Crocheted Edging Inspiration

by Kelly

I've been working on a project of my own involving crocheted edging, so when I saw this how-to on the CRAFT, site, I had to take a look.

The tutorial is here at  Miss Abigail's Hope Chest . She does a wonderful job of stepping you through the process with photos. She does use a ruler and an awl to make the holes for the edging, though, so I thought I would suggest an alternative to that part of the process.

Here's a little gadget you've probably never seen before :

I finally tracked this down through  a site called Quilt Me Happy. It's a little blade that fits on your rotary cutter. There are three different sizes, so you can choose one for edging a towel, or another for edging a blanket. I have only found one source for these, and they have a patent-pending notice on their product, so they may be the only manufacturers at the moment. Here's their site  Skip Stitch Products. The blades are pretty pricey at $11.00 and $13.00, and of course you're going to have to choose an edging pattern that will work with those holes. But if you're thinking of mass producing edged towels or blankets, this might be the item for you.

Unfortunately, I've decided that this little gadget won't work for me either. I'm working with silk, which slips and frays and is otherwise argumentative. I'm afraid that if I run a line of holes along an edge, then put the project down and come back the next day, I'll find the edge is already a hopeless mess of loose threads.

At the moment I'm working on an embroidered edge that makes loops that I can hopefully crochet into. My big worry is that this won't be sturdy enough, but time will tell.

St. Louis Botanical Gardens

 

In the park there is a little machine, near a bridge, that dispenses fish pellets so that you can feed the koi. There is also a little note that says 'Please do not feed the ducks'. I imagine that this is because if those fish aren't satisfied with the amount of food they are given, the ducks will start disappearing, one by one.

Royal Fever

So I have to admit, I have Royal Wedding Fever. I was up on July 29th, 1981 watching Charles and Di and I will be up tomorrow at 3:00 am watching the festivities unfold for the new couple. Generally speaking, I don't have a lot of interest in all things British, I'm much more of a Francophile. I'll take tapenade on a baguette over Marmite on a biscuit any day of the week. But when it comes to the Royals, the Brits have it over everyone. The pomp, the circumstance, the changing of the guards, an abbey - this is good t.v. In fact, I even modeled my own wedding dress back in 1997 after Princess Diana's. So yes, we'll be up bright and super early tomorrow, drinking tea and watching all things Wills and Kate. My poor husband.

And of course, the last time I was at Hobby Lobby, I found this gorgeous yarn called, Princess! That's actually the line name and the colors come in shades like "Ballgown" and "Courtyard". I grabbed 3 skeins of "Joust", an amazing royal purple color that had me swooning. I'm sure this picture won't do it justice, but here it is...

I decided to crochet a ruffled neck scarf with it, which is going well so far. I'm off to find some beautiful buttons for the closure here soon and wondering if I should pick up a skein of "White Knight" to trim it with.

So tomorrow, wipe the sleepies from your eyes, put the kettle on, nibble a scone and tune in to the wedding of the decade. I've heard it said...

"She arrives in a car as a commoner and leaves in a carriage as a Princess!" And really, does it get any better than that?

-Dawn

Candy that's good for you

by Kelly

Recently, NotMartha had a post about science and crafting. Two of my greatest loves, joined together in potentially hazardous matrimony. I remember how much Dawn loved the Sea Glass Candy we made over the Christmas holidays, and wanted to show her this amazing alternative : glow in the dark candy (recipe to be found on the Instructables site)


 I've seen this recipe before, using Quinine, an ingredient found in tonic water, to get that awesome glow-in-the-dark reaction. But Quinine is pretty bitter and thus not really a good choice for candy. This recipe, however, uses Riboflavin. So where in the world does someone acquire Riboflavin? Why, in a health food store, of course, under the name Vitamin B2.

BrittLiv, author of this recipe, does give one important safety warning - . "Make sure it has no sharp corners, before you serve it. I cut myself pretty severely into the thumb with it."

 
Sounds like a small price to pay for such a cool result.

Comment on header.

I like the header you have. But if you are unhappy with it, I may have a picture of a basket of yarn. I would have to look.

I took a break from the afghan today. I am making a dishcloth. Dishcloths are usually starter projects for someone just learning to crochet. I have been crocheting for over 25 years and I have never made a dishcloth. I guess it is about time. When I finish I will post a picture.

Donna

The New and Improved Header

So, my husband and I worked on the Header some more. Well, he worked and I added ideas and commentary and did my best to drive him crazy. With his mad, meticulous skills, he came up with this. What do you guys think?

Spring Has Sprung

It’s Dawn, the third strand from Three Strands Together. I crochet and do plastic canvas and am also an avid cook and gardener-wannabe. I already warned Donna to free up the month of August as it’s going to be tomato-palooza around here. Donna makes amazing salsa and I’m seeing jars stretching out for miles in my head. A big thank you to Kelly for putting this blog together. This should be a great forum to share our ideas, thoughts and pictures of current projects. Kelly, I love the little bear – he is so sweet and snuggly-looking!

With Easter behind us, I’m turning my thoughts to the garden and my crocheting seems to be following suit. I just finished a little lapghan that I’ll post at the ThreeStrandsTogether Etsy store today. It’s a double-crochet granny in a white and Spring green mix of color. It reminds me of the buds coming out on the trees that we’re finally starting to see. It’s been another long winter here in the Midwest and Spring keeps toying with us. Our redbud tree is just starting to show the first signs of that gorgeous pink/lilac color. I’m really thinking of doing another granny lapghan in those shades next.

Other projects include a Sedona Shawl, inspired by the red rock in the Southwest – that should be complete in the near future. I also have a few projects with a Japanese flair in mind, but more on those later.

That’s all for now…I’ve got a lot of Easter ham to figure out what to do with….

-Dawn

My current project

Hi,

My name is Donna. Unlike the multi talented Kelly, I only crochet. I crochet afghans, pillows, Christmas ornaments, towels. My favorite is Christmas ornaments. So far I haven't made a doily but I plan to one of these days. Right now I am working on a baby afghan called Playful Spiders (by Sheila Leslie). To the left is a picture of it. If you look at it, it has white on both sides with a color block between them. This is done in rows with four white double crochets, then the rest of the color row and then four white double crochets, then turn, do four more white, then color. You have three rolls of yarn attached at the same time. You just drop one color and pick up the next. I have never done this before. I have always finished off one color before starting another. I've just finished pulling three rows apart because I didn't count and I was a stitch short. When will I learn!

In defense of doilies

I'll admit it, I have a sort of phobia about what I call 'Granny work'. This includes Granny squares, embroidered table runners, and doilies. Especially doilies. I mean, what do you use them for? Are antimacassars the same as doilies, or are they a different species? They seem to live in a different habitat (the backs and arms of chairs, as opposed to tabletops), but they look the same. Nothings shouts 'Granny work' to me like antimacassars clinging to the furniture like limpets.

But today I visited Crochet Me (there's a link over there in our sidebar) and saw this :

Here's a detail of the center:

Wow! And how did this nameless crochet wizard get all that color into a doily? Cotton perle thread, something dear to every embroiderer's heart. How simple! I just happen to have some on hand.

Usually at this point I would have thrown myself headlong into a new project, but this time something stopped me. No, not the fact that I had never crocheted a doily before. The idea of crocheting for the first time with perle thread didn't give me pause either. Instead there was a little voice in my head that said 'This is a doily. Have you lost your mind? You're too young for doilies! Turn back now before it's too late!'.

Well, maybe I'll listen to the voice of reason this time. Maybe I won't begin producing colorful doilies and start placing them around the house to startle and bewilder my poor husband.

They are pretty to look at though, aren't they??

Check out the article here .

-Kelly