Filet crochet, ghetto fabulous style

After a long crafting hiatus, I am back!


Last week I learned how to filet crochet. Filet crochet is the technique where you crochet mesh and fill in certain squares while leaving others open. It's great for crocheting patterns into doilies... which, of course, gives me a raging she-boner. Just after I learned about filet crochet, I discovered this fabulous page, which gives patterns for the old english alphabet. So what does that mean? Gangster-tastic doilies!

My first attempt at filet crochet was this initial doily for my friend Devon.
I think it turned out quite fabulously, but a little warped.

My next project? A sweet-ass door doily for my boyfriend with his initials going down vertically.

Another doily and some things to keep my legs warm

I finished another doily yesterday! (And of course, couldn't stop myself from starting another one). This one is pattern number 19 from the Big Book of Little Doilies. I think my tension is too tight or I'm not using the steel hook right because my doilies are coming out tiny, and very hard and inflexible. The doilies we have around the house at home are just like lacy fabric and have nice drape. Well poo. Practice makes better.

A lot of people have been asking me what exactly a doily is for. My usual explanation is that they're coasters for expensive things, like all the vases and Hümmels my mom has... which is why these doilies will be the most perfect Christmas present EVAR for her.



Yesterday I also fixed a pair of legwarmers that I made maybe a week ago. I cut the arms off an old wool LLBean sweater that was full of moth holes and they make sweet-ass legwarmers. The problem: if worn with the underarm seam in back, they make you look like a clydesdale horse, and if you wear them with the underarm seam in the front, they drag. So I just tacked the bottoms up a little bit so they could comfortably be worn with the seams in front. (I know it looks like it from the picture, but I don't normally dress like a 14 year old on crack). I'm not usually the legwarmer type, but good-golly these are warm.

Crocheting Madness, et al

I like to make things with my hands. That's pretty much it. On top of my livejournal (http://alphabetsocks.livejournal.com - friends only, sorry) I'd also like to have a place to chronical my frequent craft/baking/etc projects.

This last weekend was Thanksgiving. Every year I go to the Thanksgiving dinner at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Corvallis. Since my dad's the one who runs it, I have many duties acquired over the years: I help set up and decorate, I do the little relish trays that are put at every table, I sit around in the kitchen and eat turkey skin while the turkeys get carved, I provide my dad with endless support and mocking while he runs around in a girl's apron trying to tell dozens of newcomers where to put their potluck dishes and how to scrape their plates, and most importantly, I decorate the tofurkey.


While I was home I also got myself into a bit of a crocheting kick. I bought maybe $35 worth of yarn, string, a book, and my first ever steel hook. First I made a test hat with some old yarn, since I was trying to muddle my way through making a beanie (or toque, if you're from the North) with a bill and couldn't find a free pattern anywhere. Finally I found a nice single crochet pattern that I could work with. I worked the hat with single crochet and then made the bill by going around doing single crochet until I got to where I wanted the bill, where I did about 5 inches of double crochet with two crochets in every other stitch, then ending with single crochets back to my starting destination.

I started the hat, then made the doily (which I just did directly from pattern #22 in the Big Book of Little Doilies from Leisure Arts), and then just finished the hat. I'm very pleased with how both came out. I was surprised at how quickly the doily went, since it looks so complex, but it's actually only 11 rounds. I think it's a little lopsided, but I doubt anyone will notice.