"But, really, why does anyone create? You feel a... a restlessness inside, a need to make something new, something no one has ever seen before. You want to add to the beauty and the richness of the world with a gift, an offering that is uniquely yours. It's an act of selfishness and generosity, all rolled into one."

-- Bruce Coville,
The Last Hunt

Thursday, December 1, 2011

One Down...

Here is the first "Emily" doily completed.


I'm 3/4 of the way done with the last round of the other one as well.

The pattern is by Janet Carroll, from the book Elegant Tatting Patterns. The book says the finished size is 7 1/2 inches (19 cm) in size 30 thread. I used size 20, so I expected it to come out slightly bigger; instead, mine measures 6 3/4 inches (17 cm). Either I tat WAY tighter than I thought, or else Ms. Carroll must tat very loosely. In any case, it's a nice size for putting under a candlestick, vase, or other small knick-knack.

I've been thinking lately, a lot of people don't like doilies because they consider them fussy and unnecessary. But they actually serve the very practical purpose of protecting your furniture from being scratched by whatever you set on top of the doily. People do still put decorative objects on their tables and shelves, so it seems like it shouldn't be that hard to make them see the value of doilies. The problem is with the word "doily" itself, which reminds people of some spinster great-aunt. So maybe we should start calling them "anti-scratch mats" instead and people might start getting interested again. And while we're at it, maybe we should bring back hair oil for men to revive interest in antimacassars... nah, that's going too far!

6 comments:

  1. very nice!
    maybe her joining picots were longer?
    you are right about the use of doilies oops I mean antiscratchers. or maybe revive the word trivet?

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  2. Your anti-scratch mat is lovely! I like the long picots and then the negative space in the next round.

    There are some words which are so fun to say and one of them is antimacassar. Maybe we just need an alternative meaning for the word...

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  3. Miranda, I am new to your blog, but I like the way you think. Macassar Oil for the men so that we will have an excuse to use antimacassars on the backs of our chairs. And don't forget the nice arm rest covers to match! The more excuses for "doilies the better....No matter what they are called.LOL

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  4. Lovely...very nicely done, and interesting information on the antimacassars etc :-)

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  5. ROFLOL! Guess I'm in the minority: I like doilies.

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