Saturday, January 30, 2010

Vintage Celtic-looking doily pattern


Materials: KNIT-CRO-SHEEN, 1 ball, Steel Crochet Hook No. 7.

Doily measures about 11 1/2 inches in diameter.

Ch 12, join with sl st.

1st rnd: Ch 5 (to count as tr and ch-1), * tr in ring, ch 1. Repeat from * 16 more times; join with sl st in 4th st of ch-5.

2nd rnd: Ch 1, sc in sp; (ch 5, sc in next sp) 17 times; ch 2, join with dc in 1st sc of rnd (18 loops).

3rd rnd: Ch 1, sc under dc, * ch 5, sc in next loop. Repeat from * around, ending with ch 2, join with dc.

4th rnd: Repeat 3rd rnd.

5th rnd: Make ch-6 loops (instead of ch-5), ending with ch 3, join with tr.

6th rnd: Repeat 5th rnd, making ch-7 loops instead of ch-6.

7th rnd: Make ch-8 loops instead of ch-7, ending with ch 4, join with tr.

8th rnd: Ch 15 (to count as tr and ch-11), * tr in next loop, ch 11. Repeat from * around. Join to 4th st of ch-15.

9th rnd: Sl st in next 4 ch, ch 1, sc in next ch; * ch 5, skip 1 ch, sc in next ch, ch 6, sc in 5th st of next ch-11 loop. Repeat from * around. Join to 1st sc made.

10th rnd: Sl st in 1st ch, sc in next ch, * ch 5, skip 1 ch, sc in next ch, ch 7, skip ch-6 loop, sc in 2nd ch of next ch-5 loop. Repeat from * around. Join.

11th rnd: Repeat 10th rnd, making ch-8 loops instead of ch-7.

12th rnd: Repeat 11th rnd, making ch-9 loops instead of ch-8.

13th rnd: Repeat 12th rnd, making ch-10 loops instead of ch-9.

14th rnd: Repeat 13th rnd, making ch-14 loops instead of ch-10. Join and turn.

15th rnd: Sl st in first 3 ch, ch 1, turn and work sc in same place as last sl st, * ch 3, sc in center ch of ch-5 loop, ch 3, sc in 3rd ch of next ch-14 loop, (ch 5, skip 2 ch, sc in next ch) 3 times. Repeat from * around. Join and turn.

16th rnd: Sl st in first 3 ch, ch 1, turn and work sc in same place as last sl st, * ch 6, sc in 3rd ch of next ch-5 loop, ch 5, sc in 2nd ch of next loop, ch 5, skip 1 ch, sc in next ch of same loop, ch 5, sc in 3rd ch of next loop. Repeat from * around. Join and turn.

17th rnd: Repeat 16th rnd, making ch-7 loops instead of ch-6 loops.

18th rnd: Sl st in first 3 ch, ch 1, turn and work sc in same place as last sl st, * ch 7, sc in 3rd ch of next ch-5 loop, ch 5, sc in 2nd ch of next loop; (ch 4, sc in next ch) twice; ch 5, sc in 3rd ch of next loop. Repeat from * around. Join and break off.

Copyright 2000-2006 Celt's Vintage Crochet

Friday, January 29, 2010

Frida


Frida Kahlo had the talent and style that many can only dream of. Her works have been studied and admired by many, including myself. My mother was born in Mexico, and Spanish was her first language. I have always found a part of me that relates to her rebellious and activist spirit, and as my own back problems have gotten worse recently, I seem to relate to her even more so. PBS has a pretty good biography on her, here is the link: http://www.biography.com/articles/Frida-Kahlo-9359496

This is another fantastic link, found here on PBS's website: http://www.pbs.org/weta/fridakahlo/index.html

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Eco-Fashion

Eco-Fashion, found on "goth girl goes to the country" by Deborah Lindquist click here for my favorite piece from her collection.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Matryoshka Dolls, or Russian Nesting Dolls


Russian Nesting Dolls are so cool-looking, I had one when I was a little girl, living so close (Alaska and the Soviet Union- this was the 80's- are separated by a small bit of water) The imagery of Russian art remains among my favorites- the Russian Orthodox churches and structures that are in Alaska are beautiful (I've only seen Moscow in images and photos). My little matryoshka dolls had a label on the bottom which said "made in the USSR", and I still have it in pretty good condition, actually! So I was thinking of doing a series of paintings, I've already sketched them out, and I was also thinking of making something else with the beautiful nesting dolls imagery. I also thought how cool would it be to make a little punk rock nesting doll? I didn't even know that nesting dolls had been done in anything but the traditional-old-school style with the yellow babushka, red dress with flowered apron and pretty rosy cheeks and painted lips. After I did a little online research I found -to my horror- modern figurines, like Micheal Jackson painted on these little nesting dolls. Very trippy. And there were some with some incredible cheesy-tacky landscapes painted on them. But I did find some of the traditional nesting dolls, like the one I had as a kid (jeez it wasn't THAT long ago!) and so I thought I could put together a few different crafts with the matryoshka image along with my sketches, maybe even an applique on a purse or something. Apparently I'm not the only one with this idea....Check out this FABULOUS "matryoshka madness" from Laura Sweet's awesome blog, If It's Hip, It's Here

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Running in Circles, again!





I have now re-done the Running in Circles table centerpiece & would like to share it. Once I have the pattern converted to pdf, I will update as well. In the last photo in this post, its sitting next to a Tiffany lamp....pretty cool, huh? The lamp was so incredibly heavy that I simply couldn't lift it to set it on top of the centerpiece, not to mention the fact the it would have covered up most of the Running in Circles piece! The pattern can be found on Cut Out + Keep website, it is not in pdf format. Enjoy!!

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Your husband,boyfriend or partner's shirts are now in danger....of being re-vamped into a fabulous dress


This men's shirt -> halter dress is so damn cool, and it has very easy instructions. Its definitely a lot better than other up-cycled shirt designs i've seen around. check it out, you'll totally wanna make it! Find it on craftster, made by duckjustaduck and it is called "XL men's shirt to pinup halter dress-tute on pg 2!" Here's the link to her tutorial

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Eunny's Knitted Socks













WOW, these are the most awesome socks- I love them! Someone could probably sorta convert the pattern into gauntlets/armwarmers. Maybe I will have to do that. Anyhoo, all you knitting friends and people with feet, check these out ....they were designed by Eunny Jang. But be warned: your feet will just be begging you to put them on! http://www.eunnyjang.com/knit/2006/09/bayerische_sock_part_ii.html