Long ago Crafting

Persevered, and moving on.  I actually look forward to knitting the lace and even more, I look forward to finishing this top.  Just one more lace repeat to go!  Knitting lace is much more interesting than swaths of stockinette.  It is such a nice lace, leaving lots of time for thinking about stuff.

I started thinking about a long time ago when I crocheted a bunch of doilies.  I was pregnant with my youngest son, the other two were independent enough that I wasn't needed in the same way as when kids are still babies and the house was small and I could see and hear everything.  It was Mid March and got on into mid April.

I had just gotten my grandmother's set of Elisabeth Hiddleson  Doily books . What a treasure trove.  I had cotton.  I had coffee.  I had relatively content little boys.  It was too cold and snowy out to do anything outside, so I crocheted.  And crocheted.

I don't know how many doilies I made but I made lots.  I still have one lone doily from that month long crazy raft of crochet.    There were big ones and small ones, and motif ones, and large dresser scarf ones.  

Why sit for a month and make doilies?  They were not in fashion anymore.  They were really more from my mothers generation and even then, more from her youth.  But I enjoyed the challenge and I didn't mind being teased for making doilies.  I also did it because I couldn't sit still.  I felt jumpy.  I wanted to be outside working in the yard, but the yard was under the snow.  

When I get this top done, there is the blue top to finish, along with its recalcitrant lace and one more top, long planned that I want to knit for spring and summer wear.  But maybe, just maybe, I will slip one little doily from my small stash of Elisabeth Hiddleson books in memory of that long ago spring and to feeling jumpy and wanting to be outside.