First of all, I’m having so much fun with this particular art and I’m pretty doggone impressed by the crochet lace bag that I’ve continued to work on.

Unfortunately (for my to-do list of massive proportions) I wasn’t feeling so hot this weekend and spent most of it staying as still as possible, holding down a corner of the sofa, watching DVR’d shows for company. I’m still not sure what I did that made moving much or even breathing so painful, but it gave me an excuse to rest. (Which I sometimes need. And I seem to be all better now, so no harm done!)

And while I rested, I spent time with small thread and my smallest crochet hook.

First I tried out a new-to-me technique called Hairpin Lace.

The basic lace is made on a loomor frame. You could make one or fashion one from knitting needles and scrap wood, but a basic frame will run you all of 3.50 at your local craft mega-mart (or just under $6 at the affiliate-link, above). Named, more than likely, for the u-shape of the early looms/frames and they’re resemblance to old fashioned hair pins, this basic lace uses, again, just a chain stitch and a single crochet and some rhythmic turning and wrapping.

But what are you supposed to DO with it after it’s made, I wanted to know. Frankly, it didn’t look all that impressive. Though I will say that the skill comes in being able to keep the “staple” (the row of stitches that hold the loops in place) in the absolute center of the loom.

Off I went to the Internet for inspiration. Apparently if you join a lot of strips of hairpin lace together, side by side, you can get some nice shawls and scarfs. I’m not really a shawl or scarf sort of person, but I did perk up when I found some lace edging instructions (handmade trim!) and a neat bookmark that made for a quick project.

Unfortunately the trim pattern seems to be incomplete (such is life) but even unfinished it looks pretty interesting. I’m still not convinced I couldn’t do more with it while still on the frame by repeating some stitches here or there, but for now I’ll just keep experimenting with trim.

Oh, and if you find you just like the practice of making the hairpin lace, it twists so nicely of it’s own accord that it could make for a really pretty chandelier or mobile decoration. Maybe some spray starch to keep it from wilting too much?

Anyway, back to the original crochet lace bag I started over a week ago. After finishing the 2 smaller shamrock motifs for the front of the bag, I got to try my hand at the roses. Oh, these are nice little roses here, and it occurs to me that this part of the pattern may just have  a use in wedding projects down the road. But I digress!

After the rose motifs were complete it was time, finally, to put it all together and see how badly I screwed it up (self-deprecation is a bit of insurance against catastrophe, right?).

While it took a couple of false starts to figure out the best way to do the joining picot stitches, I finally got the hang of it, made it all work, and, viola! It’s a pouch:

What was left was only the top edging (done!) and the decorative balls and cord/strap. And the decorative balls? Need 18 made. I did 4 before my fingers felt like they were going to fall off so I stopped for the night. Now I’m realizing that I might run out of this color of green before I’m finished. Hopefully I can get the balls done. If so, I can see doing the strap in ivory. Maybe even some of the balls. We’ll see.

I’ll keep you posted!