Friday, December 10, 2010

Aha! Another Banner.

See? I have been up to no good with my hook. Another pennant banner made before summer that has, until recently, been languishing away in my hermitage awaiting its day in front of the camera. OK, so the picture doesn't do the details of the stitches any kind of justice. I do believe the gist can be gathered - maybe if you squint?

Anyway, now available at my little hunk of Ravelry:





Six different stitches each featured on its own pennant flag all lined up in a row as a bright and colorful banner.

And for free, too.

All 12 pages.

Enjoy.

Hook On
C

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Trendy Me

Hey, a girl can dream. I was so pleased with myself earlier this year when I noticed that colorful banners made of pennant flags were popping up everywhere in the home-deco/craft-happy world. I usually don't notice a trend until it has appeared everywhere first. But not this time. No, I was right there when the paper versions started making the rounds. I even managed to notice that there weren't any crochet versions popping up yet.

Woo hoo!

So I hopped on the boat and came up with this nifty little thread crochet banner with a slogan that just snarks "me". Even came up with a second, more complicated version that I'll post later this week. (I may actually have finally learned to space out my publishing efforts.) There I was, mid-April 2010 with the banners done and both looking kind of cute, even if I did say so myself. I say a lot myself. Anyway...

May = Getting too hot outside to think properly.
June = Hotter!
July = Hotter!
August = Oh dear Lord!
September = Ooo, I can think again.
October = Hey, I need to write those patterns.
November = Oh yeah, and the charts.
December = Where's my camera?

And now, only a few short months later - I present to one and to all, the Wahoo Pennant Banner:



Pattern available at Ravelry.

I'd post it here, but it's kind of long - 5 pages. Big charts, lots of words. What can I say?

Hope you enjoy this little offering.

Come experience the wonders at the trailing end of a trend with me.

Hook On!
C

Monday, November 1, 2010

Halloween 2010

Trick-or-treating was light this year at the ole apartment complex. Only two small visitors:


Kitty Corn & Ghostie Puss


...but they didn't seem to want any candy.



Two more feline fiends to add to my collection.

bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ... ahh, yada yada yada - meow

;-)

Hook on!
C

Friday, September 10, 2010

Elephant pattern update


Finally posted at Ravelry an update for the Republican Elephant from my "Political Animal Appliques" set of motifs . The instructions have been expanded into somewhat more complete sentences, the text/stitches color-matching has been revised in hopes of more clearly delineating the individual steps and the pattern itself has been reworked to make the features stronger.

Pattern is still free, of course. How could I in good conscience set a price on fridgie motif animal icons of the land of the Free ?

;-)
Hook On.
C

Donkey pattern update


Finally posted at Ravelry an update on the Democratic Donkey from my "Political Animal Appliques" set of motifs. The instructions have been expanded into somewhat more complete sentences and the text/stitches color-matching has been revised in hopes of more clearly delineating the individual steps. Pattern is still free, of course. How could I in good conscience set a price on fridgie motif animal icons of the land of the Free ?

;-)
Hook On.
C

Friday, August 27, 2010

Eagle pattern update




I noticed that on Ravelry someone was having a lot of trouble with the Eagle pattern from my set of Political Animal Appliques so I decided to take a look at what I currently had available as a pattern.

Wow.

No wonder the poor soul suffered. That is one crap pattern.

I am pretty obviously still polluting the web-o-sphere with some horribly truncated mutant ... oh, let us call them "patterns" for lack of a succinct term that defines an almost random collection/list of ethereally defined yet mostly standard abbreviations for crochet stitches.

My major bad.

So, now I'm taking steps to do round-ups and updates on some of the more ornery miscreants. Starting with the Eagle applique.

Would greatly appreciate any feedback on the update. I put in a lot of structural details hoping to clear up the intent of some of my hook juggling. I fear this may have made the pattern more confusing.

Thanks

Hook On!
C

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Cat Loaf applique update

Another pattern rescued from the arcane and cryptic shorthand world from which all my instructions hail.

Kitty Cat Loaf in applique now available as free PDF download at Ravelry:



Again, much thanks to KittyDobson for the interest and request.

Hook On!
C

Monday, August 23, 2010

Stretchy Kitty Applique update

It is said that the road to perdition is paved with good intentions and now we can add another one of my old patterns onto the tarmac: Stretching Kitty applique has now been revised/translated.



Thanks to KittyDobson for requesting the update. A memory-elf is exactly what I've been needing - not that I've become absent mind... what was I talking about? ;-)

The Cecinatrix

Sunday, May 2, 2010

knitcroblo7

Journey's End- final day of the Knit and Crochet Blog Week. Lots of talking. Interesting fun.




Day 7 - What a Yarn

"There’s one love that we all share: yarn. Blog about a particular yarn you have used in the past or own in your stash, or perhaps one that you covet from afar."

I have thread. Lots of thread. It's what I do. I've just never really gotten into the yarn too much. I mean, I love the soft and fuzzy, it's just I don't like the idea of bothering baby animals for it and then paying through the nose to get it to my door. I do believe that the price is fair and justified when considering the care and feeding of the donor sources and the costs of harvesting, processing, packaging, marketing and etc incurred by these products. But I'm cheap at heart and also a genetically sweaty woman to whom the idea of donning a garment actually called a "sweater" seems to be flouting the vindictiveness of fate.

But I do love the unusual and am currently borderline obsessed with certain fibers: Bamboo, Sari Silk, Banana Leaf and Nettle.

I haven't bought any bamboo yet because I'm saving up for the wildly fantastic 100% stuff from South West Trading Company by way of Yarn Market:

Midori


That's the color that keeps me interested. There are several other colors I like in that line, but this is the one that keeps smacking me upside the head and saying, "Over here, stupid."

I like to say that it is the price that keeps me from saving my pennies with any efficiency for this purchase, but I have to admit that there is also a lot of "it's too popular" going on. If I'm gonna spend Serious Bucks on something (and believe me when I say that $16 bucks a hank is SERIOUS Moolah to yours truly), it is going to be something I think is cool and that flies under the general radar. So last year, I figured recycled Sari Silk yarn wasn't too popular yet and bought a hank from The Wool Peddler:

Kathmandu Sari Silk


Gorgeous isn't it? Shiny and colorful and exotic. Uhm, well the one I received was more like a lovely vomit color partially obscured by a haze of hairiness that felt a bit like thick sandpaper when crocheted on my J hook. Ultimately used it for the heel and ankle of some franken-socks I made for avoiding impaling my tender diabetic feet on hidden caches of power-shed kitty claws. To be fair, my ankles are always cold and my rough dry crone's heels tear through yarn like wet tissue but the sari yarn is warm and tough enough to solve these little problems. Now if my feet weren't so ginormous that I could get a whole sock out of 1 hank it would be worth getting more for this purpose. But as it stands, it would take about 4 hanks and I will not pay $64 dollars for a pair of house socks - not even if they came with a naked man to don them lovingly on my feet each morning. Well... No! Not even.

But I was so happy to find Wool Peddler because they also carry some oh so imagination- capturing fibers: Banana Leaf and Nettle.




Pretty weird and odd and funky - what's not to like? According to the web site promotional blurbettes they have a lot of good karma associated with them too:

Made from fibers reclaimed from the clothing industry and spun by hand by women in India.

Banana Silk Yarn


Chemical and pesticide free, made from wild plants in Nepal:

Nettle

They also sell hemp yarn but which is too eco-trendy a fiber for my taste right now and besides, nettles remind me of a favorite fairy tale - The Goose Girl.

I am making something from this combination, but it is incomplete and incredibly heavy. I'll post a pic later.


... like now
Banana Nettle Swirl
CAL 5-6-10


I'm thinking of taking it apart and making something smaller. I love the interplay of these 2 fibers. The thick-thin, broken in several places but totally worth it Banana and the super thin, scratchy nature-in-a-roll quality of the Nettle.

So that's what I'm jones-ing on right now yarn wise. That and the discontinued Berroco tape yarn discussed ad nauseum a few days ago.

MMMM. It is good to have plans.

Hook On!
C

Saturday, May 1, 2010

knitcroblo6 & Wild Card

Day 6 - Revisit a past F/O


"Bring the fortune and life of a past finished project up to the present. Document the current state and use of an object you have knitted or crocheted,..."


Hmmmmm. I don't make things that get used. I've had three pieces travel a bit - which is more than I get to do these days - lucky string! Even had one piece go home with someone for keeps. A couple of ATC trades, a couple of "thinking of you" thingies, a couple of informal swaps. I guess I could track any one of those items, but I don't know that it's all that exciting. Plan, sketch, make, hold on to forever, mail (which can also take forever especially if it has to pass through customs - I'm on a list. I think.) and wait ever so impatiently for word that it was received. That's kind of what the whole of this blog is about anyway. So I thought I'd offer this paragraph for the official Day 6 topic and then tackle the Wild Card topic:


Wild Card - All Tooled Up

"Do you have a particular knitting/crochet tool or piece of equipment that you love to use?"


This is my trusty size 9, 1.25 mm steel crochet hook.

Photo to Come Here!




I use it for almost everything. Not sure why. Just love the way the stitches, matrices and finished fabric look when I use this hook. I have a size 10 I would like to try as well but I like sticking to one hook. Must be my hangup about loyalty, fidelity, honor and respect. Sheesh! Go figure.

Some of the finish is worn off of the size 9 from the constant use and the added injury of the acidic guiding finger-tip. I slipped it into a length of clear tubing. My father got that tubing for me millenia ago when I mentioned in passing that I was looking for a way to make crochet vases that could stand on their own without starching as I like the soft feel of the thread. In passing mind you - and he scoured the hardware store coming back with a coil of this and a sturdier type as well. He was a kind and thoughtful man under the guarded and secluded personality. Miss him. We drove each other a little nuts, but only because we were too much alike. Way too much for comfort. No one likes a good mirror. Still. Love and miss.

What was I talking about? Oh, the hook sheath. The tubing fits perfectly at the thumb rest but is a bit loose everywhere else. I crochet with a heavy hand: have broken a white plastic hook at the 1/3 way mark and broken the tip off 2 separate size 12 steels. What can I say? I like a firm matrix and can't stand seeing air between my stitches. Anyway, the hook slides around inside the sheath due to my tight and harsh style, which exposes the metal to my hot little fingers and smudges the surface with the inevitable bio-oil. There's a lot of stitch, stitch, stitch, push back up, stitch, stitch, stitch, push back up in my work day. But beats the livin' heck out of the ooey, gummy, shredded mess that those incredibly expensive blue rubber guards that are sold commercially turn into.

I do have a handful of other steel and aluminum hooks and even an acrylic one. I'm trying to collect only dark blue "regular" crochet hooks but having no luck. Boye's Crochet Master kit has ads were the kit in the photo has all dark blue aluminums, but I can't find the one in the picture for sale anywhere. Not even at my go to online suppliers. It is worth it to me to pay for steels that I already have just to get the all dark blue theme completed. Hell, even my one clear acrylic one is dark blue. All I can seem to find is that icky metallic pastel "blue" that's out there. More green than blue if you ask me and so frigging pastel it makes me want to drive it through my eye socket just so I don't have to look at it anymore. I don't care for pastels.

So that's my hook-story. Hook history get it? All together now - commence groan at pun-itude.

Hook On!


Friday, April 30, 2010

knitcroblo5

Episode 5 - A New Dawn

Oh, Wait! - wrong franchise.



Day 5 -Location, Location, Location

"Where do you like to indulge in your craft?"

Oh, I have a favorite arm chair tucked into a corner of the living room. I will spare you the sight and it the humiliation of a photo because the poor thing is in a very sorry state. Due in no small part to the territorial shenanigans of the biological weapons of mass destruction known as my annoyingly evil but ultimately unflushable pair of devil-cats: Grendel and Beowulff.


But we'we so cute and adowable.

DO NOT fall for that!

Oh, okay in the interested of honesty and fair play, the responsibility for the state of that poor chair is in large part due to my large parts - specifically the large vaguely human buttocks and all that accompanies it.

So how about we take a look at my trusty worktable instead:


****ING Blogger won't upload the photo! I'll try later.


My Worktable


Some highlights:

1 - Giant Ass Glass Ruby - my birthstone. Preeeeeetty... and a welcome reminder of happy things - my birthday being on the same day as my father's. My brother's birthday 5 days after mine so that for 5 whole days we are the same age. Mwahahahaha! My mother being the only oddball - April in a sea of July - even their wedding anniversary was in July! Good things all.

Also - a lesson in patience. First saw the diamond version of this paperweight a couple of years ago and I loved it, but I really wanted a red one for the reasons listed above. Did find red ones on eBay for $25 freaking dollars with $7-8 shipping. Uh, No. Seven, eight months go by and - Boo-yah! - Michael's for 5 bucks, baby! I don't have the patience for bargain hunting but, oh, I do love it when it happens "on accident".

2 - Plastic boxes almost perfectly sized to hold my balls of thread. Almost. Let's just say that the outer dimensions of these boxes are freaking perfect!

Also - Bunny in a balloon wine glass aka. the ultimate in sophistication.

3 - I likes my critters. They keep me company and are lovely reminders that I do still have family - gifts from my beloved brother for such auspicious occasions as birthdays, Christmas, Halloween - all the biggies.

This particular huggy bear guards the top of the glass Barbicide jar in which I store my crochet hooks. Barbicide - not just for nixing nits.

4 - Pinky & the Brain giganto mug for corralling pens and junk. The weird orange and yellow tube next to the 4-color and Viagra pens (don't ask - I'm on some insulting as shit mailing list) is my 8-color Pentel Mechanical pencil! I love that thing. Now I don't have to have my colored pencils sitting right next to me when I want to make a color sketch. No room for them here anyway. In fact I need to weed some more of these tchotchkes and relegate them to the Ceci-cave.

5 - Take your pick:

Pink plastic fountain pen. A Lamy that was on sale - hence the hot-pinkness. I'm more your electric blue kind of gal. In a glass Erlenmeyer type flask on a box of incredible burgundy colored ink. Like arterial blood. Gorgeous. Gotta use up the cheapo came-with ink first. Bummer, but at least not wasteful.

Martini glass for catching scraps of usable size. A little overflowing. MY worktable - leave me alone.

Soda stained ceramic coaster with slogan to live by - "I Crochet so I Won't Kill People." Christmas gift. Hmm. Eh - compliment!

6 - Old broad care package - Nivea face/ hand cream plus glasses. The rest of the drug store is in a box on the floor behind the chair, hidden from sight - no need to frighten the occasional visitor.

7 - I be from TEXAS! Yay-my-hoo!


So if the location is the thing then the clutter is the way. Seriously, you wouldn't know it to look at this photo, but I don't like clutter. I like convenience. When the crap to handy ratio goes south, then I pare. But only so far as to hit the bedroom/cat cave.

And there will be no photos of that DMZ.

Hook On!
C


Thursday, April 29, 2010

knitcroblo4



Day 4 - A New Skill

"Is there a skill related to your hobby that you hope to learn one day?"

Sure. I love information and ideas. Perhaps to the exclusion of taking any action. I tend to have plans... for a long time. But, suddenly one day I will dive in and go to town on the plan. Some projects take years to complete, but I'm always happy with them when they eventually see the light of day.

Maybe it's the fate of a depressive to be in constant need of mental stimulation. It certainly is for this one. I get my synaptical jump-start by making the aforementioned plans. And by collecting ideas - but that's a separate tirade best left for another day.

Lately I've been planning to try my hand at both Broomstick and Hairpin crochet.

Broomstick because one of the fondest flashbacks into my Mesozoic youth are those of my Mother and her peeps running around with actual broomsticks that had been sawed off and honed to a wide blunt point. Now that I'm significantly older, I fondly respect the whole intrepid, diy, homemade aesthetic of those original tools and am seriously loving the delicate loopy ethereal quality of the fabric made from this technique.

Hairpin because I bought some wicked cool yarn from WEBS that I love the color and texture and, oh, just the whole freaking megillah:

Berroco - Boho - Torero



Berroco - Boho Colors - Sangria

...and true to form for me, they are now both discontinued lines. But, I have a couple of balls of some some of the more awesome colorways squirreled away and, since I hate the way standard crochet squishes the living crap out of this beautiful and funky, multi fiber variegated self-striping tape yarn, web-research points to hairpin as the technique to do these beauties serious justice.

I have made progress on these plans beyond the yarns and the dreams. I've actually gone so far as to purchase the necessary tools:

big mama, size 35 knitting needles
leftmost
in photo


and a standard, if rather plain looking, hairpin loom



The funny thing about the tool (called a "pin" - I know, wtf?) specifically designed to supplant the classic broomstick is that they are ugly with a capital B and F.


Institutional/Correction Facility Grey


Plumbing-esque PVC

Not having access to the wood working tools needed to hew a dollar store broom handle down to size, I opted for the wooden knitting needles. I hate the idea of letting one go to "waste"/being unloved, but the pair are made of so very beautiful rosewood and were in such a freaking colossal half price sale that I had to jump on 'em. Maybe I'll offer one up to my growing obsession with entombing things in crocheted thread.

Anyway, someday - not now, maybe soon, but definitely in the indeterminate future, I'll be tackling such projects as:

Hourglass Jacket
StitchDiva


Hairpin Lace Neck Scarf
also StitchDiva


Good God, I LOVE Stitch Diva! ... in case you hadn't noticed. :-)

Where else would I be able to find something as cool as a funky wonderful pattern bearing my name:

Cecilia Vest and Chemise
StitchDiva of course

Splendiferous pattern that has nothing whatsoever to do with me, of course, but do you know how hard it is to find anything with "Cecilia" on it? Just makes me happy that something so cool bears the same name.

Unfortunately I've never been young or cool or hip or thin enough in my entire existence to be able to wear anything as delicate and wonderful as these Stitch Diva creations. But that doesn't mean I can't entertain myself trying. The best way for me to learn is trial by fire. First time out may as well be on something masterfully designed because it may just be the only thing I ever make if it turns out that these particular techniques aren't my cup of iced mocha frappucino venti deluxe... with cinnamon dusting.

;-)

Hook On!
C

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

knitcroblo3



DAY 3 - One Great Knitter

"Write about a knitter whose work you enjoy."

I crochet. So when I look for careers to covet and art to drool over, I like to wander the web for "crochet as art".

I of course mean that "I search for inspiration and concomitantly seek vindication for the presentation of crochet as art via perusal of the internet." ;-)

I think the first real example of crochet art I stumbled across in my daily surf hunt was Joan Dulla. She is a talented and visionary crochet artist that works in wire and creates great sculptural pieces including the brilliant:



Her work currently incorporates both floppy and hard money into the crocheted matrices of jewelry and purses, respectively. I've seen examples of her "money series" published in official "fiber is art" magazines. She is a ***Real Artist*** and she crochets stuff that kinda looks like stuff I might make.

When I first started exploring crochet art for myself, I focused on doing my own thing because I couldn't find anyone whose work even remotely resembled mine. Plus, I love the high drama associated with the idea of being unique - even when it is at the expense of being successful or reasonable:
"t-pot""pins & needles w/a zipper"


Thinking I was the shiniest thing in the tool shed, I found Ms. Dulla's site and some vaguely familiar themes that pre-dated and out-classed my meager little knottings:


"T-Pot" "Keeping the lid on"


D'OH

Fortunately I am pretty fond of myself and decided to chalk up this suspiciously awkward coincidence on my part to vindication that my vision is indeed artistic in that it is similar to that of a professional artist.

Being a study in contradiction, I also have a miserably dim view of myself and finding this kind of parallel brings to light the fact that I make tinker-toy sculptures out of stiffened thread that don't hold a candle to the wonderful wire sculptures of a ***Real Artist***.

Ah, well.

What doesn't make us kill ourselves only makes us stronger - to misquote a famous optimist.

At least I have found an artist that is inspiring, witty, successful and well-respected that also happens to use crochet as the main focus of her work. Knowing this makes me happy and keeps me keeping on even in the face of questionable brain chemistry and unwieldly personal circumstance.

So thank you Joan Dulla in all your magnificent glory.

Hook On!
C

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

knitcroblo2



Day 2 - An Inspirational Pattern

"Blog about a pattern or project which you aspire to."

I work with crochet thread almost exclusively. The aesthetic of the medium wherein a thin straight line is transformed into a graphic image greatly appeals to me. So if I find a pattern I like and want to try, I usually adapt it for thread work. Nothing fancy, often just use thread and my regular steel hook instead of the intended tools and dive in.

Admittedly, this is an approach that requires a lot of blind faith and reckless abandon. Not necessarily a problem for me though. I'm a little odd in that I do not mind ripping a project back to the slip knot repeatedly as long as I can eventually get it to work. Trouble is that a huge majority of the patterns out there are for clothing. And that involves covering a lot of land before realizing you need to realign the tiller.

So a nice, short scarf seems appropriate for my limited and fractured attention span. Of course, being me, the only scarf I had a yen to own and therefore tackle was the Dr. Who scarf.

4th Dr.Who - Tom Baker
lifted from www.drwhoscarf.com

Simpsons version - just because
lifted from the wiki page

The scarf? About 11 inches wide and 15 feet long. Yeah, that says feet. Nice quick project in worsted weight yarn, eh?

See now, the original was also knitted and I don't knit. Too many tools and, more importantly, my somewhat addictive personality would probably make me go all crazy for the medium and wind up giving the crochet monkey on my back a nice playmate.

Do you have any idea how much product it would take to make an 11 inch by 15 foot scarf in crochet thread?



Neither do I, because even I'm not crazy enough to tackle that endeavor. I took the text instructions, switched garter stitch to half double crochet (greater flexibility than single crochet and more body than double crochet), swapped size 10 crochet thread for worsted, cut the stitch number per row by a third,lost the 5 inch tassels and picked up my trusty 1.25mm steel hook.

Mini scarf tucked into TARDIS model

It was still much bigger a project than I could stand in one go. After a week or two I but it on the back-burner for, oh, 8 - 9 months, maybe a year. Only to pick it up again and power through, finishing it in another couple of weeks.

Dr. Who Scarflet

Still and all, I like the way it turned out. What are the finished dimensions you may ask? Uhm. Don't know. Whenever I finish a project that takes forever and a day I just play with the finished item some, take a few pictures and never consider any technical aspects about it ever again.

All Coiled Up

In the interest of playing fair, I will dig it out, measure it and post that critical info... retroactively... later.

Well, well - it's later. Who knew? So... 1-1/2" by 59" (3.81 by 149.86 cm) - CAL 5-1-10

Right now, I'm just happy that it was fun enough to keep me both interested and committed enough to see things through - even if the journey required a huge rest stop right smack dab in the middle of everything. After all, the journey may be half the fun, but being rested makes it possible for the battle to be won.

Hook On!
C


Monday, April 26, 2010

Knitting & Crochet Blog Week - Day 1


I thought I'd step out of my cozy little hermitage a moment and participate in a blog-along event organized by Eskimimi Knits - a blog I've been following on a reader for a while now - you know, in lieu of talking to people. ;-)

It isn't easy for me to break the seal on the vacuum in which I live, work and survive; however, there are occasions where it is worth the effort. And since I love the challenge of a designated topic almost as much as I love to talk...

Knitting & Crochet Blog Week...

Let loose the pigeons!


Starting Out

"How and when did you begin knitting/crocheting?"

No biggie - my mother taught me back when the Earth was still cooling and festooned in shades of Avocado Green and Harvest Gold. Crocheting was popular at the time and my mom was a teacher that loved people so she knew how to crochet. Sadly, I don't know if she learned from her mother or grandmother. I didn't know either woman - women don't seem to live much past 50 in my direct bloodline from that side of the family. My mother did make it to her 50th year, but no further. I miss her. Pop too.


I have a Great Aunt (great person, yes, but also - my grandfather's sister) that crochets. She was the first person I knew that could reconstruct an object just by looking at it and figuring out the stitches - all without the hack and slash autopsy that I would probably need.

Haulin' Ass

How old was I? Don't know - old enough to remember but young enough to exhibit the behavior wrought by my short attention span - 8 or 9 probably. I never made anything useful. All I ever wanted to do was make chains. Long, colorfully yarny, big hooked chains. Like a J or K - I don't remember the steroid hooks existing yet.

The Bag Smith

Banner used with humble attribution
if not actual consent

In a generous mood, I say I am easily distracted. "Bores easily" is probably listed on a couple of psychiatric charts somewhere though. Extra curricular activities got more interesting and I didn't crochet again for years. I grew interested again in my late, late 20's. A time when I needed to make with my own hands. Was spending too much time thinking but not creating. After grad school and during my descent into the aimlessness that was my science career.



By then I had begun my isolationistic behavior and with my mother gone, my father terminally ill and living 300 miles from friends and family I did what I usually do - collected information. ie - got a book. Lots of books, actually. I love information! Love to read about doing over actually doing, ironically. But the desire to make was too great and I actually re-taught myself the basics and subsequently dabbled sporadically in the knot-tying with a stick that dare not speak it's name. Eventually settling on the fill in the blocks approach to design of filet crochet, but in no serious way.

Enter 9-11. Already in the early to mid stages of succumbing to a soul-crushing clinical depression with the big "D", I took those murders pretty hard. No, I didn't know anyone in New York at the time. Didn't know anyone effected directly by that massive sudden loss. Still, as I snapped rudely at people that questioned my state - I don't have to know them to be sad at the instantaneous loss of thousands of people.



I wanted to honor these people, these losses. I graphed out a very primitive filet pattern featuring everything and everyone that perished: the towers, the planes, the pentagon, the rescue workers. It's very primitive and it took me a couple of years to finish it because I kept letting life gett in the way and kept putting it aside. I would post a picture, but I don't know where it is. Most of my life is in storage awaiting the ability to move into a larger abode and it is packed away tightly.

I started playing with filet crochet images as some non-destructive self medication.

Blue Man in Bell Drugz

It helped immensely. But it got harder and harder to get a desirable level of detail that would still keep the projects small enough for my attention span to embrace. And then I stumbled across fridgies again. Back when I learned to crochet, many of the ladies in my Mother's daily life made and sold small, seasonal yarn appliques as boutonniere style brooches complete with straight pin for securing. I loved those rabbits and shamrocks and stuff. Never occurred to me that they were little building blocks. So I started playing around with the idea of crochet pictures like the felt ones we made for church as festival decorations when I was a teenager.

Still Life RGV Me-mo-ry

So here I am.

**Crochet Applique Tableaux Artist**


Loving it!

Hook On!
C