New pattern...

Seems I got myself into trouble - AGAIN - and added myself as a designer in Ravelry. So I need to post the design, don't I?

Here's the Slant Shell pattern for a baby blanket.
This can be done with any yarn and hook of choosing. The pattern is simple and can be done in any size, just add chains accordingly.
Chain 113 chains, sc into 5ch from hook, 2ch, 2 dc into same ch, skip 2 ch, [sc, 2ch, 2dc in same ch, skip 2ch] repeat across, dc in last ch.
Turn with 3 ch, and around sc,2ch from last row, [1sc, 2ch, 2dc,] repeat across, end with 1dc into 5ch loop from beginning.
Turn with 3ch, repeat pattern until you reach the length of project you like, but keep in mind that when you've done this, you might want to add a border.
I continue with the pattern around the edges, for 5-8 rounds, depending on how big I want the border to be. You can either work the border in the round, or back and forth, to achieve the same look as on the main body of the blanket.

More pics to follow. Enjoy!

From the sewing chest....

I guess I'll have to take a picture of the sewing chest, so you can see it with your own eyes! But until that happens, here's a treasure trove from said chest!

 

  

  

I need to find myself a project that I can work these beautiful stitches into. The quality of the photos isn't great, and some of the samplers are stained with coffee. To be honest, I can't even tell you if the coffee staines are my doing or granny's! But what a treasure it is, to have some things made by loving hands several decades ago!

My granny was a dress maker and a tailor, and she made beautiful clothes. I have some of her clothes in my closet. Beautiful WWII-era ensembles - two of them in fact - a jacket, and a beatiful coat. I need to find a model or a mannequin to take pictures of them to show you!

A finished object from years past....

is this tabletopper here, that I made for my mom some ten years ago or so.

 

The center

 

The whole wedge

 

Seen from the side

This was a relatively easy pattern, one from Solberg, one of my favorite thread makers from Norway. Unfortunately the topper was dirty, so you'll have to excuse that!

While I was at my mom's place earlier, to deliver her birthday present, the Through the Garden tablecloth, I took the opportunity to take pictures of the stuff she has, that I have made through the years. This tabletopper was one of them. It's made with heavy thread, #4 I think, but I would like to do this one again in thread #10. That would make a more delicate piece I think.

Another item my mom has (well several of the same really) are fine china protectors/ napkins/placemats, that are recycled. My mom had a stack of fine thread squares my great granny made, around the time my mom was pregnant with me, and mom wanted to use them to go with her fine china. But they needed an edging. Since my mom is big on gold, she had found some gold metallic thread somewhere, probably in the '70's or '80's, and made a healf-hearted attempt at it herself. However, she's not a crocheter at heart, she's a knitter. So she packed the stuff up, and years later, she brought the stash to me, asking me to bail her out. I found some edgings and showed her, and she decided upon one. So I set to work.

 

The china savers

 

A closer look. The center's made with something like thread #20 or "30 I guess.

 

A closer look at the edging

 

A stack of ten china savers

Mom still has a load of those squares left, but the metallic thread is long since gone out of market. So she's gonna see if just about the only proper crochet store left up here has some thread that she likes, so I can finish edging great-granny's squares.

Another item from the sewing chest....

was this beautiful sampler of swans - although badly stained with coffee....

 

This became an inspiration for a new duvet cover inlay for babies....

 

The words are from a very well known nyrsery rhime/prayer in icelandic...

 

This is made with ecru thread nr.30, and 0,85 mm hook.

Sadly, one of the unfinished projects in my stash! Will have to finish it someday soon.

The nursery rhyme/prayer is a beautiful one, and translates roughly into this:

Now be over and all around

with your endless blessings,

may the angels of God sit in a circle

upon this duvet of mine.

Doesn't really translate that well, but one of the prayers that all Icelandic children know by heart.

Through the garden.... for more than a year

Yes, it took me more than a year to finish this thing of beauty. I was far from calling it a thing of beauty while making it, though. What a headache that pattern gave me! Of course, I have no one to blame but myself, since it all boils down to not reading the whole page of the pattern before I was halfway through! For a relatively smart brunette, I sure can have blonde moments sometimes!
Finally noticed, after cussing and throwing the blasted thing into a storage container several times, that the pattern was for advanced experienced crocheters.
Well I finally finished the thing, and got to blocking and starching it. That took almost as long time as making it (well it sure felt like it (",)    ) with sore fingers to match! Had to make an emergency run to the local home-depot kind of store,  to get more styrofoam, since the tablecloth was way too big for my styrofoam sheet. Finally I had it starched and blocked, and now it awaits delivery to a new home. It's meant as a birthday present for my mom. She has a beautiful octagonal dining table, but she's always in trouble finding tablecloths and toppers for it. I just hope she likes the blessed thing!!!!
The pattern is called Through the garden, and was published in Decorative Crochet Magazine, September 1999, issue number 71. I found it in a Danish crochet magazine/booklet from DMC, called Haekling nr.29.

 Here it is after the first round of roses...

 

Here it is, blocked and starched, more than covering my more than large dining/kitchen table...

Details of the blocking...

A thing of beauty, right....

Close up of the dreaded center that gave me soooo many headaches....

Close up of one of the wedges....

And finally a close up of the roses and the increase...

I'm quite sure that somewhere my granny and great granny were laughing at me, while I struggled with this, but in the end, I think they'd have to be quite pleased with the final outcome!

I swore I would never ever do this pattern again, but only a few days later, I'm thinking: Well, I MIGHT want to give this another try someday....

Well I've got an excuse, I'm certifiably crazy!!!

One of the treasures...

... that came out of the sewing chest was this one here...

 

  

Beautiful lace inlay for duvet covers, made with thread #30 or #40

I also have one of those already sewed into a duvet cover, but I haven't taken a picture of it yet.

But this inspired me to try and make some inlays of my own....

 

  

  

The pattern I found could be be used either as an inlay or as a shelf border, so I did both. Haven't used the inlays though.... at least not yet.

In the beginning....

there was a crazy Icelandic chic, who inherited her grandmother's sewing chest. Inside were the most beautiful samplers of thread crochet, made by her grandmother and great-grandmother. The chic decided to give this a try, grabbed a hook and some thread and taught herself to crochet. The rest, as they say, is history....