Thread CAL -- vintage, doilies....all things Thread Crochet!!

[vonnie]

Hello, fellow threadies. Nice to see a few new projects! I'm just as guilty of not posting mine--I have 5 or 6 finished items I haven't shown. I finally made a doily-ghan, too, using yarn for a doily pattern. It's a little smaller than I wanted (I had to guess at the amount, and I ran a bit short of yarn), but it looks very nice over the back of my couch, which is what I wanted.

 

I'm leaving for the US in just a few weeks (I'll be there from April to October), and I'm taking only my hooks--no thread. I'm not sure what to do about patterns--I might try scanning a couple of my magazines for my personal use, so I can have patterns on my computer.

 

 

Hi Karen, where are you coming to in the US?? Are you here working or haveing fun?? Have a great time and read away.....

[Krakovianka]

Vonnie, we fly out on April 12th. Our purpose for being in the US (the whole family this time) is primarily business/ministry related, but we'll be having fun, too. I'll be speaking at an unusual homeschool get-together this fall (as long as I've been at Crochetville, I don't think I've ever mentioned that part of my life). We'll be traveling around a bit, mostly on the east side of the US, although a trip to Texas, and maybe as far as AZ might happen. I've never been in the northwest in my life--I'd love to see, but maybe not during this 6 months. We'll be so busy, as we have been here lately.

[busy-bee-lmt]

That's wonderful that you'll be here, Karen. Have a great time and drop in when you can. Are you going to be anywhere near Atlanta, Georgia while you're in the States?

[Krakovianka]

We'll probably be in southern Georgia, but nearer Savannah when we go. In 2005, I think we missed Atlantla entirely, so it's unlikely we'll make it there. My husband is in the ministry, and we'll be visiting Baptist churches everywhere we go--to be honest, I don't have a lot of time to plan extra things for myself.

[busy-bee-lmt]

Karen, I hope you and your family have a great time. I live about 25 miles north of Atlanta, which is why I wondered how close you'd be.

 

I took some pictures of my thread project this morning. The first is the pattern I'm working on. The second is of what I've done so far laid out on a double bed. The third is a closeup of one end.

[busy-bee-lmt]

Oooooo... That's going to be very very pretty Mom. I look forward to seeing it progress.

At the rate it's going you'll undoubtedly be seeing it when I'm there in June. It's the most portable of all the crochet projects. :lol

[Apak]

Wow, it's going to be huge! The pattern is so pretty!

 

Yesterday I finished a doily for my Easter basket - it's bigger than I thought it will be... Now I work on the other for my son, and this time I join crochet and cross stitch. I stitch chicks playing egg-ball and I will crochet the edgings.

 

This week I also made a few pairs of crochet butterfly-earrings

[busy-bee-lmt]

Hi, Anna! It looks like it's going to be a rectangle instead of a square at this point. My gauge seems to be wonky, but I really don't feel like tearing it out and starting over. Maybe it will be a table runner instead of a table cloth.

[Granny Square]

Linda, that tablecloth is an ambitious project!! It's a beautiful pattern. My filet gauge is off with filet too, I make short dcs, so I have to stretch it a LOT lenghtwise and not at all widthwise when I block it. I've never made something so large in filet, that will be challenging to block.

 

Anna, "chicks playing egg-ball" sounds so cute! Looking forward to a pic when you're done.

 

I am still working on my knitted hat. I am getting good at ripping out stitches.

[Apak]

Hi, Anna! It looks like it's going to be a rectangle instead of a square at this point. My gauge seems to be wonky, but I really don't feel like tearing it out and starting over. Maybe it will be a table runner instead of a table cloth.

 

That usually happens to me too that rectangular shape. But I don't mind You can always add some extra rows, but I think it will be amazing the way it will be, that's it!

[busy-bee-lmt]

I am debating what to do. Leave it the way it is (and hope that it fixes itself when it's blocked) or frog it and redo it using either triple or doubletriple crochet stitches to make it come out square. I've got 10 rows done already and don't really want to frog it, but I don't want the flowers in the middle to be all wonky either. Dither, dither.

[busy-bee-lmt]

After sleeping on it I made a trip to the frog pond this morning. I went back to the end of the starting chain and did a sample with both the tc and dtc stitches. I'm going to start over using the tc instead of the dc. The dtc was too loose and messy looking. The tc isn't quite the right gauge, but it's a whole lot closer, so I'll go with that.

[Granny Square]

Have you tried extended double crochet? That's what Kathy White (Katchkan) uses for filet.

[busy-bee-lmt]

I'm not sure what extended double crochet is. I've restarted the first row using the triple crochet. It just takes forever to do 421 triple crochets for the solid border row. I'll get there.

[busy-bee-lmt]

Thanks, for the information on extended stitches, Joy. I was too lazy to look it up and the tc seems to be working fine. :lol

[dorothysgirls]

Hello Ladies!! I was wondering if you had room for one more in this CAL. I am working on a thread bedspread and I have a feeling it is going to take forever...

[busy-bee-lmt]

Welcome, Dorothy. Of course, we've got room for you. That bedspread motif is gorgeous.

[Granny Square]

Welcome Dorothy, that motif is lovely! Will the flowers all be red or a variety of colors?

 

Linda, 'next time' (don't want you to visit the again) -- the extended double is the same stitch used for the chainless dc (or same idea for triple I suppose). It is also how you 'grow' a filet piece at the end of the row (you 'grow' it at the beginning of a row by making chains at the end of the prior row, then working over the chains).

 

Joy, Popcorn:

 

Make x stitches into the space or stitch. (Let's say 5 sts). Take the hook out.

Looking at them, the order that you made the sts is 5 4 3 2 1

You will be 'gathering' the tops of these sts into a 3-D circle. If the popcorn is made to face you, #3 stitch will be closest to you, #1 & 5 will be hooked together, slightly behind.

Put the hook into the top of st #1.

Reaching behind sts 2-4, put the hook into the top of st #5. Yo, pull thru both sts. Done.

If the popcorn is meant to pop on the other side, same idea, except connect sts 1 & 5 in FRONT of sts 2-4.

 

Beading: string all your beads before starting your project. While you are not beading, just keep pushing the beads back away from you so you can use the thread. When you need a bead, pull the up from where it's been sitting farther down your thread, and push it into the stitch where it says to in your instructions. Finishing the stitch locks it into place. The beads will want to sit on the back side of your stitch, so usually the beading is done every other row if you are turning your work.

[dorothysgirls]

The flowers are all going to be in red and the last two rounds are going to be in black. Our new bedroom will be in black white and red. It seems like it takes forever to do even 1 round on this motif..... Thank you all for welcoming me to the CAL!!

[steelerlady]

Dorothy, beautiful motif, that is will look lovely on your bed.

 

Excellent how too on the popcorn. I've made several things with popcorn stitch, but couldn't explain it unless I was doing it.

[busy-bee-lmt]

Granny Square, thanks for the help on the popcorn stitch and beading. I was trying to think of how I do them and couldn't come up with a good explanation.

 

The frog pond got another visit. My triple crochet stitches were coming out way to uneven for my liking. I'm more than a little bit of a perfectionist with my crafts. :lol So I did some more experimenting and increased the size of my hook from a 7 to a 5 and am now using the extended double crochet stitch. It's coming out a lot more even and about the same height as what I was aiming at with the triple crochet with size 7 hook. I'm about half way through the first solid row. (For the third and, hopefully, last time.)

[Apak]

Dorothy, this motif looks great and I can imagine how beautiful the bedspread will be! I really admire people who make such big things, especially in thread, because it takes soooo much time! That's why I've never made anything like this

 

Linda, maybe it's better that you start your project for the third time NOW - not when you have about half done... But finally you found what you wanted, so all that frogging was worth it.

[Granny Square]

Glad to help, Joy. I've only done it the string-on-first way, but I've seen instructions where you bead as you go but you have to be able to get the hook thru the bead. I imagine getting a hook thru 3 beads at once would be a challenge.

 

I will see if I can find those instructions on-line...

[busy-bee-lmt]

I'm about 3/4 of the way across the starting chain. The first row is definitely the worst. I have to take my glasses off so that I can see what I'm doing. Kim, the lady I care for, laughs at me every time that I do that. :lol She thinks it hilarious. But on the starting chain with thread it's just too small for me to see otherwise. The rest of the rows will be easier and faster. And this isn't a project with a deadline, so slow is okay.

[Granny Square]

Here is a list of short videos (left/right handed) that shows the string-on-first with 1 and multiple beads

http://beadcrochet.com/lessons/lessonindex.htm

 

For the life of me I can't find instuctions on how to add a bead without stringing first (except for knitting, which uses a crochet hook ). Sorry.

 

Linda, been there done that. Sometimes when working with darker colors I use store-bought magnifiers over my glasses!!