Cat Mad Crochet

The Doily

I finished it! It was a trial, but it is done, and I never need to work it on again ever. I even did a little border. Fancy, fancy. 

I started working it side to side. That was a fail. I felt like the letters weren’t as legible as they should be. An Etsy search led me to believe that working it side to side would be better, so I frogged the whole half of the monster I had finished and started fresh. 

It went much faster, and, with shorter rows, I didn’t feel as beleaguered if I had to frog a row, or two, to fix a mistake. I attacked this doily and churned it out in a week. I am so happy to be done with it! My hands, however, are greatly displeased with me. I think I have some arthritis starting in my fingers and it really let me know when it was time to stop. That’s a horrible ache. My poor cat has arthritis in her back legs. The vet went so far as to call it wicked arthritis. Since my hands have been aching, I’ve been carrying her up the stairs. No one should have to hurt that much just to move. Ouch.

The doily is blocking now. From close up, it’s still illegible. But from across the room, the letters pop right out. Go me, I guess? I’ve created something that looks better from afar. Awesome. 

So the ins and outs of this doily are as follows: I layed out the pattern using Stitch Fiddle. I used a 1.25 mm hook, though I think a 1.15 to even a 1 mm hook would have been better. Why didn’t I use one of those? I tried. My hands were just not having it, so I used the smallest hook I could happily manipulate. I used size 20 thread in white. The body is done in traditional filet crochet and the border is a row of chains and singles, with a row of half doubles, chains, and singles on top of it, capped with a row of singles. Never again.

Accidentally, I made a lot of screaming monsters around the edge of this doily. I’m not sure what that means, but I fear it bodes something. 

Hannah’s wrap – all washed and blocked

I attempted to block it inside. Nope.

I moved it to the outside and used a real blocking board and pins. The sun made that process super fast.

And I am in love.

I found these flowers outside while I was taking pictures of the shawl. They match the color so nicely!

A gratuitous number of pictures near the stream behind my house. Lots of bugs were there, including one that bit me, and a bird who scared me when she shot out from under the bridge.

My Peterman-esque write up for this shawl

The soft periwinkle shawl came from nowhere yet she could remember wearing it in a dream. The fine beads at the edge, blending into the dark yarn of the border continued to catch the light of candles from another world long after she woke and the dream faded. The flicker remained almost imperceptible but it called in such an alluring way as to be an inexorable reminder of what could be if only . . . 

She lifted the shawl that night as the winds picked up and wrapped herself in its warmth, closing her eyes with joy. The music began to play just before she opened her eyes onto a candlelit ballroom deep in the heart of Fairy.

The specifics for this shawl: I used five hanks of Malabrigo silkpaca in Periwinkle and one in Paris Night. I used a 2.5 mm hook. The body of the wrap works this way.

The 4 double crochet togethers are worked as follows: Into the chain three space before the double crochet, work two double crochet togethers, with all the loops still on the hook, work the third double crochet together on the opposite side of the double crochet you were working beside (the chain space on the other side of the double crochet). Once you have worked two stitches on the other side of the double crochet from the last row, you should have five loops on your hook. Yarn over and pull them all through. 

Chain 7

Row 1: Work [1 dc, ch 3] into the first chain 8 times. 9 dc, ch. 3 spaces 

including starting chain. Turn work

Row 2: Ch 1, sc in first dc, *ch 3, dc tog 4 into ch 3 spaces on either side of 

next dc; ch 3, sc into next dc,* repeat ** to last stitch. Place marker in 5th dc. Turn work

Row 3: Ch 6, dc in first sc, ch 3, sc into middle of dc tog from last row, ch 3, 

dc into next sc, ch 3, sc into middle of next dc tog, ch 3.

In marked stitch, dc, ch 3, dc, ch 3, dc. Replace marker in center stitch of this 

group.

Ch 3, sc into middle of next dc tog, ch 3, dc in next sc, ch 3, sc into middle of 

next dc tog, ch 3, dc in next sc, ch 3, dc again into last sc of row. Turn work

Row 4: Ch 1, sc in first dc, *ch 3, dc tog 4 into ch 3 spaces on either side of 

next dc; ch 3, sc into next dc*; repeat ** to marked stitch. Sc into marked stitch. Move marker up.

Continue *ch 3, dc tog 4 into ch 3 spaces on either side of next dc; ch 3, sc 

into next dc* to last stitch. Turn work

Row 5: Ch 6, dc in first sc, *ch 3, sc into middle of dc tog from last row, ch 3, 

dc into next sc*, Repeat ** to marked stitch

In marked stitch, ch 3, dc, ch 3, dc, ch 3, dc. Replace marker in center stitch 

of this group.

Ch 3, sc into middle of next dc tog, *ch 3, dc in next sc, ch 3, sc into middle 

of next dc tog*, Repeat ** to last stitch, ch 3, dc in last sc, ch 3, dc again into last sc of row. Turn work

Repeat rows four and five to length

The border of the wrap works this way. By sheer chance and maybe some sort of miracle, the main border element worked out perfectly at the corner. 

The new project

I wish I had a year before the wedding. I would make a lace parasol, a sunhat, a shawl or two, a reticule or several, and maybe some really fine cotton lace gloves that would hurt my hands horribly to make. I wouldn’t wear all of these things myself, but I would make sure that those attending with me were well outfitted in crochet. Alas, I have a month.

I had nice purple linen yarn all balled up and ready for the next shawl. I planned to make a nice lace shawl to wear to the wedding in June, but then the pink linen arrived, and I dashed all of my plans and grabbed that. I have started it, and it is the perfect finger cleanser to that stupid doily. Happy, happy, happy! It doesn’t hurt my hands, as much, either. Some, but it’s tolerable. I think I need to work through my lace weight yarn stash before it’s too late!

Happy crafting! Remember to rest your hands!