It all started when a. I had the afternoon off yesterday and b. I was putting the Crocheted Triangle Purse together.
I came home at 11:30 (after having 1st period prep, then only subbing 45 minutes in a classroom until the teacher came back - long story, but I still got paid for 4 full hours - whoohoo!) and found these waiting for me in an Amazon box:
Now - I for one, love kitsch. I grew up with all those crafts & decorating faux pas that most people call kitsch today. Heck - my Mom & I MADE some of that stuff! So when I saw the first book at Michael's, I knew I had to find it on Amazon. The second book popped up at the same time & that crocheted baby fridgie sold me on getting it too. ::wink::
But more on those later in the entry. First, let me show you the finished purse. Well, all except for the button, which I'll find at JoAnn this weekend:
This is actually a lot roomier than I thought it would be, but I'll still need to "think small" when and if I use it. (This might be a present for Xmas - we'll see!)
It's a very heavy purse - there is a lot of bulky yarn in this - and while I was making it I kept thinking of the very first purse I ever made. I was 10 and it was made of rectangles & squares...lots & lots of them. It was my first ever "design" and I loved pockets. I kept crocheting little squares and sewing them on & in the purse until finally there were so many pockets, I couldn't fit anything else in the purse!
The minute I hefted the Triangle Purse, the weight and thickness brought it all back to me. Which isn't such a bad thing, I suppose. I got a chuckle out of the remembrance and and it got me thinking about my Mom...which led to another discovery....but that I'm saving for part three of my entry.
Here are the official stats on Triangle Purse:
Pattern: Triangle-Motif Purse from the spring 2007 Family Circle Crochet magazine
Yarn: 3 and a smidge skeins of Patons SWS
Hook: I
Mods: None
A really quick pattern, easy to crochet, kinda tricky to sew together but it goes faster once you get the hang of it. I like it! I still need to get a big, funky button for the front. I'll post another pic when that's accomplished.
Now - back to kitsch...
Although my house was full of kitsch when I was growing up, there were a few things we didn't have that I lusted for as a child. In the book, Kitschy Crafts, they have 'em. Honestly, in the 60's I wanted these grapes sooooo badly!:
I had no idea they were a craft (resin pouring) that you could do at home! I thought everyone bought them! Even more shocking, I had no idea you could STILL make them today! Will wonders never cease. As a kid I thought they were the coolest thing ever. In fact, just looking at them in this post reminds me of the clackers we had as kids. Remember those? Must've been in the early 70's. Those big heavy balls that you flung around on strings & they "clacked" together...when they weren't hitting you in the head and causing severe injuries!
I remember I had a pair of purple ones. ::Grin::: Ahem....moving right along....
Another thing that was in my Aunt's house and I coveted was the ubiquitous poodle TP roll cover:
I'm not quite sure how it was that we never ended up with one. Especially since Mom crocheted and my Aunt had one and Mom tended to make anything my Aunt did. After all, Mom put a felt Santa face seat cover on our toilet (complete with sequins in strategic spots!) every Christmas - surely after that nothing could've have been too kitschy for her????
I really love this book. The illustrations are straight out of the magazines of that time and really bring back memories:
Tomorrow I'll talk about the crafts I've done & ones I'd like to do from these books and then in part 3 you'll see the discovery I made after thinking of Mom, crafts & nostalgia, and I'll have a picture of a nostalgic milestone of my own.
Wow - it's kinda like a story arc in a TV show. ::Grin:::
The excitement never ends here at Casa De Bron!
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