Sea, Sand and Cabin Crochet

It's been a crazy month, I have moved house and caught up with lots of old friends (more than my kidneys and liver really approve of). I'm not going into detail, but it's suffice to say, I haven't been up to much stitchery over the past month. I have some news, some fun, some well, disappointing. My Yarnaholics Programme is going well, (but I'll admit I did fall off the wagon once), have even come up with another rule, but, well, that's another blog post...

So, I have completely given into the call of the sea, and have moved back to the fishing port I loved for many years. So, in keeping with traditional/granny buzz I seem to be on at the moment, teacosy's and what not, and my fascination with all things boats, the only project I have worked on for the past while is Canal Cabin Crochet. Possibly the longest I have ever spent on making one item, one pattern. And although I did get into it at the end, for most of it, I found it downright torture.

A few months back I came across Canal Cabin Crochet, the tradition of crocheting edgings and trimmings for barges and narrow boats. I have never done filet crochet, nor had any immediate plans to, (too much pattern following for me), but the pattern for a little net curtain for a porthole of a barge, was just too much to resist. I got a few lovely patterns from Elizabeth Byrant of www.englishcrafts.co.uk. I don't have a boat, probably never will, and didn't have any round windows, so I started to make the traditional lace edging. As I said earlier, torture. It's only about 15 lines of a pattern, repeated ad nauseam until the desired length. I had to re-write the pattern into my own language, and even then, after doing a yard or so, I still couldn't remember it. Filet crochet is tough! Then to top it all off, I decided to move house, and had to add another dozen or so inches to make it fit the new house. The patterns were well written, had nice charts , I am just so crap at patterns! I know I say it all the time. Thought by the end, when I did get the hand of remembering the pattern, I did begin to enjoy the making of the piece. Well, it's finished, it's in the kitchen window of my new house, and this is what it looks like.

Pictures aren't great, but it took me long enought to hang it up, not taking it down to get a better pic!! I actually could get into this filet crochet thing. There are such lovely patterns out there, just have to plan on not moving house while making another piece.But, you'll never guess what my new house has, a round bathroom window, so guess the next project could be a circular net-curtain after all..