Dainty Doilies

 

It strikes me as funny that you can google the word 'doily' and Wikipedia provides ample information on these dainties! A craft so ancient on a platform so modern.

There's something quite astounding about doilies I think. They are architecture with cotton! Engineering with yarn. Made with fingers and hooks not cranes and concrete. But the structural work is there, the join(t)s must be right or it won't work, the design intricate. I just wish I could crochet!

How delicate is that design above?! Joined just by the points. Dainty. Definitely makes me want to try for a more genteel life. With niceness, and slowness. And fine china. Alongside scones, jam and cream (though I admit to using my easy scone recipe!).

Now this runner below is one step on from crocheting! I am pretty sure it's tatting. And that is a whole other art! My mum used to tat. It's mechanical as well as architectural! Being, as I am, mechanically limited I was always absolutely spellbound by her fingers and the shuttle (that is the name of the device which somehow 'knots' the threads). Check that one out on Wikipedia! And then try YouTube!

Of course some of the luxury of this crochet was having a decent pile of it in the one place to take photos of. There's always something lush about a pile of hand-crafted pieces like this! 

Whilst I was trying to somehow capture the daintiness of the doilies I happened to look down (see below) and it definitely brought a smile! Doilies, old stool from my paternal grandmother (we are it's custodians until my sister has a house that it suits, fingers crossed her style stays modern and glam!) plus a velvet lounge from my maternal grandmother. It's all about loving the old stuff around this place :-)