Finishing a Doily, Blocking.

When it comes to blocking a doily there are probably as many different ways to do it as there are people crocheting. So here is how I do it. You need something to pin your doily to- I used a piece of foam poster board because it is super inexpensive and easy to replace. I took some clear scotch packing tape and covered the whole front side of it for a bit of waterproofing. 

Then you need starch- I used a spray can.

You also need safety pins

I draw a circle on my board so that I have a general idea of where to pin. Next you want to wash your doily. When it is still wet you start pinning the doily down. I have to angle my pins because I pull so hard.

 Once you are satisfied that your doily is pulled tight and pinned evenly just spray it down with the starch && let her dry.

 Of course if you are anything like me you will be in your bedroom with a blow dryer drying it as fast as you can. After several hours of straight crocheting, I am ready to admire my masterpiece! :)

Once it has completely dried you are free to unpin your doily and fall in love with it all over again!

What hole in my shorts?

My infatuation with doily's may never end. I found another use for them- patching holes in shorts. I found a pattern that was intended to be used as a coaster. You can find it here. The only edit to this pattern I did was on round 6. I did as follows:

rnd 6: slip stitch to ch2 space, ch1, sc in space, ch8, sc in next ch2 space,ch5, *sc in next space, *(repeat around) slip stitch into first sc.stitch to top of ch3.

I crocheted this doily and then washed and dried both the doily and the shorts.

Next I just used a good thick thread to hand sew around the edge of the doily. (When I get into town again I'll get an iron on patch to put on the inside to help stabilize the denim behind the doily.) 

I'm debating adding a little bit of lace to the bottom of these shorts as they feel too short, but I'm worried my big ol' momma thighs may make the lace bunch up and just make things worse.

Doesn't this add such a nice feminine touch? I really like how it turned out!

What else can you use a doily for?

Relaxin' with some Pineapples doily

This is another exciting day for me as I have managed to complete a second doily! Considering I wasn't sure if I would finish the first one, this is a very serious accomplishment. This one is a lot smaller than the last one, but equally as charming. The pattern is called "Pineapple Delight" and it was designed by Cille Heckenbach just this year! When I first started hunting down doily patterns I wasn't too keen on the pineapple ones, but after crocheting one I am completely in love.

I wonder what the next doily I make will look like? Time to start searching for another pattern! Perhaps I will someday design my own...

Downtown Chicago

My doily is finished. I learned how to block a doily and although I'm by far no pro at it, it was fun and my doily actually lays flat! The little bowl above was found in downtown Naperville in Illinois. I have a thing for pottery, what can I say?

You don't see these types of busses everywhere, but I spied one in Chicago! This beauty was sitting right outside Sifu when we first parked.

This has been a very exciting weekend. I was able to visit downtown Chicago and get a feel for the area's vibe! I visited a few little shops and of course I had deep dish pizza and Chicago style hot dogs!

My favorite place in downtown Chicago is called Sifu Design Studio. This fun little shop was like walking into a needlework fantasy world. I found some great tatting thread which I will use to crochet something in micro-form. Check out Sifu for your needlework needs, they have a great website and Lisa offers classes all the time!

I also found a few different yarns to add to my stash until I decide what to do with them. The cute rings and vintage knitting needles were just an added bonus to this amazing little shop.

This little pie pan was found in another great little shop called "Roost" which was right up the road from Sifu. I cannot say enough good things about this little antique store, but they have an amazing assortment of collectible antiques. I happen to be a Mason jar obsessor and when I walked in my little eyes locked onto three of the biggest mason jars I have ever seen. Had I not be being mindful of my budget I may have purchased them. Now that I am home I wish I had gotten one!

To-Do almost Done

Todays goal: finish rounds 21-32 of this doily, wash it, then iron it flat and admire my work.

The middle finger on my left hand is almost raw from crocheting with this tiny needle and thread, but I can't slow down now.

I will update later on this evening when I have this completed!

I am several days into this project and astonished by the speed of an old substitute teacher we used to have. Her name was Mrs. Boswell and she could crochet a doily about this size in one class period- one hour and a half. At the time I never realized how amazing that was. I wish she were still around so I could tell her how much respect I have for her now! 

The designer herself

I have been absolutely honored to talk to the actual designer of this fabulous doily pattern. I continued to get hung up on the 5th round. If I had only read on to round 6 where is said "flower" I may have realized what it meant. Luckily I shot an email to Jacqui herself and she cleared it up for me. 

Now I have made it all the way to round 9! I am feeling so excited about making doilies for myself. Jacqui was eager to help and also told me that I may be interested in miniature crochet. I am definitely interested and I think everyone should take a look at her ebay shop. What she does is simply phenomenal! Her shop is called eastwick*dollhouse. 

Can you imagine making these tiny treasures? Such skill. I'll admit I am interested in trying, but reproducing her amazing work will definitely be a challenge. Great job Jacqui!

Crochet that doily!

As I said a few days ago, one of my goals is to crochet a doily from a beautiful vintage inspired pattern I found. I set out to crochet it small first and get a feel for crocheting doilies since I have yet to do one myself. WOW. I officially respect anyone who can crochet these beautiful little things! I am struggling big time with mine. It is just so intricate and it's not flat. I know you are supposed to wash it and then (block?) it to get it to lay flat, but I feel like mine won't do that no matter what I do! I'm only on the fourth round and already I'm questioning my qualifications on the art of doilies! I will persevere and hopefully I will succeed because I am absolutely in love with doilies. Don't they have such a romantic feel to them?