A Wee Bit 'O Irish

I couldn't resist the allure of Irish Crochet Lace for this most wonderful of Irish holidays, St. Paddy's Day!

Paraphrased from Wikipedia, "Irish crochet" was originally developed in mid-nineteenth century Ireland as a method of imitating expensive Venetian point laces. Irish crochet lace is characterized by separately crocheted motifs, which were then assembled into a mesh background.

This lace is made with a very fine steel crochet hook and fine crochet cotton or linen thread. It begins with an outline of the pattern on a piece of cloth. Each motif is then crocheted separately, using cotton cord for volume and shaping. The finished motifs are then basted (sewn with a loose stitch for temporary tacking) onto a cloth in the shape of the pattern. The motifs are then joined using chains and picots. When all the motifs have been joined together forming one piece of lace the basting stitch is removed from the back cloth revealing the completed lace.

I've gathered the following examples of Irish lace from Pinterest, all coming from Russian sites. However, I did find a wonderful Facebook group called Irish Crochet Lab that is run by Larisa Chilton, who is an instructor and has developed an online course for those who want to learn Traditional and Modern Irish crochet lace. You can find Ms. Chilton's site at https://www.facebook.com/videotutorialsandpatterns/ . Enjoy!

     From http://2yanakara.blogspot.com

                   From postila.ru

From postila.ru, a type of Pinterest

www.facebook.com/Asia-Verten

https://www.livemaster.ru/item/17305403-odezhda-vintazhnyj-kaftan-suvenir


www.facebook.com/Asia-Verten


www.facebook.com/Asia-Verten

Oh, yes, just one more thing. Today is my brother-in-law's birthday - Happy Birthday, Craig!

Wedding Bells!

The Wedding Afghan

This is the afghan I have been working on for my nephew and his new wife. The wedding was last Saturday and everything was just perfect - the bride was stunning, the groom and his men were so handsome, the bridesmaids were gorgeous, the venue was beautiful, the food was delicious and the music selection was wonderful. I truly don't think I've ever been to such a perfectly planned and executed occasion, and really feel quite fortunate that I was invited and could participate in their special day. Congratulations, Tim and Chelsea!

But now back to the crocheting. I wanted to come up with an afghan for them that would be more contemporary looking than a traditional afghan; they just aren't the lacy shell types. Plus I wanted the afghan to "talk" to their wedding and the beginning of their life together.  So here is what I put together -

---Three panels of a diamond lattice pattern to represent their past, present  and future together. The diamond pattern also represents my wish for them to make it to their diamond (60th) wedding anniversary. I told them after that they're on their own.

---The two panels of a modified brick pattern (that's what I'm calling it and I'm sticking to it!) represents the foundation of their relationship they've already laid and the life that they'll be building together.

There is only one thing I wish I'd included - a cable stitch to represent the life line they may need to throw to one another at some point, because occasionally life can throw you a curve ball. But then again, I heard I have another nephew getting married this September. I believe I've just been given a chance to perfect this design!






                                   

My Little Valentine

Last year I posted several fantastic crocheted hearts for Valentine's Day (see For the Sweethearts on Wordpress), but I didn't really want to repeat that, lovely as it was. So for this year I decided to gather some adorable, amusing, and all around delightful examples of small, miniature, or micro crochet to honor the romantic holiday

Found on Pinterest by http://lomets.com/pin/crochet-valentines-projects/

I just love these two! I copied them from Pinterest (where I've gotten all these pics), but I couldn't find where they originally came from. If you know, please post the info in the comments section. And as an added bonus, several of the following offer free patterns!


Micro Heart  by Kim Lapsley at http://kimlapsley.blogspot.com/2013/04/my-tiny-heart.html



Bigli Milgli FaceBook Character by Elfin Thread at http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bigli-milgli-facebook-character



Valentines Necklace from HoKiou at etsy - https://www.etsy.com/listing/85874591/valentines-necklace-crochet-red-heart?ref=tre-1721547086-10



Little Lovebirds by Flo and Dot at Sarah-Jane Hicks Ravelry store,  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/little-lovebirds



Heart Bookmark at http://knitted-patterns.com/knitting-for-home/4388-heart-bookmark-crochet-pattern-free



Sweetheart Scarf from TheHatandI https://www.etsy.com/listing/91413683/crochet-pattern-sweetheart-scarf-a



Miniature Crochet Bird by Jose Heroys at https://www.etsy.com/shop/JoseHeroys?ref=l2-shopheader-name



Lips Amigurumi by Kat Jorge-Rodriguez at http://katthecraft.blogspot.nl/2015/04/lips-amigurumi-free-pattern.html?spref=pi


And with those lovely lips, I will blow you all a big kiss and wish you a happy Valentine's Day!

Turkish Cuffs

Posted from Pinterest, designed by Turkish artist Sebahat at https://www.etsy.com/shop/irregularexpressions

Sometime in the fall of last year I was rambling through crochet pages on Pinterest and happened upon "cuffs" (aka "cuff bracelets", "Turkish cuffs", or boho/shabby chic bracelets), seemingly a combination of bracelet and an elaborate cuff. Of course, I was completely enthralled and searched for more.

        

       

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I have fallen completely in love with this style and it is definitely on my agenda for this year to create one of my own. However, at the rate I'm going, this year may need to stretch out to about 16 months. Anyway, all the photos were taken from Pinterest, and the crochet artist and shop are as follows, top to bottom -

 

Wedding Jewelry by Emelie at https://www.etsy.com/shop/Emeliebeads

Beaded Bracelet by Stanislava at https://www.etsy.com/shop/stasiSpark

Cuff bracelet by Sebahat at https://www.etsy.com/shop/irregularexpressions

Crochet Cuff Bracelet by Kremena at https://www.etsy.com/shop/KSZCrochetTreasures

Flower Crochet Bracelet by Stanislava at https://www.etsy.com/shop/stasiSpark

Oya Bracelet Cuff by CraftSuppliesArt at https://www.etsy.com/shop/CraftSuppliesArt?ref=listing-shop2-all-items-count#items

I Have a Cold

In fact, I have one of the worst colds I've had in years. I do not recommend this as a way to bring in a new year! It's partially my fault because holiday goodies won out over proper nutrition and it seems I'm paying for it now. It's back on the straight and narrow once again!


I checked my March 1st post from last year (WIP it Good! - https://thecrochetedbutterfly.wordpress.com ) and now realize that NONE of my new year's resolutions were accomplished. That's about par for me, and that's why I don't usually make resolutions. However, I do think a review every now and then is a good thing. I agree with all the resolutions I made last year, so I'm going to keep those. The one thing I must do first is reorganize my back storage room - aka the back bedroom, aka my craft room. I would like to make this room into a true craft room. (Ok, you can stop laughing now!) This is going to be an interesting and somewhat prolonged project, so it's just perfect for a new year's resolution.

Sadly, the crochet teacher's job I had didn't work out and I left that position right before Halloween last year. My students felt I was a good teacher, though, so I am looking into other ways I might be able to continue with that work. I found a site called Skillshare that looks pretty good, and there are also a couple places near where I live that might be interested in having a crochet teacher. Definitely on the agenda for this year!

I'm also still interested in expanding my line of patterns (http://www.bonanza.com/booths/CrochetedButterfly). It would be nice if I could say I'd have a new pattern every month, but I think that would be pushing it. Every other month seems more reasonable, but I'll do what I can. And of course there is the never-ending job of promoting The Crocheted Butterfly.

Yes, I believe 2017 is going to be a very busy year!