near peak efficiency. My creativity is nearly nil, but my need to make has not abated. If anything I find it more necessary than ever to keep my hands busy, so I'm mindlessly crocheting antique and vintage doily patterns. Thank the gods there are so many of them scanned and uploaded to the internet. So here's a collection of all the doilies I've made since the beginning of the first stay-at-home orders. Most of these will become holiday gifts because I just can't imagine selling them for anywhere near what they are worth based solely on time and/or expertise.

Done and Done

 I've spent much of the last week working on this doily piece. I liked quite a few of the rounds to be the end of the piece because the shaping was so different and interesting on many of them, but I was looking for a particular end size so I kept on going.

 At some points it had this nice snowflake feel and at others I got an almost straight-line hexagon. I was ultimately hoping for round and that's mostly what I ended up with.

 This is the final piece done in the vintage or crappy size 10 thread. It's loose and a bit floppy, but that's why it's a prototype. The end size was about 15 inches across which was my goal. I also quite like the negative spaces as well as the repeated motif themes I managed to hold onto.







Once that was done, I worked it up in size 20 DMC Cébélia thread in ecru. It was immediately firmer because of the better thread, but also more delicate. The end size came to about 12 inches which is also what I was hoping for with it. I don't know how I managed to guess that, maybe I've been working with thread for too long or something.

Now that I've managed to recreate it and it still lays well, I'm going to work on writing up the pattern. I kind of want to do it for sale, but I'm not sure what kind of demand there is for a doily pattern. I'll take any opinions you have on that subject. Regardless, I'm pretty happy with how the project turned out. Maybe I'll do another one after I finish writing this one up, the finished product is rather satisfying to look at.

Centerpiece

So I was going to write earlier this morning, but my youngest daughter's computer had a heart attack just as she was starting her schooling. I had to sacrifice my laptop to her because let's face it school is far more important than me rambling on about thread projects.

Speaking of thread projects, I actually have one. My shop has gone quiet again, but that's not terribly unusual for this time of the year. I was starting to get a bit antsy when I was asked to create something for the center of a table. I poked around my collection of antique and vintage pattern books and PDF's picking out a few possibilities when I inexplicably found my self inspired to design my own doily.

The first bit was a piece I found in a German book from 1921. I added the flower in the center and then built it out from there as I went. I don't really have a plan going forward other than to make it large enough to serve the purpose as a center piece on a square table. I don't ultimately know if this piece will be the one I remake for the table project, but either way I've gotten to stretch my designing muscles again.

I other news I did finally list the choker I made the other week. The pictures are disappointing partly because I find myself less photogenic as the years go by, but there's nothing for it. At least I managed to get the project across the finish line. So here's that: My Immortal Corsage Necklace.

Hello

Just a quick note this week to say that I am indeed still alive and kicking. It's been quite busy around here with end of the school year business, appointments, meetings, etc. I've not sat down nearly enough this week, in my opinion, but I have gotten some work in on my large Armenian lace piece. It's now at about a meter across. I also had to finally get some more thread for it as I've killed yet another ball. Of course I had to order it because no one carries size 20 thread anywhere in town.

Next week is the last one for homeschooling and should prove to be just as distracting as this one to my handicrafts. I'm personally quite looking forward to the week after and just a little bit of mindlessness. Fingers crossed.

Week Recap

Happy Monday back all! I clearly lost track of time on my trip and blogging fell away quickly. We had a wonderful time with wonderful friends. We got to experience a sand storm worthy of an emergency alert at the same time as a chocolate tasting. We visited a butterfly habitat and a pinball museum. There was hiking, sort of, and shopping, just a bit. It was a busy week of adventuring.

That brings me to an apology and a confession. I'm sorry I completely forgot about International Tatting Day this year. Yep clean forgot it even existed until yesterday when someone asked if they missed my pattern this year...oops. I was so focused on prepping for this trip and the youngest daughter's birthday, that I just let it slip my mind completely. Of course I must also confess that it's been increasingly less popular every year for me. Both the patterns and the sale pendant barely sold last year, so I fear it was only a very few that missed it this time around. Yeah, I'm not sure right now whether I'll try again next year or not. Maybe I'll get to work on something soon and just release it at a randomly selected time. I guess only time will tell.

Now before I go, here's the progress I made on the Armenian lace doily while I was away. I might have been vacationing, but I still love keeping my hand busy while I relax. It's at about 35 inches across now which I prefer to think of as almost 3 feet because it sounds bigger somehow. No, there is no end in sight.

Weekend Recap

I didn't think that I would get the doily done this weekend, but I had a surprising amount of sitting
time time yesterday in particular. I finished reading a novel on Friday and decided to take a reading break over the weekend, so that also gave me more time to knot. Though we did spend most of Saturday outside the house, Sunday was definitely a sitting day.

I do have an order I need to get to now. It was delayed as I searched rather fruitlessly for burgundy seed beads in stores. It was a terribly frustrating search. I didn't even love my options when I searched online for them mostly due to shipping cost and times. I eventually settled on something and I should get to work on that today. I honestly hate that I waited this long to start on it. I much prefer getting orders done immediately, but I guess I can't control every variable, every time.

The kids have a short schooling week, so I'm hoping to use the rest of the week for the tutorial project. It's been awhile since I put one together, so here's hoping I remember how and don't make a fool of myself in the process.

Almost There

I suppose I feel a bit better this morning, but I'm still far from good. Yesterday went fairly smoothly, but I really didn't get a whole lot of anything done. I think I managed three rounds on the doily. The picture only shows the second one as I finished the spiral section and went onto large loops in preparation for another round of basket stitch. I ended the knotting day on the first round of that. I've only got an inch left to work on it, so it will likely be a couple of rounds of basket stitch and then done. Of course at the pace I'm working that's not likely to be until some time next week. I promise that when I do finish it that I will finally start working on a tutorial. I should be felling better and speaking clearer by then as well. Here's hoping the weekend brings a healthier me.

Ugh

Well, yesterday went better in that we had internet and television access all day. Schooling also went much more smoothly, but my cold grabbed on with both hands and made much of the rest of my day useless and miserable.

I did manage to focus long enough to get a few more rounds done on the doily. The next one should be the last one for the spiral section. It's still not completely flat on it's own, but a quick iron was able to take away the remaining ruffle with no issues, so I'm pretty pleased with that part.

I still feel fairly horrible this morning, so I don't expect much more out of today than I got out of yesterday. I'll likely sit about hiding from the newest rainstorm, read, and knot, all while wishing I could still breath like a normal human.

Well That Was Fun

Ah, everything is back to normal, or an normal as it ever is around here anyway. We had scheduled a service upgrade to take advantage of one of those reduced-cost deals and were unaware that this required that all our services, television, phone, and internet would have to be down all morning. Let's just say this made schooling interesting as I had to set the kids' computers to tether to my cell phone so they could get anything done.

So that was my morning, but I have been working on the doily for my brother. I just passed 9 inches, so I've just got a couple more to go. Of course each inch takes a hell of a lot longer at this point. I'm also working out what was a pretty pronounced ruffle a few rounds ago. I feel pretty confident that by the time I finish this spiral section that it will be perfectly flat again. It's already much better than it was when I started the section.

The only other things I did over the extended weekend and my day of technical difficulty was clean, read, and get a nice cold. Wait, I also did the yearly accounting for my shop so I could start the long, drawn out process of taxes for the year. So it's been a really fun few days. Here's hoping today runs more smoothly.

Two

I almost managed to go the whole day without cleaning, but it turns out I can't. I only tackled a small project though, boxing up all the little kid books we had on shelves. They hadn't even been looked at in years, but we are true pack-rats and dispose of nothing. They are not going to be disposed of now either, just put away to free up space for the books the kids are actually reading.

After schooling I actually got an order in the shop, so I went to work remaking the piece. This one has been remade a lot recently, so it didn't take too long to get it done. Then it was back to the doily which is coming along nicely. I think I'm going to try a different spiral next, but I haven't worked out the math on it yet. I opted to take a picture of both things I worked on yesterday at the same time.

There's not much on the schedule for the weekend so I'm sure I'll get at least a little more done on the doily and who knows, maybe something interesting will happen. More likely we'll binge watch something new on Netflix though and I'm okay with that.

One Task Done

I finished phase one of our cleaning project yesterday which means I'm taking a cleaning break today. This is one of those multi-phase sort of cleaning projects, you know that kind that usually takes place in the Spring, but we're starting it during a multi-day rain storm instead. I know that I could get it done faster if I needed to, but I really don't want to overwhelm myself with it.

I also didn't bother even looking at what might need tatting for my shop and instead used the entire day for reading and knotting. I'm on the second round of basket stitch. After that I think I might actually go back to the spiraling. I think it creates a lovely shape and it will make it much different than the other gift doilies. Well, as different as one knotted doily can actually be from another made by the same hand.

I don't have much else to share I'm afraid. Today will likely be much the same as yesterday, except with less laundry and cleaning. Maybe I'll make some quality progress on the doily and get closer to figuring out how to do a tutorial. Of course that's likely still weeks away from happening, the doily is still a baby.

Weekend Recap

Happy Monday all. Not much happened over the weekend I'm afraid. We're kind of, mostly, stuck inside due to the Atmospheric River. Of course I wouldn't trade the nonstop rain for the ridiculous snowstorms much of the rest of the country is dealing with. Either way, we're stuck inside, but at least we're not freezing. There was much reading and some cleaning and planning for more cleaning. I did get some knotting time though.

I finished a section of spiral, ten rounds wide. I tend to like round numbers when I work. I'm not sure if that would be in line with traditional creation methods for Armenian lace, but it's one of my go-to design plans. Well that and threes, I love threes. I started the next section with large loops and will likely go to basket stitch from there. I think this one will be one of the larger sized ones so it'll still be some time before I've got it complete.

I do want to take some time to get couple of things remade for the shop and it's also the time of year do get the books done for my shop. It was a pretty dismal sales year, but on the positive side, that means I'll owe fewer taxes. There's also that planned cleaning I mentioned scheduled for this week. So lace or no lace, I'll be pretty busy much of the week I think. So, here's to a productive week ahead.

This and That

Let's see, I finished making the custom order necklace late in the afternoon yesterday. Seriously, adding beads one at a time slows me down so very much. It is however the only way to add beads without having threads across them and that was the design I created, so that's what I did. The burgundy is actually a little more purple than it appears in the photo, but it is done now and I should have it out in the mail today.

I also got an order for a choker yesterday. When I went looking for it, it could not be found. Luckily, it's one I could make in my sleep, so I got right to work on that piece as well. I won't have it in the mail today, but that's why I say I ship in 1-3 days now. It gives me a little cushion to cover my own incompetence. I'm also fairly certain that once I finish the new one and get it out, I'll find the one I have on hand in the wrong box.

Between those two projects I also got a little work done on the doily. I'm working on a nice simple spiral section that I didn't do one any of the other doilies. It'll take awhile before it's really an obvious element, so I'll just keep at it until it is. This weekend we have the holidays to remove from the house and then some early spring cleaning to do, though I'm sure I'll sneak in at least a little knotting time.

Day 2

I used my first Monday of the year to read and I read a lot. I finished up one novel and got over halfway through Leviathan Wakes, the first book in the Expanse series. I got the first three of those as Christmas gifts and since I can't read a paper book while I walk on the treadmill, I'll start another kindle book this morning as well. Reading is never a bad way to start a year, right?

I did get a photo of the doily I'm making up for my brother. I'm doing it in black because that was what was requested. I didn't work on it much because reading a paper book and knotting isn't very easy either and I promised myself I could read the day away. I'll try to get back to it more his week.

Today it's back to the routine though. There's schooling for the kids and as it's the end of the semester very soon, there's a lot of things that need doing for that. The husband is also back to work and the house really needs a bit of a kick, though that might wait until the schooling stuff has wound back down a bit. I don't really bother much with resolutions as such, but it's a new year and I'm going to try to make it better than the last one.

The Morning After

Happy morning-after all. I am right and truly exhausted. Even the cats let me sleep in a bit this morning. We actually have two extra cats in the house plus my two brothers and my sister-in-law is staying here part-time. The house is certainly full. Saturday was fairly quiet, as far as going out and about, but we had lots of laughs and time with family though. Yesterday was anything but quiet. I did quite a bit of cooking myself including attempting a friend's recipe for mac and cheese. The attempt was quite successful, but that along with other dishes made for a very busy day followed by extreme cleanup. The dinner was fun and we got some lovely gifts, actually there were a few wonderfully amazing ones from friends that I'm still a bit in shock over. Best of all though was that there were some nice reactions to my doily gifts. Not all of them of course, but I think the vast majority receiving them were pleased. So I'll end this post with pictures of them framed in color, finally.

Weekend Recap

Last gift doily is all done. I finished it up yesterday afternoon and then frame arrived a couple of hours later, so I got it pinned up in the frame and ready to give. I probably won't take anymore pictures of the lot of them until I get ready to wrap them, but many was that a lot of knotting.

That leaves me with a knitting project, that's not really anything too interesting, just something to keep my hands busy, and remaking a couple of pieces for my shop left over from my CyberMonday sale. There haven't been any new orders in the shop since then, so I'm still fighting the lack-of-motivation monster. I do feel pretty good about the weekend though. We managed to get almost all our holiday shopping finished. There are just a few odds and ends that need buying and a few more things that had to be ordered. I do wish we could give a little bigger, but you do the best with what you've got and I've got nearly a ghost town of a shop, so them's the breaks. Here's to a better week ahead.

Almost There

I think I got about an inch completed on the Armenian lace doily. I even went ahead and ordered a frame for it, so it can be a gift when I finish about another inch. On this one I simply alternated rounds of simple points with rounds of basket stitch. I think this next round is going to be another point section and when that's done the piece should be large enough.


I should get that done over the weekend barring more interesting or immediate tasks. Right now the weekend is unplanned, which is a relief after last weekend's holiday nonsense. I think I do need some recovery time and then next week it can be back to tatting and crossing my fingers that more orders roll in to undo the holiday shopping we still need to finish.

Not Much

I couldn't seem to get myself to work on the pieces that need remaking for the shop yesterday. Instead I managed to focus on knotting what is hopefully my last gift doily. It occurred to me that if I can actually get it done in time, it does have someplace to go, so it carries a higher level of motivation than the replacement pieces that will just sit in the shop. It's still got a good few inches to go, so I'm going to let it motivate me today as well. Then perhaps once the sun peeks out for a spell I'll be further motivated to get back to tatting.

Monday

Happy Monday after all. Well, I survived the entire weekend. Friday, I finished all the cleaning and pulled out the Christmas decorations. Saturday we put those all up and the change of seasons was complete. I got a couple of sales over the weekend, but only patterns, so I was given nothing to tat or make and frankly not a lot of money. Today is suppose to be the biggest online shopping day, but I'm not holding out much hope for my own shop. Of course we did a little shopping ourselves, but I am trying to keep it to a minimum for obvious money reasons.

I did get a little knotting done last night as we ended the long weekend in watching a movie. I also started a knitting project to keep my hands busy as well. I seriously have a problem when I don't have something that needs making.

So I guess I'm started the week with crossed fingers and hope for my shop to get some shoppers soon.


Oh...a last minute addition to the blog:

CyberMonday SALE!!!!
Get 30% off purchases over $10 with the code 'CYBERMONDAY' Today only!

What Next

Another day, another round on the doily. Also, there was more cleaning and a copious amount of laundry. The doily is around the 5 inch mark now and I'm planning to make this one a smaller one, so there's only a few more inches to go before it's done. Then I'll have to decide if it really is going to be a gift and if so, order the frame for it. 

Once Thanksgiving is over I'll pull out all the doily gifts and get them photographed, so I'll have pictures to share after Christmas. I really can't believe that I've made so many of them. Maybe I'll start a large tatted doily as a gift project to get me back to tatting in my spare time. I've been making these ones up as I go, but I'm not sure that's the way to go with a tatted one. I'm sure I'll find one already designed that I like, or I'll just wing it and hope. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.