Blast from the Past

My daughter found a box labeled "Donna's Dolls" and requested to go through it. I wasn't quite sure what was in the box and finally gave in. This is part of what was inside. The large Barbie was called Super Barbie and the other one I believe was named Tuesday. She's kind of cool (at least pre-80's) because you could move her hair around and make her either blond or brunette. The other doll I put in the photo for size reference - he is the size of a 11" Ken doll. If you don't know (and if you are under 35 I would be shocked if you do) it is, yes, it is Donny Osmond in his original purple outfit that was worn on the Donny and Marie show. I remember it even had purple socks to go with it but those have been lost. I had Marie too but she must have went with the socks.

The more amazing part of this is the clothes I made for the larger dolls. I crocheted them somewhere around the 8th - 9th grade. I remember doing the Flamenco dress to take to a High School Foreign Language fair at Ohio University. I don't think I made the skirt for any reason in particular. I really liked to make doll clothes when I was young and loved when I could actually crochet them. I've included a few close-ups of the clothes. If you click on the photo you should get a larger view of them. I've kind of gotten motivated to make some clothes for my daughters dolls but I haven't told her. I need to find the time first.

My Warm Project for A Very Cold Winter

I haven't been writing much this winter. I've even noticed some of my favorite blogs might be having similar problems as well. This doesn't mean I haven't been working on anything. I've been putting on several rows of this afghan pictured here with my daughter's kitty, Halle (short for Halloween). I started this afghan many, many moons ago while visiting my mom. My mom always had an abundance of yarn especially scraps from various projects and I didn't have a project with me. I rummaged through several patterns she had and took one of her many hooks so we could crochet together while I visited.

I took it home with me and worked on it very rarely for many years afterward. When she died I didn't get it out again until I was in the hospital laying in bed after my water broke 5 weeks before my daughter was due. Since I didn't go into labor I got to lay in my hospital bed for 6 days hooked up to an IV waiting. I managed to get a couple of rows completed before they had to move the IV to my right hand making me incapable of continuing.

Since then I've lost my pattern and I think I've used 3 different hook sizes but it is about 1/2 done. I'm making it big just like my mom would have liked. My mom always complained that afghan patterns were not big enough to keep real people covered up. Someday I will get it done, someday...week...month...year...

Crochet Buffet

Yesterday I attended a small event called the Crochet Buffet presented by the Northern Illinois Chapter of the Crochet Guild of America. If you thought crochet was all about Granny Squares and afghans you would be surprised at the different kinds of crochet there are and what you can do with it.

The delightful and informative ladies of the guild showed quite the variety of items you can make with a crochet hook and yarn or thread. I might not even remember them all! They all had their hooks out happily displaying their skills and giving insight on crochet in general and in the different applications. Of course, you had the very traditional items of afghans, scarfs, hats and the Granny Square. There were also handbags, lace, clothing and jewelry.

My favorite items were purses made using freeform crochet and jewelry. Freeform crochet is a very liberating art form where you don't follow a pattern and simply let your hook and yarn take you on a journey. It is like crazy quilting for crocheters. It makes fabulous purses and abstract art pieces. Click here to see a site with multitudes of examples. The jewelry they had made actually was made two different ways. There was beaded crochet which I have done before and they also made jewelry and art pieces using wire as their yarn. I actually bought some wire today to do a little playing. I will post a piece when I do. I found a great tutorial at the Lapidary Journal site - check it out.

I really want to join the guild so I can take advantage of the upcoming classes and workshops they will be doing. Oh, how I love to learn new things and meet people with the same creative disorder I have because then I don't feel so crazy after all.

A Little Yarn Shopping

Last time I ventured into a knitting shop several years ago it didn't take me long to walk back out. The women who worked there didn't even give me the time of day which I found odd as quilt stores I would visit would mostly have the most personable and helpful people in the world and I had worked with people who wrote knitting instructions for a living and they were nice people. I had visited one other knitting shop before that and the ladies were nice but at that time everyone was on the older side and the selections of yarn were minimal. The shops just didn't feel like me.

Thank goodness times have changed. Now that knitting and crocheting are growing in numbers among all ages of people the knitting shops are not only traditional but becoming very hip. There are several in the Chicago area and I plan on visiting them all and I will share what I find here. Today took me to West Dundee and East Dundee, Illinois.

The first shop I stopped by was The Gifted Purl on Main Street in West Dundee. This is a quaint shop in an old downtown storefront with a creaky wooden floor. The staff is super friendly and very helpful. There are comfy chairs and a sofa to sit and stitch at any time you would like to stop by. My 6 year old daughter was with me and took advantage of a box of toys from which she built a town from Lincoln Logs while I browsed. You can choose from several classes including knit and crochet although they specialize in knitting. Their signature activity is Friday Night Stitch In which they do every Friday beginning at 5:30 and ends whenever. The shopkeeper said last night they were there until midnight! They have been in business for 2 years and have a great selection of specialty yarns including cottons, wools, silks and blends.

The second shop was across the Fox River in East Dundee on River Road also in an old storefront. The Fishbed Knitting Emporium has only been open for 3 months but looks like a lot longer with the great inventory of yarns especially wools. There were so many colors it definitely was like visiting one of those candy shops with the rows of colorful candies along the walls. My daughter was impressed with this one because there was real candy to sample and the owner was very sweet to her. The coolest items in the shop were not even knitted. The owner, a fashion design major in college, had a couple of fiber art headdresses on display. One was made with wire springs, cut out pieces from scrap CDs and old computer parts. I wish I had had my camera with me.

Of course I couldn't leave either store without buying something (see the photo). At the Gifted Purl I purchased a handcrafted kettle-dyed wool by Manos del Uruguay and at the Fishbed I purchased a 100% corn fiber (yes corn like you eat) called aMaizing by the South West Trading Company. Now I just have to make something. I am a new knitter but have been crocheting since I was 5 so I will probably choose crochet over knit for now. I want to do a felting project with the wool and I'll have to see with the corn. I'll share with you what I discover with both of these. Corn! I still am aMaized.