Playing Around

I'm still laughing at myself not a little, looking down my nose at crochet for so long and now here I am rather fascinated.  There it is.  My first and deepest love is for knitting, but crochet does have a few things going for it, not least being the speed with which you can finish a project!

Here is a knitted Hurdle Stitch dishcloth from Tricots et Créations Isabelle on the left, in Lily Sugar 'N Cream "Swimming Pool," and a crocheted cloth in Suzette stitch in "Rose" pink.  The latter took some fussing, as the first version I came across gave instructions that never did come out quite right for me, and so I found a different one that worked quite well -- it's a very pretty stitch, and the same on both sides, which is handy.

I crocheted a 1:12-ish afghan to the "Open Squares" free pattern by Butterfly Dreams Miniatures.  It's a good beginner pattern -- beginner to crochet and/or miniature needlework, I mean! -- as it is fairly simple and repetitive.  I know my scale is off, but I'm still practicing! this was was a US9 hook, what is recommended for the thread.  I added two rounds of single crochet for an edging all around -- actually, twice all around except for the very last quarter, which was I think the top edge, as that looked too wide with the second round!  This is in no.8 perle cotton, which now I'm pretty sure isn't the best for something you will want to drape nicely -- for amigurumi or other projects where you want a lot of body to the fabric it would be ideal, but it is fairly stiff at anything other than a loose gauge, and doesn't soften up much at all with blocking, so for dollhouse items perhaps it would best suit things like bedspreads meant to lie flat -- or carpets!  I might try this pattern later with embroidery floss, as I think the drapability would improve.

When we were on the narrowboat last summer, being me I couldn't help noticing the charming crocheted doilies serving as curtains-of-sorts on the portholes of many of the privately-owned boats.  This is a "traditional" craft for narrowboaters, though I qualify it a little not having found out yet if it is older than, say, the Victorians -- but then, I suppose a hundred and thirty years or so is certainly still "traditional"!  Much like Romany caravans, the boatwives would decorate sometimes every inch of their living spaces, and because of the cramped quarters in a narrowboat, it is said now that crochet -- taking up less space than most needlecrafts! -- was the medium of choice.  I don't know if porthole covers are a newer invention, but certainly photos can be found of wartime barges with lace hung along the edges of shelves -- most of these look like filet crochet to my inexperienced eye.

I recently found some some of the history behind the craft at Crochet and Cabin Lace, as well as porthole cover patterns and some booklets with traditional cabin lace patterns available for purchase.  Mine is the Cobweb Lace one from the website, in Aunt Lydia's no.10 cotton --

The finished piece is only a smidge bigger than it is supposed to be (7 1/2 in.) but looks a bit  more open than the original, not sure why, unless it's just because I really biffed the UK-to-US-crochet-terms translation!  Maybe the no.10 is actually finer than the Lesur Empress cotton (which I have never seen)?

Clearly I have no need for porthole covers at this point -- a narrowboat is still only a when-we-win-the-lottery fantasy! -- but of course I'm fascinated by traditional handcrafts of many kinds, and it is very pleasing to combine two interests, as it were.  I might starch this one and just hang it in the window!

Comments

[Toffeeapple]

That is very pretty, I am always drawn to blue and white things. The picot edge is rather lovely; I would starch and iron it and hang it in a window too.

[Mary Lou Egan]

I don't mind crochet, and it is a little faster, but I can do a lot of plain knitting without looking at it very much, but crochet requires me to keep my eyes on the work at all times. Maybe if I did it more often it would help.