Thursday 21 April 2016

Rectangle, Top, and Something New

More bit of this and bit of that...  I'm flitting like a butterfly at the moment with lots of (too many??) projects on the go!

I rounded the first corner on the Rectangle Doily.  I'm not really happy with my tatting at the moment, it's not very smooth or even.  But I will persevere.  It also really needs pressing a bit but I've not done it yet.  Still, this is a great piece to take around with you as there is no pattern to remember, it's all sequences of 4 stitches.  Really easy.



I finished the crochet top I was making for my daughter (I finished it during the holiday but had not taken photos yet).  All ends darned it and washed now, it's ready to give away.  It's Ada Lacy Shells top by Vicky Chan.

This photo doesn't do it justice.
I think it will look very pretty worn over a camisole.


And another photo to show the pretty pattern:



In fact I liked it so much when I finished it that I decided to make myself one... guess in what colour?


I've been having a bit of fun with my crochet hooks too.
They so much more comfortable to hold with a bit of extra girth.




Playing with polymer clay for my hooks inspired me to try something new:  I decided to have a go at making a clay cane... just for a bit of fun.

I tried a sort of flower.
This is how big it was at the beginning.


And then you "reduce" it, working to thin the cane
hopefully without distorting the pattern too much.


And you keep pressing and rolling....


Until you have a tiny flower
(or as big or small as you wish to make it)
The design runs all the way through
so you can slice your cane and use the slices
to decorate things or to make jewellery.

So that was my fun little experiment for this week.  If I had more time... Some artists make amazing looking canes and millefiori designs.  I find it fascinating.

Best wishes,
Frivole



5 comments:

  1. Very nice work on your doily!! :)
    Love the tops!!! :)
    Great clay design!! :)

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  2. The crochet top is very pretty.

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  3. Your Concentric Rectangles doily is looking great! I find that I need to press frequently to make it lie flat. If you decide to experiment with stitch counts, I'll be interested to read about your findings. I was wondering if the size of the picot might make a difference in how it lies.

    The top for your daughter is beautiful. Of course I prefer the one you've started for yourself! ;-)

    I'm fascinated by polymer clay, but I'll leave the experimenting to others. Are the grips for your crochet hooks permanent, or can you slide them off to use with different hooks?

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  4. Oh good, I'm glad to hear it's not me who's the problem with my doily not lying flat. But I can see it's fairly minimal and I know it will be fine with a light pressing. I might give a try to changing the stitch count... but as I said it's so nice to have a pattern that's so easy to remember, it would be a shame to change that.

    The grips on the hooks are permanent as they are baked on. I have a new one in the oven as we speak. It's another birch one (bottom in photo). They have such pretty handles already but I wasn't enjoying working with them until I added my new grips. Much more comfortable now. :-)

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  5. Your doily is looking good and I am sure you will get it to lie down, one way or another.
    Lovely top for your daughter, I don't crochet but I do like the grips and they do look pretty if that's the right word.
    Your new experiment looks interesting, I wonder if you can make shuttles with it??
    Have a good day
    Margaret

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