OT: Craft photos/was: Re: Re: Inspirations...(not the store lol//

[Guest guest]

> I have a question for whom ever made the crochet snow flakes; I have

> a question! Do you starch them?? I remember Mother doing that --

> but she also starched the curtains and Oh! must not forget those

> starched Easter dresses!

You know, my sister and I were just talking about that today. I

remember the day before a Brownie field trip, looking out the back

door and seeing the starched Brownie uniforms hanging on the

washline, and crying because I knew it was going to hurt to wear it.

Sundays were agony because of the net " full " slips. I would have red

welts on my legs by the time I got home, because of the irritation.

Starched clothing always hurt. I buy and wear natural fabrics -

can't stand spandex or polyester or stuff like that. I wear the

softest clothing I can find.

As for the curtains that I crocheted, I bought a bottle of old-

fashioned starch (not the spray kind). Some places you can still get

the old powdered laundry starch, but this stuff comes in a big 1/2

gallon bottle. I diluted it only slightly, then hung the curtains in

my shower to let them drip dry, then used a steam iron and a spray

bottle of water to dampen and iron and block them, because they were

too big to block like a doily. Ideally, you should have a wooden

frame covered with muslin, I think, and pin the curtains to the

frames to block them. I use starch for my doilies too, and block

them on the foam core board described below. I use a ruler to ensure

that each diameter (point to point) is the same length. Most of the

books tell you to not press crochet, especially crochet with three-

dimensional effects, such as Irish crochet. It flattens it too

much. Blocking is much better.

For snowflakes, you can use diluted Elmer's glue, but I use bottled

craft stiffener that looks, oddly enough, like Elmer's glue. ;D I

dilute it somewhat to make it easier to handle. I have a foam core

board that I tape the six-line patterns on (intersecting lines at 0,

30, 60, 90, 120, 180, 210, 240, 270, 300, 330, 360 degrees), and over

that I tape wax paper with masking tape. I put the slightly diluted

goo in a plastic food storage bag, add a few snowflakes, squeeze them

out with damp paper towels, and block them with straight pins

according to the patterns. I've had some trouble finding pins that

don't rust. I have some old pins (from the 60's, probably) that I've

had some trouble with rust spots if I leave the snowflakes pinned too

long. Newer pins don't seem to have that problem. I bought some

brass quilting pins but I suspect they're too flexible for the

blocking. I can block about 15 snowflakes on one bored - er -

board. ;D My first board lasted about 3 years, through many batches

of snowflakes and doilies.

I much prefer the actual crocheting to the stiffening and blocking

and/or pressing. ;D

Z

[Guest guest]

> Maybe it was my terminology - I generally crochet with yarn versus

> thread and wanted to know if her snowflakes were made with yarn.

> There is a craft called tatting but I don't know what it involves.

>

I make most of my snowflakes with size 10 bedspread weight cotton. I

just worked through this book of patterns:

http://www.amazon.com/60-Crocheted-Snowflakes-Dover-Needlework/dp/

0486253937

That book calls for 20 or even 30 weight thread. As the numbers get

higher, the thread gets thinner, and the crochet hook you use looks

more and more like a dental instrument. There's also size 50 and

even 100 thread; that's getting around the size of sewing thread.

This time through the book, I used #10 thread exclusively, because

they get too small with the 20 and 30 thread. I have another book of

patterns, where some of them get too big with #10 thread, so next

time around I'll use 20 or even 30 thread for some.

Last year I stuck snowflakes in Christmas cards. They make nice

spontaneous gifts throughout the year, if I need a gift for someone.

Even if I've given the person snowflakes before, there's always more

room on the Christmas tree. ;D ;D My sister swears that the people

at the hospital where she works would gobble them up like hotcakes if

I sold them; I'm tempted to try.

Funny - first time around with crochet, in the 70's, I always looked

longingly at thread crochet but was afraid to try it. Now, I ain't

afraid of nuthin'. ;D

Tatting involves the use of a shuttle and bobbin, and I think that

you manually wind thread around thread. The work looks finer and

lacier than crochet, at least what I've seen of it. I've never done

it; don't know anything about it. It uses the same kind of thread as

crochet, I believe, but thinner weights.

Z (Hmmmmmm....I see on Amazon that there's a book of 99

snowflake patterns...)(Steady on, old girl...) ;D

[Guest guest]

> Maybe I could start out with lustersheen or something like

> that....lol...because thread STILL scares me although I will crochet

> with cotton!

My grandniece is on a basketball team. One of her teammates was

worrying about a particularly aggressive girl on another team. My

grandniece said " It's a girl, and a ball! "

It's a hook, and a ball of thread! ;D ;D Get a size 6 hook, a

pattern for a doily or snowflake, a ball of thread, and get started!

The stitches are exactly the same as for the afghan. You already

know how to do them. It's smaller work, but you get used to it

quickly and it's exactly the same and a lot more portable than an

afghan. I guarantee you'll love the results. You could start with

filet crochet; it's basically double crochet in blocks and spaces. A

bit boring but the results are beautiful. That's what those curtains

that I made are.

BTW, my mom has you beat on the afghans. She started a baby quilt in

1943 when my brother was born, and finally finished it in 1990 for

his first granddaughter. ;D

Z

[Guest guest]

Sigh....I meant to say 47 yrs vs 37 yrs.....darn fibro mind!

Darlene

> >

> > > Maybe I could start out with lustersheen or something like

> > > that....lol...because thread STILL scares me although I will

> crochet

> > > with cotton!

> >

> > My grandniece is on a basketball team. One of her teammates was

> > worrying about a particularly aggressive girl on another team.

My

> > grandniece said " It's a girl, and a ball! "

> >

> > It's a hook, and a ball of thread! ;D ;D Get a size 6 hook, a

> > pattern for a doily or snowflake, a ball of thread, and get

> started!

> > The stitches are exactly the same as for the afghan. You

already

> > know how to do them. It's smaller work, but you get used to it

> > quickly and it's exactly the same and a lot more portable than

an

> > afghan. I guarantee you'll love the results. You could start

> with

> > filet crochet; it's basically double crochet in blocks and

spaces.

> A

> > bit boring but the results are beautiful. That's what those

> curtains

> > that I made are.

> >

> > BTW, my mom has you beat on the afghans. She started a baby

quilt

> in

> > 1943 when my brother was born, and finally finished it in 1990

for

> > his first granddaughter. ;D

> >

> > Z

> >

> >

> >

> >