Summer crocheting...

For the last week or so I've been crocheting with tiny hook and size 10 crochet thread.  It always takes me a minute to get reaccustomed to working with these small materials, but once I get the hang of it again I really enjoy making doilies (and other items with crochet thread) that look so much more complicated than they often actually are to make.

Perusing the book 99 Little Doilies, I picked out doily #52 to make. This little doily measures in at 4 1/2 x 6 1/2 inches:

Crocheted with Artiste #10 thread in Ivory Peach

For those uninitiated to this long-term project of mine... Patricia Kristoffersen, the designer of these 99 doilies, didn't give them names; she only gave them numbers.  Numbering the doilies makes for much quicker searching in the book for what pattern goes with each pictured doily.  

That's all fine and good for the purposes of publishing a book like this, but on the other end of things, once I've finished a doily, I want it to have a name.  I suppose because everything else I crochet or knit has a name - at least a pattern name.  So I've taken it upon myself to come up with a name for each one I make.  And just to show you how clever I am, the way I come up with a name is like this...   I look at the finished doily, I might even squint and close one eye, and whatever comes to mind and clicks for me is what it gets called. I can't tell you why, but this doily gives me soda fountain vibes, and I love me a hot fudge sundae.  So this little pretty gets the name "Old Fashioned Sundae".

See how that works?  Genius, I know.

The next doily I worked on is dubiously called #2:

Crocheted with Artiste #10 thread in Papaya

While someone might argue that Doily #2 is less dubious than the name I came up with, I'm dubbing this sweet little circle "Herb Garden".  Herb Garden is a whopping 5 inches in diameter.

Just so you know... these things were even smaller before they were dampened, starched and pinned out for a hearty blocking. Without blocking, thread crochet tends to curl up on itself and look wrinkly.  I'll try to remember to take a before-blocking picture of a particularly wrinkled doily in the future, just to show the benefit blocking brings to thread crochet.

And lastly, since I wasn't exactly in love with the ivory peach color I made #52 above in, I decided to make it again in a more vibrant color:

Crocheted in Curio #10 thread in the colorway Heliotrope

I can't help but wonder what I might have named this doily if I'd made the first one using this color.  I guess we'll never know...

I hope no one visiting here gets tired of seeing little doilies any time soon, because I have a feeling I'm going to be making at least a few more before I lay this project aside again.  Maybe I'll even throw in a larger doily at some point.

Meanwhile, #93 is eagerly awaiting its completion and name...