Thursday, April 7, 2011

Crochet and some vintage loveliness

The books I treated myself to for my birthday earlier in the year have been used a lot this week! I have been making lots of little leaves and flowers for another tea cosy I am working on. This one is for a friend and I can't wait to get it finished! I absolutely love having a little pile of flowers slowly growing each evening when I get a chance to crochet. I've always admired the crochet roses I've seen on other blogs but I've never tried to make them before. By my second attempt I thought they were starting to look like they should!! I'm going to make a few more tonight and then get cracking stitching them onto the cosy.

My scarf is coming along nicely. All the squares are finished now but I still can't decide how to join them. I've had a few practice runs at it but nothing has appealed. So I think I will just sit it to one side while I stew a bit longer! Today's temperature is quite inspiring that's for sure - I could do with a cute woolly scarf right about now!!!

Mr 6 asked if I could please make him a hat "like the skateboarders wear Mum". I made this one last night and surprised him this morning. He loves it because it has a bit of a camouflage feel about it. It seems so strange to make a hat that doesn't have a big old flower plonked on the front though!


I spotted this gorgeous wee booklet as I was walking out of an op shop earlier this week. It was only 50 cents and is full of beautiful vintage crochet work. I love that the booklet itself was printed in 1967 so it's even more vintage than me!!!


And on the subject of vintage ... I visited the Museum of City and Sea yesterday with Miss 3, here in Wellington. It was so amazing, I can't wait to go back and see all the things I'm sure I missed first time around. I spotted this piece on the wall and couldn't wait to get up close to have a good look. It is a knee rug that is approximately 80-100 years old from memory. It was cobbled together with all sorts of different yarn and was quite remarkable to look at. It had been framed so beautifully and then framed again by a packing box making it look quite stunning. It has really made me stop and think how lucky I am that I can make things because I like them, whereas the maker of this knee rug made it for function.


Seeing that artwork reminded me of something, so when I got home I had to get these pretty gloves out of storage. I have had these for years and years, I think they belonged to my great grandmother, but up until now I hadn't really appreciated them. Now that I am doing crochet, I can totally understand the work that has gone in to making them. They are tiny! I thought I had little hands but there is no way I can get my hand in them. Very dainty and lovely to have tucked away as a part of my history.


Hope you're all having a lovely week!

5 comments:

  1. Looks like you've been busy!
    The pile of flowers and leaves is impressive - they are looking very pretty and will make a great adornment for the friends tea cosy - am looking forward to seeing the finshed product!
    The scarf looks enormous!!!
    Thats the best thing to do, leave it until ispiration strikes, which for you it surely will - Im still awaiting a chance to try out your method of joining granny squares with just a couple of stitchs - it looks neat and contemporary - i may unpick something where i chose the wrong color wool for joining and ive never been happy with it.
    The antique crochet knee rug in the museum looks wonderful.
    Those gloves look familiar to me too - i seem to remember something similar in my dressing up box when i was a child, along with the most fantastic 50s flamboyant red roses dress and a huge silken fringed piano shawl - that is when my love of vintage fabrics started i think - and whata shame my Mum used to throw everything out (she still does, unlike me!) including that gorgeous dress!!!
    Lovely post, have a great day - the beanie hat for your son is great btw - cant believe you rustled that up in one evening!
    Gill xx

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  2. Wow, what a busy bee you have been! I love it too when a pile of crochet lovelies comes about each evening!

    Your scarf is ace! I'm like you...it takes ages for me to decided how to sew something up!

    Hope you have a lovely day!!!!!!!

    Vanessa xxx

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  3. Can't wait to see the tea-cosy. I've never made one of those before. The pile of flowers look lovely and so colourful. Rachael Xx

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  4. Oh what a beautiful piece of old crochet, i just love to find pieces like this, have you got any more close up shots of it?. And, envious i am of all those gorgeous flowers and leaves, don't little things like that just lift your spirits, it does mine. Really lovely post Leah, xx Pixie

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  5. Hi Pixie, how are you? I do have some lovely close up pics of the old crochet but for the life of me I couldn't get them onto that post in the right order so I gave up! I will make sure I pop them on my next post. Have a lovely weekend!

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