oh! how I love a dragonfly

If I had to pick a favorite bug -- it would be the dragonfly.
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Every time I behold the sheer, translucent, shimmering beauty of the dragonfly's wing -- I am stunned into silence.

 

And guess what?  There is a crochet pattern that involves a dragonfly.   So to speak.

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It is Dragonfly Shawl, designed by Lisa Naskrent and is described as being a

'symphony of elegance with a dance in flight.'

Everything about this pattern is a 'symphony of elegance'!  The pattern can be found here:

interweave CROCHET winter 2008

Now, given the alternative of written directions vs. a diagram -- hands down, I will always pick the diagram.

I mean -- honestly!  I could not wrap my head around any of this:

... s-ch 5 in each ch-5 sp

to first SMK,

[BP-sh-seq, s-ch-5 in next ch-5 sp]

through first ch-5 sp after last

SMK on this side...

What does that mean?!!?
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So, thank goodness for a drawn diagram and probably the most delectable yarn ----  Shadow Tonal Lace Yarn in Blue Violet from KnitPicks  in the most gorgeous shade of periwinkle (read ---> my favorite color!)
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Being a laceweight, I had a super hard time getting used to using a D hook with a size 0 yarn.  And yes, I did have to frog my first 20 attempts at getting this started.  Getting those first 3 rows going was the most difficult for me.
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But, duh! -- after studying the diagram, I realized that the pattern is very, very easy to memorize and now that I can actually see a completely magnificent shawl starting to appear --- I am stealing away as much time as possible to get this done so it can be draped around my shoulders.



sunflower

Sunflowers.  I just love their heavy heads of golden brown goodness.

Ah, sunflower, weary of time,


Who countest the steps of the sun;


Seeking after that sweet golden clime


Where the traveller's journey is done.
-William Blake

So when I can combine the lovely art of irish crochet with the making of a sunflower doily....well that just gets my fancy like you can not believe.

And wouldn't you know it?!  There's a book with just that pattern. 

I love, love, lOvE this book.  The author, Judy Crow has hit upon some gorgeous, out-of-the-ordinary patterns and stitch configurations that just seem to jump right off of the page...

...and onto my hook.

The petals did seem to take forever, but because the pattern for them was easily memorized I could almost do them while standing in line at the grocery store.  (Notice I said almost -- my kids seem to give me the hairy eyeball if I pull out my crochet projects while the cashier is ringing up our corn flakes.)

I would have never thought that I could take one of my most favorite techniques (irish crochet) and use deep, vibrant thread colors...

 
...to make a sunflower doily.

marigold brooch

The intensity of the colors in a marigold are bold, vibrant & yes -- intense.
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I found those same intense colors in Patons Angora Bamboo yarn. Vibrant colors, but oh, my! what truly took my breath away was the ultra-softness of this yarn.

Soft.  Soft as a kitten.

The pattern for this marigold brooch is actually my crocheted peony brooch from here.

Changing it up a bit -- I made it a different color with no embellishment sewn in the middle & crocheted the leaves instead of making them out of fabric.

The leaves are from Nicky Epstein's book:

Pinned to a garment, I can only imagine how much I would just touch caress, pet .......

Okay.   Basically run my fingers through it non-stop....

Shhh.

Yes, I have a problem.

But it's because I am soooooooh addicted to the yarney goodness that comes from a simple hook & yarn.

Happy birthday, sissie! 

The marigold brooch was made just for her.

cat nap

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Oh, to have the life of a cat. Where the only big question of the day is whether to lazily slumber on the couch or the footstool.


The only big question I am facing is whether to continue making 11 more blocks for this Cat & Mouse blanket -- or to just call it a day and finish this block for a pillow.
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I got the pattern from this magazine:

....but it can also be found here.

My only misgiving about continuing this as a blanket is the heaviness when done.  If a project weighs more than my refrigerator when finished (and that happens a lot!) I get all frustrated and shove the thing in the back of my closet.  Soft & drapey has to be the end result -- or it will never get used.

Okay. This finished kitty is so adorable (yes, to my husband's horror -- I could easily become that Crazy Cat Lady....) and with the added mouse border that is included with this pattern...
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....well, this might just become a blanket instead of the pillow.

and a cherry on top

Oh.  To go back in time.  I would love to sit at the feet of women past and just absorb all of their tried-n-true techniques.

One of those techniques would have to be the fashioning of lace from a broomstick. 

*Who ever thought of using a broomstick?

*And why?

*Was it a popular method for women to crochet lace?

*Are there examples of this type of lace in someone's archives somewhere?

*That I could see?  Touch? 

Well, I didn't use a broomstick handle for this crocheted broomstick lace -- but my Boye 50 plastic knitting needle and this book:

The patterns & directions in this book are sooooooo easy to understand.

And of course, the book includes a pattern for the cutest dishcloth.




The crochet cotton is from my stash and I used my G hook.

And since I seem to obsessed with cherries of late (btw -- my sister must have taken extreme pity on me after my mushy-gushy fiasco [aka -> Dawn's attempt at cherry pie] because she baked me the most delicious home-made cherry pie.....which I ate all by myself reluctantly shared.)

But this dishcloth needed a little something extra.

So I browsed this fabulous book:

cutest cherry pattern ever in here!

And found just what I was looking for!

Ohhh. There's nothin' like a cherry on top.
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exquisite

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My Exquisite doily is done.
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And I must say that the doily is indeed exquiste.
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It has to be the softest, most delicate doily that I have ever made.

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Even our dirty-bike-lovin'-wants-to-fly-jets-or-play-for-a-major-league-baseball-team-11-yr.-old son commented on how beautiful the doily is...
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Okay. So we probably won't mention that to dad.
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But truly! -- Mary Werst is such an exquisite crochet designer because this has to be one of the most beautiful things that has ever come off of my hook.

a flowery finish

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As I wandered the forest

The green leaves among,

I heard a Wild Flower

Singing a song.

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The Wild Flower's Song by William Blake

Yippee. My Chain of Flowers scarf is finished.

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So easy. And so fast.


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And the varying shades of purple are my absolute favorite!


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And it's so versatile too -- love that.
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Perfect for tees, shorts, dresses -- casual or dressy.


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