First of Three

Yesterday I completed the first of three Baby Princess dresses for the Langley Arts Council.  It is a great achievement considering my homeless status;

The Salvation Army is kicking me out under false pretenses. I am, once again, being scapegoated by a psychopath. It is with great pleasure Karen Hofer, my so-called-adviser gave me till July 31, 2013 to be out of the room.  She knows this is a big hardship for me, and she's thrilled to be causing harm to another. My experiences match her reputation.

Last night I attended an opening for a new gallery in Fort Langley and the young owners want to see more of my textile work to show.  I am becoming an overnight success after 53 years of working with needles ;)

Irish Crochet - Baby Princess Dress

Irish Crochet is one of the youngest of the domestic handcrafts, and developed in response to the Irish Potato Famine in the 1840's. The women who were making lace for the aristocrats upgraded their work to more complicated motifs, thereby assuring their income to save their homes and families. By 1890 the motifs had become even more complicated and wonderful.

Traditional Irish crochet uses size 30 thread, which is about the size of heavy machine thread, and is usually cotton or silk.

I used size 10 thread in this baby princess dress. It is very simple in design, predominately using the half-double crochet stitch, a bit of filet and the ruffles a combination of half-double and double crochet stitches. The buttons and picot-edge (dark purple) are the only truly traditional Irish crochet in the work.