Crochet Doily

My grandmother taught me to crochet when I was 14.  I loved it immediately. 

Unfortunately, crochet is one of those lovely pursuits that is fading away.  And as silly as it sounds, I do it not only because it's enjoyable, but because it's a little piece of the past that I refuse to release.

I'm an old pro at afghans and washcloths, but recently I tried my hand at something that required a little more finesse.

The doily.  The classic crochet piece.

 

It took a bit of time for my fingers to adjust to the tiny hook and tiny thread.

But eventually, some order began to emerge from the tangles.

My grandmother has given me doilies she made as well as some crocheted by her mother.  I always imagined the creation falling perfectly from their needles.

Not the case!

Once the doily is complete, you must wash it.  This is done by giving it a light handwash (no twisting or pulling!) in mild detergent and warm water, and then gently rolling the piece in a clean towel to remove the excess water without distorting its shape.   

Then you must "block" the piece.  This is done by unrolling it onto a flat, dry surface and gently shaping it as needed.  Then you can enjoy it on the coffee table under an antique vase or on your nightstand by the lamp, just the way the good Lord intended for doilies to be used.

So now, each time you visit your grandmother, and you see a hand-made doily, please always remember....

That it wasn't just crocheted....

It was loved into life!

Spring in Full Swing--White Wednesday

Spring is surely here and in full swing....


There are fresh whites everywhere.

I love white's purity.

On a waffle weave tea towel



 Soft white embellished pillows

 

Delicate pearly beads

White Victorian-style afghan

Silver and white Vera Wang china

Happy White Wednesday!

Clean Spring

It's no secret that I love white....the serenity, the freshness of it.

It's especially appropriate when Spring is near, when everything is new again.

I love the colors of the flowers....

 

 The anticipation of home-grown vegetables....

The promise of a flowering garden....

The rejuvenated feeling I get from spring cleaning....

The memories that float on warmer breezes, magnified by a gaze at the white lace made by my great-grandmother and carried in my wedding bouquet last June....

The promise of visits from friends as the world shakes off the pall of winter....

What do you enjoy dreaming of as spring approaches?

To see what parties I link to, check my Blog Parties tab! I'm also linking to:

I Love the Color White

But isn't white actually a lack of color?  Anyway....

I have noticed that when picking clothes, dishes, decore, etc., I very often choose white.  At a football game recently, I realized I was wearing a white sweater, white peacoat, and white gloves!

This definitely carries over into my home.  I guess white is traditionally a summer color, but isn't it beautiful in this cold, wintry months?  And doesn't its purity give you a sense of calmness and serenity? It certainly does me!

Coffee Table Makeover

It seems to be table makeover time here in south Mississippi.   After brightening up my kitchen table, I decided it was time to do the same to my coffee table.

Here is the before.

Sad.

I really like the shape/size of it, and it was gorgeous in my all-black-furniture apartment in grad school. 

But it is time for an update.  The paint had been scuffed during several moves, and I'm always in the mood for a change.

No secret techiques or tricks though.  I just put two coats of white paint on it, which was just enough to wash the black away but still let a little peak through for a weathered look (which luckily, my husband loves).

I used the same no-sew technique here to whip up a miniature table runner out of yellow toile and light green burlap.

Rush supervised. I guess Amos had the day off.

The table only cost $30 at a junk/antique shop, so it's going to make the rounds with me for a long time!

Little Bathroom Cabinet Makeover

We have tons of cabinet storage in our guest bathroom, but no drawers! I've had my eyes peeled for something for the past few weeks, and I finally ran up on this little "chest of drawers" at a thrift store for $2.50:

Of course, the drab blue had to go!  It took three coats of "snowflake white" to cover it.

Much better!  But, it was still missing something, so I dug out my dwindling stash of tan toile.  I hot glued some of it into the drawer fronts, using tweezers to stretch it down so it looked nice and tight.

Love the result, and it looks fantastic on the bathroom countertop!

I love the whites and tans.  So light, so clean.  Thank you, Salvation Army!

(I linked this post to Faded Charm's "White Wednesday."  Beautiful blog!  I also linked to a very unique linky party, The Barn Chick Party.)

Coffee Filter Wreath

Manuela at The Pleasures of Homemaking had yet another fantastic wreath tutorial on her blog, so I gave it a try as well.  I knew a pretty white coffee filter wreath would be perfect in my white, green, and pink master bedroom.

Like her book page wreath, this project is inexpensive and looks great once completed. (You can see where I made my version of it here.)  The cost broke down as follows: $2.40 for a clearance wreath at the Dollar Store, $2.49 for white coffee filters. (You probably already have these, eliminating this cost altogether! However, as you'll see, I made four wreaths, so I had to go get more filters if we wanted any coffee the next morning!)

I started with the Dollar Store wreath (but you can use a styrofoam one, or just an old piece of cardboard cut into a wreath form in any size you want). 

I pulled what was left of the flowers out.

I then took the coffee filters and formed them into little rosettes, bent the ends, and hot glued them into place.

I attached a ribbon for hanging it, and voila! It looks gorgeous hanging from the wire rack in the master bedroom.   I left a little bit of the brown wreath showing on this one, because I like a little bit of a rustic, natural look.

In fact, I liked the results so much that I decided to make a few more and see how they all looked together.  I tweaked the design just a bit for the second wreath, adding rosettes of tan and white toile amid the coffee filters.  I poked holes in the cardboard wreath form (that I made from the back of an empty box of Cheerios) and pulled the fabric through.

I continued all the way around the cardboard, using one square of toile per two coffee filters.

(After I finished this wreath, I cut a piece of toile fabric into a strip and hot glued it onto the back to hide the ends of the fabric poking through.)

I also made two rectangular wreaths by simply cutting the cereal box into a rectangle and then gluing on the filters.

Once all four wreaths were arranged on the wire rack, I could see the final effect, and I loved it! The results of having all the wreaths in varying sizes displayed together was beautiful. (I also love the look of whites and tans mixed together!)

There is so much to love about this project.  One, it yields beautiful pieces for your home that have a look of elegance and quality (they do NOT look like coffee filters, even in person). Two, if you have coffee filters and cardboard, you have the materials needed at NO cost, and buying them if you must costs next to nothing.  Three, it's a very customizable project.  If you wish, you can cut your wreath form into any shape or size you wish and add any color cloth to vary the look.

Thanks again to Manuela, and I hope you will make one (or many!) of your own!

(P.S., I'm linking this up to My Cottage Charm's linky party as well as White Wednesday!)