Rescuing a Dream

You may remember that a couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post about a tablecloth I made, and how it was stolen during a move. Since I wrote that post, I have been thinking a lot about my tablecloth. It makes me sad that I no longer have it, and I must face the fact that I will probably never take the time to make another one. I actually thought about paying someone to crochet me another one from the pattern, but it just would not be the same. But after lots of reflecting on the tablecloth, and what it meant to me, I have come up with an idea.
My main feeling about my lost tablecloth is that I hope it somehow ended up with someone who appreciates it, who uses it on special occasions and takes pride in it.  And I am sure that everyone who spends so much time working on a big project feels the same way about theirs.
So here is my plan:  I am going to buy a vintage tablecloth off of Ebay. My thought is that I will be rescuing someone else's  dream. I know that for every tablecloth made, someone spent hours and hours, months, even years creating it, all the while dreaming about the holiday dinners that would be served on it, and planning whom they would leave it to when they no longer needed it. Perhaps it was made as a wedding gift for a loved one, or even to be placed in a hope chest. Every tablecloth has it's own special story. I am sure the crocheter never dreamed their beautiful creation would end up on Ebay (or that there would ever be such a thing!)
As I search through the listings, I notice many come from estate sales. But some are listed as "made by my grandmother" which makes me so sad I could cry; don't these people realize what they are selling?  I want to send them a message, telling them they are selling a heirloom, but I mind my own business. Maybe one of these tablecloths will be the one I decide to buy.
I don't have any certain style I am looking for, although I do love filet, and if it has roses in the design so much the better. But I also like the pineapple designs and the ones made from thousands of little motifs.
One thing that bugs me is the number of items listed as "hand crocheted" which are not crocheted at all, but machine made lace. But I am sure the person listing it has no idea what it really is, and 'crochet' is as close a discription they can get.
Anyway, it is great fun to search the listings, and imagine who made all these lovely items, every single one someone's dream.  I will let you know when I find and purchase the perfect one; but then again, I might not be able to stop at just one.
Wouldn't it be great to have a tablecloth collection?

Workbasket

 I love looking at old Workbaskets from the 40's and 50's. In addition to some really cool old crochet patterns, there are articles on growing geraniums and African violets, and recipes for things like 'peanut butter and bacon canapes' and 'grapefruit coffeecake'.
But what is really the most interesting, at least to me, are the advertisements. They  give one quite an interesting glimpse into the past.

 There are lots of ads for items designed to make crocheting easier. "Croch-Aid"; how's that for a clever name for a product? Though I am not quite sure what is supposed to do; does it just hold your thread or is there something I am missing? 

 And who knew Betty White was a crocheter? I would like to try one of her rings, though.

As you can see, women have always been interested in trying to stay slim and beautiful.

Just think, you only have to wear this for 15 minutes a day! I can just imagine David's reaction if he saw me wearing this contraption. I am sure it would be quite Thrilling!

I remember looking at these ads for dolls when I was little; I loved dolls (and I still do! ) I actually convinced my mother to order me the dolls in the "Real Dolls 1 Penny Each" ad. I was so excited; imagine, a hundred dolls! My mother warned me they would probably be too small to really play with, but I was absolutely certain they were going to be wonderful. "Just look," I pointed out to my mother, "most of them are almost as big as the girl in the picture!" I raced to the mail box every day for months, but the package never arrived. And maybe that is just as well. I am sure the 'real dolls' would never have lived up to the dolls in my dreams!

At least I didn't beg Mama to order me a pet through the mail!

At first this ad made me laugh, then I started to worry how many little dogs died while being shipped. Surely this was illegal, but maybe not. I wonder what my friend Pamela, aka Crochethuahua, would think of giving dogs away in order to sell copies of pictures. Her little "miniature dog" Ginger is her baby!

Anyway, that's all for today, except to say if Blogger doesn't do something to make it easier to post pictures I will  be moving the blog to a new location soon. It takes a couple of hours to do a simple post with pictures anymore!

Cherokee Rose Tablecloth

Many years ago (about 1991) when my eyes were much better than they are now, I made a tablecloth. For some reason, I thought it would be a good idea to use size 20 thread and a size 10 hook. I spent a week charting out the design with a pencil on 4 sheets of graph paper that I had taped together. Then I spent the next 4 months crocheting it, working on it about 8 hours every day. At this time, I had 5 children and was expecting my 6th (and last, Bethany) so how I had the patience to do it I do not know.
I called it "Cherokee Rose" after the  roses that grew wild in the woods near my home. I sold the design to Annie's Attic and it was published in a book called "Keepsake Tablecloths." If I told you how much I was paid for the design, you would think I was crazy (it worked out to pennies per hour.) But I was very proud of it. I only used the tablecloth one time, when my daughter Robyn got married. Then I wrapped it up and packed it away.
Years later, when I was in the process of moving, someone stole the tablecloth along with some other items it was packed with. Why anyone would want to steal a tablecloth, I do not understand, but then again, I don't understand why anyone would steal anything.
But that is the story of my tablecloth. The end.

Happy Fall, Y'all!

I love Fall!

I made a new floral arrangment to place on my Grandmother's old treadle sewing machine this morning, and lit a pumpkin spice candle. It is still pretty warm here in Texas, but I know it won't be long until we get some cooler weather.

Can you see the Black Widow doily under the pitcher? It doesn't show up very well, but I wanted to use it anyway.

Hope you are having a lovely day!

Sunflower Dish or Wash Cloth, a Free Pattern

If you missed the Sunflower Dish or Wash Cloth pattern in the first issue of the BellaCrochet newsletter, you can still get a copy here:
SunflowerPattern

You will need to sign into your account (or create one if you have not already) and go through the check out process, but you will not be charged for the pattern. Please remember to select "Save" and not "Open" when given the option. Once it is saved to your computer, you will be able to open it when ever you like.
Remember, all my patterns (even the free ones) are for your personal use only, and may not be shared or distributed in any way.
Which brings me to another thing I would like to mention. If you know of anyone who is distributing any of my patterns illegally, please contact me and you may be eligible to receive a reward (kind of like a bounty hunter!!!) If I determine that you are correct, and the person is distributing any of my patterns (even the free ones) you will receive your choice of any 5 (FIVE!!!) patterns from my website. Of course you will remain completely anonymous! You can contact me at : bellacrochet.info@yahoo.com
Thanks for your help!

Double, Double, Toil and Trouble

 Double, Double, Toil and Trouble is now available on BellaCrochet.com!

Here is the Black Widow Doily, that comes with it. I really love the spiderwebs, even though they are a pain to write!

Double, double, toil and trouble,

Fire burn and cauldron bubble!

Something New or Tried and True?

As a designer, I have my favorite stitches, techniques and ways of doing things.  I have  a collection of different roses, leaves and butterflies that I have used in several different designs. I also have my formulas for basic shapes (circles, squares, ovals) memorized. It makes life easier and projects turn out the way I envision them (usually!) Some of my favorite discoveries in the past have been the Eyelet Foundation, love knots and the sc shell stitch, all of which I now use regularly in my designs.

But sometimes, I just get in the mood to try something new. If I like it, I add to to my repertoire. If I don't, well then, that is the end of that! I know in order to keep my designs fresh, I need to add new elements to them. While I hope I have a distinctive style that my customers will recognize, I don't want my designs to get stale and predictable! And through the years, I have learned that just because something is complicated or hard to do doesn't mean it is good;  sometimes, the simplest things are the best.

Lately, I have been doing a lot of designs in sc ribbing stitch. Basically, you just work rows of sc stitches in the back loops only. But I love the texture of the fabric it creates. I love how it is so simple, yet gives such an elegant, sophisticated look to the finished design. I designed this Sweet and Simple Scarflette to be the gift pattern that will come with some of my new designs that will be released soon. It is so quick and easy to make that I was afraid it was too simple, so I added a little rose to go with it. I really like how it turned out, so versatile and sweet. I hope you like it too!

Update: The Sweet and Simple Scarflette pattern is now available for free here on the blog:
Sweet and Simple Scarflette

Let Me Grow Lovely....

Black Widow

This is the gift doily that will come with the purchase of 'Double, Double, Toil and Trouble.'  I love the 'spider web' design, but have not used it much in the past. It reminds me of Elizabeth Hiddleson, who used it a lot in her designs.

I realized when writing the pattern that spider webs are actually harder to write than pineapple patterns; or maybe I am just used to writing pineapple patterns.

Anyway, I like how it turned out, and I hope you do, too.

Double, Double, Toil and Trouble!

Here is the 7th of my Lovely Ladies Doilies. It is called "Double, Double, Toil and Trouble."

It should be available in about a month. It has been really fun to work on. I hope you like it!

BellaCrochet Newsletter

The first issue of the BellaCrochet Newsletter will be sent out later this week. If you have not already signed up to receive it, you can do so here:
Newsletter sign up
It will contain tips to make crocheting easier, articles about people who have crochet-related careers and the pattern for the Sunflower Dish Cloth pictured here.
I am not sure how often the newsletter will come out right now. I will send one out to announce the addition of new designs, which should be at least once a month.
I hope you will enjoy it!

My Favorite Crochet Threads

I have been asked several times this weekend what brand of thread I use for my designs. I have to admit, I usually use whatever brand comes in the color I need for a particular design. But I do have a couple of favorites that I use whenever possible. Since I live in a rural area, it can be difficult to find thread locally, so I usually must order what I need.

I love America's Best, Art. 74p, from Pisgah Yarn and Dyeing Company, which I order here:  America's Best

They have a beautiful range of colors, and I love working with it. Check out #50, Plum! And I never let myself run out of #55 Light Green or #323 Mint Green Ombre. In fact, all of their ombre colors are gorgeous!

I also love Royale Classic Crochet Cotton, which I can often find in basic colors locally. For a greater color selection, I order from this site: Royale

They carry my all time favorites, #15 Shaded Pinks and #493 - French Rose and #401  Orchid Pink (can you tell I love pink?)

I have ordered from both of these companies numerous times (in fact I will be placing an order later today.) I  have always been pleased with their service and  received my orders promptly.

 I want to mention that I am not affiliated with these companies in any way, and do not receive any compensation for mentioning them on my blog. I know that color is an important element in all of my designs, and I want you to be able to find the colors you need!

Ripples, Ruffles and Roses is Now Available

 The Ripples, Ruffles and Roses Doilies set is now available on bellacrochet.com. Here is the link:

Ripples, Ruffles and Roses Doilies

 

The set includes Rippling Waters,

Angel Face Ruffles,

Rose Petal Ruffles,

Sunshine and Blue Skies,

And Ripples 'Round the Rosie.

The gift pattern with this set is the Flutter-bys Doily, which I am beginning to think is more popular than all the other ones.

My friend Jewel asked me "why is there one yellow butterfly?"

I am not sure, I just thought it would be cute to have one that was just a little bit different from the others. I like it.

And I hope you will like this set of doilies.

Jewel's Cro-tat Crinoline Lady

My friend Jewel sent me this picture today of a sweet little cro-tatted Crinoline Lady she made in lovely colors of burgundy and pink. Jewel is so talented, and I never know what she will come up with next. Sometimes she sends me a picture of something and I have to ask her if it is one of my designs or not; I really can't remember some of the things I designed. But I did recognize this little lady; she was in a set of Cro-tat patterns that I did several years ago.
Thanks for sharing, Jewel. You did a beautiful job!

My African Violet

My African Violet is blooming; what a sweet sight on a Monday morning!

At one time, I had over a dozen different varieties of violets. Now, I have just this one, which is over 6 years old now, but still blooms regularly for me.  All I ever do is give it water once and a while.

I hope your week is filled with pretty things!

What Makes a Good Pattern?

I have been thinking a lot about my patterns lately. I want them to be the best they can possibly be, and work very hard to make them so. I worked for two years as a technical editor for Annie's Attic, where I learned the basics of pattern writing. But since I have been self-publishing, I have not followed the style I was taught exactly, but changed and added whatever I felt was needed to make the patterns better and easier to understand. Using testers has given me new insight into what crocheters like and want in a pattern. More stitch counts at the ends of the rows/rnds is one thing they suggested, and so  I have added more of them to my patterns.
I also add pictures whenever it is a little tricky to explain just exactly what I am trying to get across. This is something I learned from the old Elizabeth Hiddleson patterns, which can be a challenge to follow, but her clear pictures always help show just what she wants you to do. And I write notes of explanation whenever I feel they are needed.
Do you have any suggestions or ideas that might make my patterns better? I am always willing to try new things to make them easier to follow, and I love getting feedback. Thanks for any suggestions!

Little Crocheted Cottages

I love crocheting little cottages; one of the first "big" projects I ever made was a cottage from a pattern in an old Better Homes and Gardens magazine. It was made of dozens of little crocheted pieces that were supposed to be attached to  a plastic canvas frame, but my husband used the pc pattern to cut out a frame from plywood.  I  covered the plywood with muslin, and then sewed the crocheted pieces to it.

Through the years, I have designed several little cottages myself.

This is a set I designed for Annie's Attic back in the 90's.

And this is my English Country Cottage Cozy. I love the little kitty! 

And this is my Sweetheart Cottage. It is one of the "Grandmama's Favorite Decorative Potholders and Hot Pads" set.

I am planning to design another cottage for Christmas; it will be a gingerbread house, of course. I think it would be fun to make Hansel and Gretel and an old witch to go with it. I hope to have it ready this year, but if not, then there is always the next!

(and is anyone else having trouble posting to blogger lately? I have struggled for almost an hour just to get 3 pictures and this post to look right!)

Ordering and Downloading Patterns from BellaCrochet.com

 'Swan Lake Doily' pattern is available for free on my new website, http://bellacrochet.com/

You will need to create an account and go through the checkout process to download the pattern, but you will not be charged for it.

Many of you have purchased patterns from my etsy shop in the past, where I sent you your patterns attached to an email. Whenever  I go out of town, I must shut the Etsy shop down,  since I will not be there to email you your purchase. Now, on my new website BellaCrochet.com, you will receive a link to download your pattern immediately after payment. You no longer have to wait on me to email them to you! The process is a little different, so I thought I would explain how it works.

Here are the instructions posted on BellaCrochet.com.

Receiving your pattern(s)

After the payment transaction is completed your account will be updated with link(s) to your products. The link(s) will remain active for 7 days and you may download your product twice. Your order confirmation email will include a link to your order. If your account has not been updated with your links in 24 hours please contact us.

Once your downloads are activated, you may access them by logging on to your account, clicking on "My Account" in the bar at the top of the page and clicking on "view" for the order you wish to access. To access an older order click on "show all orders."

You will be allowed to download each of your products twice. When you click on the download button please choose "save" (Windows) or "save file" (Mac OS) to save your PDF to your computer.

For more information click on the "ordering" link in the "Important Links" section of my website BellaCrochet.com.

I think it will make ordering patterns much quicker and easier! If you have any questions, please email me at  ann@bellacrochet.com. I want your shopping experience to be as easy and pleasant as possible!

Hummingbird and Roses Doily is Finally Available

The Hummingbird and Roses Pineapple Doily is now available in my Etsy shop:

hummingbirddoily
I want to thank the talented ladies who tested this pattern for me,
Linda Burrow, Dena Casey, Betty Stevens, and Jewel Fernley.
Thank you all for paying such carefull attention to the details! This is a much better pattern, thanks to you.

I had a lot of fun working on this doily. I think I may do another with blue birds on it.
This doily combines all the things I love about summer; beautiful roses, colorful butterflies, and of course, the busy little hummingbirds.
I hope you like it!

Ripples, Ruffles and Roses

I have finally finished writing the patterns for the Ripples, Ruffles and Roses Doilies set. They are not hard, it just seemed like I couldn't get focused in on them the way I needed to. But I think they turned out very pretty; I am really loving these colors right now. Here is the finished Flutter-by Doily. This pattern will be a free gift with the purchase of the Ripples, Ruffles and Roses set.

If all goes well, this set should be available on my new site by the end of July. If you haven't seen it yet, I would love for you to stop by and check it out. http://bellacrochet.com/ And please sign up for the newsletter while you are there; in addition to being notified when I add new products, I have lots of fun things planned for it (including free patterns!)