Purple Crocheted Dress Vest

After seeing a beautiful dress with an overskirt of embroidered panels, I decided to crochet the panels and used a leaf-vine pattern. When the panel was finished, it seemed too narrow, so I decided to make a border in a darker purple to give it a better width, comparable with the ones I had seen on the dress that inspired me. I had chosen two kinds of purple in crocheted yarn because I happened to have it handy , but after finishing the panels for the skirt and adding the crocheted waist band suddenly realized that I was going to have a difficult task finding just the right color for the underskirt. Then I went to Jo-Ann's fabric store to buy something and saw the sale they had on terrific fabrics. Taking a quick look, I spotted a very dark purple crinkled fabric that looked almost black and realized that it was just perfect as the underskirt, because it would actually accentuate the leaf pattern by showing the dark color in the leaf spaces and giving the perfect contrast to the purple I had used.
Looking at the crinkly fabric I let my eye tell me how to do the dress and realized that I didn't want a skirt sewn onto a blouse, but a one piece dress with no seam at the waistline. This way, i wouldn't have to keep trying to align the overskirt to the other waistine at all and would have less bulge at the waist. I immediately thought of the medievel simple dresses worn underneath the second fancy skirt or dress and I thought of a drawing I had made of such a dress many years ago in my little stenographer's notebook. I had drawn it while looking at a book on medievel costumes my daughter had brought home from the college library.
I found the drawing and soon had it drawn on some white paper I had that had come protecting a clear plastic I had bought to protect my crocheted tablecloth. Using a blouse that fitted me perfect I adjusted my drawing to my size and cut the crinkly fabric, thankful that the fabric was 52 inches wide. I almost didn't get sleeves but put some together from the pieces left over after cutting my dress. I basted it and tried it on and realized I needed to trim it smaller a couple of inches all around. After trimming it I basted it again and since it fitted me well finally sewed it in a back stitch very carefully since my sewing machine doesn't work. The dress is perfect and may be used as a dress by itself or as the basis not only for the purple crocheted dress, but any other overskirt dress I may come up with later. Its dark purple color makes it perfect to be a part or be combined with other outfits or accessories.

Burdundy Crocheted Coat

When we're old we forget things! I had forgotten all about my beautiful burgundy crocheted coat, actually more like a very long vest, because it has no sleeves. I crocheted in my own pattern of leaves, like very long branches with leaves. It feels heavy, but it makes it hang well when you're wearing it, truly a distinguished look over anything, either dress or pants. I had stored it in a box two years ago when we had moved and the box ended up deep in my closet and i never opened that box until I was moving again this summer. I also found another small red vest with the same doily yarn of my other red vest, but in a different pattern. I will put pictures of more of my things here soon.
I do want to mention a book I found in the Half-Price bookstore that was in mint condition for less than a third of its original price. It is called STITCH COLLECTION: TEXTURED CROCHET by Helen Jordan, with"More than 70 Designs with Easy Instructions". It has some new patterns i have not used before and some new flowers that I am going to try.

Round Crocheted Purses

I made a round base for my crocheted purse out of strips(5/8in) of cloth so that it would have a sturdy bottom that will hold its shape.It looked like a bowl, two inches deep and then I started chrocheting with yarn to make all the rest of the body--10 rows in single crochet, begining with the first row being one single crochet, two single crochets, but having only one single crochet in each space. I then do 3 rows of a double crochet in each space, then 5 rows of double crochet, ch one over next space, double crochet, one ch over next space all around. Finish the last row with aan edge using, ch5, single crochet on first stitch, repeat, making a picot over each space. Crochet a chain for the desired lenght to make the purse string and make a second one, and insert on the third row of double crochet witgh the spaces.

My postcards

Quilted Postcards

I have been making some quilted postcards to exchange with the other ladies on my quiled landscape group. Before Christmas, we made some Christmas ones and I showed how ordinary trees are decorated with lights in the Rio Grande Valley because we hardly have any fir trees. I ended up sending them late and later in February send some little surprises to the ladies...some pink butterflies made from fabric from a book on making gifts in the Japanese way.
Then we made some winter postcards in January and I used some net my daughter left in her stash of fabrics that looks like it is snowing. I put these net over some fir trees for one card and over embroidered bare trees for the other card. (There were only three of us in the group, instead of 4 as the group should be.)
I then made three Spring ones--one looked like bluebonnets, but the curled ribbon was purple; one was a flowering tree, using pink knots as flowers on an embroidered tree; and the third one was a grape leaf with some early small grapes, which reminded me of an early childhood memory from my mother's garden.
I loved making these postcards that I am still making some more, but this time concentrating on the bugs of spring. I made a card with red butterflies among some whilte lace flowers, a large one in front and some smaller ones in the distance. Another one had a grasshopper made with an appliqued piece of green cloth and black embroidered legs. (I really liked this one a lot.) Another has a dragonfly appliqued over a nice piece of quilted cloth with tiny dragonflies in a pattern. Another one is a thistle flower crocheted.
We're now making postcards based on a song title and I finished one. I had a gold paisely that I cut and arranged the paisely forms to look like flames, adding some shiny material in a very shiny and reddish look and even added what represents a match---LIGHT MY FIRE! I am making one from an applique of a little island in the middle of the ocean--IN THE MIDDLE OF AN ISLAND(1957). The third one is not decided yet, although i have one looking like an ordinary grass and flowers--maybe---I never promised you a rose garden!

Dog Booties

Leaves are fantastic! I had always thought so, but now more than ever. Following the inspiration of an article from BELLE ARMOIRE called "Abstract Knitted and Crocheted Shawls", I have been making leaves of different sizes in different colors of left over yarn to make myself a one of a kind shawl for myself.
My cousin Tina asked me to make some little booties or shoes for her small dog, because she said the kitchen floor was too cold and she is afraid he'll get arthrities. Finding myself short on time between all my needlework projects, I decided to improvise and it all worked out beautifully.
First of all I tried to find four leaves in the same color and about the same size and I was lucky to find them in the yellow green color. I then cut four roundish looking soles from a heavy black felt and sewed a leaf around each sole, starting at the back of the shoe wityh the tip of the leaf, going around and meetimgh with the other tip of the leaf. the little bootie was shorter at the back, where I added ribbon to tie in front on the wider part of the leaf as the shoe "tongue". So four green leaves turned into four dog booties! leaves are versatile!!!