Hooked!

My weakness for accumulating extends beyond shelves of fabric, yarn and art supplies. I’m a voracious reader and collector of printed matter.

As a child my greatest obsession was horses. Since owning one was not possible (according to my dad) I lived vicariously through horse stories. That single-mindedness came with me into middle school, and then my interests started expanding.

Some of them, such as learning basic sewing, were my mom’s idea. I thought she was trying to torture me, sitting me down in front of a contrary sewing machine. Other things I started discovering on my own.

My mom is not an accumulator. (I blame that on my dad.) She has kept keepsakes with personal meaning, and some of them were carefully stored in my parents’ bedroom closet. Occasionally, she would allow me to snoop thru her goodies. It was like being allowed into Aladdin’s cave. During one of those treasure hunts I found a green crochet hook. I still have it.

For some reason the shiny little object intrigued me. After asking my mom what it did, she bought some inexpensive yarn and showed me what she remembered. She probably thought it would be a great way to distract me from my burgeoning interest in romance novels.

Mom never really got into crocheting so expanding my knowledge was up to me at first. I was 12 or 13 at the time, so I’m not sure what it was about making loops with yarn that captured my interest. With the help of a library book I learned single crochet, double crochet, etc. Eventually, I was able to make squares with straight sides.

These days I can tackle some pretty fancy stitches and sophisticated projects, but I can’t take full credit for my current skill level. The honor goes to a lady named Shirley.

During the summer, my brother and I occasionally went to Shirley’s house if my mom was going to be away from home for several hours. Shirley was a bit older than my mom and became a mother later in life. Her daughter was three. Shirley was smart enough to have my brother and I keep the wee one entertained while she did household chores. The little girl was pretty easy-going and still liked her naps. Downtime was easy to find.

Portable entertainment for me was usually a book, but while at Shirley’s I became fascinated by her preferred relaxation activity. While watching her favorite daytime television she was usually making something lacy and dainty with a small silver hook and white thread. It looked like crocheting, only on a much smaller scale than I’d been practicing.

My self-taught forays had not yet brought me into the realm of doily making. I had no idea crochet hooks came in different sizes, especially tiny. When I expressed my curiosity, Shirley seized the opportunity to share her knowledge. In the early 80s doily making was something grandmas did, so I think she was surprised and pleased someone my age was interested.

At first I wasn’t sure I liked crocheting doilies. The little hooks and thin crochet thread were a challenge to my fine motor skills and attention span. Fortunately, Shirley was a patient teacher. Because she persevered with me, I learned to read patterns, increased my stitch repertoire and developed an appreciation for more challenging projects.

I didn’t become a devoted doily maker, and sometimes crocheting has gone on hiatus for a while. In recent years the burgeoning interest in “retro” design has pulled me back into many of the hobbies I’ve enjoyed. It did inspire me to return to my crochet roots.

I’ve actually been collecting vintage sewing patterns for several years, so moving into crochet and knitting books was a natural progression. Over the past 5 years I’ve acquired some neat little booklets with pretty, practical patterns and fun, kitschy items. The book pictured with this blog is a recent purchase. It’s a Dover publication from the 1970s. Some of you might be thinking “Groovy!” and “Psychedelic!”, but we’ll explore that at a later date.

My favorite decades for collecting are the 1930s thru the early 60s. So why the 70s book? The cover art attracted my attention. I bought this book from someone who listed it on Amazon. “Look Inside This Book” wasn’t available. However, the price was right and the cover art looked like the era I was searching for.

It was a hunch that paid off. “Crocheting Tablecloths and Placemats” is a reproduction of 5 different pattern books dating from 1937-1944. What made it even better was that I paid about $6.00 for it. My biggest reason for purchasing it was as a reference of motifs. Crocheters know motifs are very adaptable to all kinds of projects, including clothing. I’m going to choose a motif and make a doily, though. It occurred to me I’ve reached an important milestone recently. It’s been 30 years since Shirley gave me the skills to be an accomplished crocheter. A doily made in her honor and displayed prominently in my new lady lair (studio) seems appropriate.

The Project Queen