Saturday Crafts: Pineapple Doily

Now you know I love to cook, but I have other interests as well. I also love to crochet. I just finished my most recent project, a pineaple doily. We're going to visit some friends in a couple of weeks, and I plan to give this to our hostess as a hostess gift. Before I send the doily to a new home, she wanted to see some of my place.

Here's the doily sitting in MSH's recliner.

MSH woke up from his nap, hungry for lunch, so I went to prepare something for him. The doily decided to accompany me to the kitchen. Here you can see her watching me cook from our strangely purple counter (what made the people who built our home think this was a good idea?).

Unfortunately, she was afraid of being splattered or hit by flying utensils, so she went to go sit on the couch.

Now she's packed lovingly in tissue paper in a nice box, ready to move on. I'll miss you little doily, but luckily MSH convinced me several months ago to keep your much larger sister for the coffee table. The pattern for this doily came from a book called Crocheting Tablecloths and Placemats edited by Florence Weinstein that my mother gave me a while back. It was published in the 70s, but the patterns are from the 40s. I made the larger version of the pineapple doily as my first fine thread crochet project. I was so eager to start, that I couldn't wait until I went to the store and bought the appropriate sized hook and thread; the pattern calls for a size 12 hook and 50 thread, but all I had was a 00 hook and 10 thread. So, the 17" doily I intended to make, turned out to be about 4 feet in diameter. Oops.

Please disregard the shoe under the table.

I almost gave it away because a lady I worked with mentioned that she would like to have something like it for her foyer table, but MSH said that we should keep it for the coffee table. So, that's where it lives. I plan to go back and make the whole set for us to use on the kitchen table, but since we don't have a kitchen or dining room table right now, this project is a little further down on my list.

Currently on my list:

Cell Phone pouch for the same friend I made the doily for

Cloth grocery bags

Cloth Napkins

Embroidered pillow cases for my mother

Finish the quilt I started 4 years ago--all I have left is to quilt the bottom and attach it to the already complete topper

Teach my self to knit so I can make the Glowing Colors Afghan from lionbrand.com. I have all the yarn and needles, but I just can't quite figure the knitting out. I keep trying to crochet when I should be knitting and purling and casting on and doing whatever else it is you're supposed to do with those chopstick looking things! Every time I start trying to learn, I can't stop crocheting, and I start craving Moo Goo Gai Pan.

Pineapple Doily Set

Teach myself to smock so I can make dresses for my nieces

Plus I have various repair projects also need my attention, but those just make me want to hide under the covers and suck my finger again.

Next week: The Cell Phone Pouch

Tomorrow we're visiting friends in West Virginia and I'm making the Peach Crisp with Maple Cream Sauce. Brace Yourself, People! from Pioneer Woman Cooks!, so if I don't get a blog in I want to wish you all (even if it's just the 3 readers I know about) Happy Easter.