Vashti's Crochet Inspirations Newsletter: Ireland, Japan, and Crochet Lace

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Irish Crochet: Brittany-Japan Connection

Irish crochet lace makes sense for this newsletter--I'm half Irish (maiden name McGee) and today is St. Patrick's Day. This issue #14 is specifically about the connection between Japan (weighing heavily on my mind due to the recent earthquake) and a type of Irish lace crocheted in Brittany. Wait 'til you see how these tie together!

I love that CGOA (Crochet Guild of America) promotes education in Irish crochet. It's thanks to the CGOA and to Dora Ohrenstein that I spent an afternoon with Máire Treanor, author of Clones Lace: The Story and Patterns of an Irish Crochet (ISBN 978-1894656900, Lacis Publications, Berkeley CA, 2010 revised edition). She brought pieces of old and new Irish crochet lace to CGOA's 2010 Chain Link conference in Manchester, NH and encouraged me to touch and examine them closely. You can see more pictures from our meeting here: http://bit.ly/exLhA7. I highly recommend her book and you can order it from her directly. (Máire's Clones Lace blog: http://cloneslace.wordpress.com/ and book: http://cloneslace.wordpress.com/clones-lace-the-book/ )

Máire pointed out a distinctive piece from Brittany (at top right). We discussed our impressions of how the stitches seem to be formed. They look like bullion stitches wrapped around rings.

Meanwhile, in Japan: A Japanese book explaining how to do

some kinds of Irish crochet lace was published in 2007: ISBN 978-4-529-04427-1 (http://bit.ly/ikx9T2). Page preview here: http://bit.ly/dQBzRM . I didn't know about it until my friend Yasuhiro (see below) visited from Japan and brought it with him as a gift.

He doesn't crochet and had no idea whether I'd be able use the book.

Remarkably, there was the Breton style of Irish lace, diagrammed! You can see the rings on its cover. The stitches used are different from Máire's piece, so it's an alternate way to achieve the look.

Thankfully, Yasuhiro and his family survived the earthquake safely. He wrote that at the time of the quake, his mother was viewing plum blossoms at a Shinto shrine.
--:--

Be sure to meet with an Irish lace crocheter like Maire, if you ever have the chance. Besides the value of being able to handle and examine these laces instead of viewing them under glass, it has been just as unforgettable for me to see how Maire lives and breathes crochet lace. She knows its durability and that it is a living art, despite its apparent delicacy and white-gloved history.

That's it for now! If you know someone who would enjoy this newsletter, please forward this to them so that they can subscribe. (Click here to subscribe: http://eepurl.com/XwQk ) If you have any comments or suggestions, please email me. Thanks! --Vashti

Beautiful Enough?

This is a Breton-style Irish crochet, one of many pieces Maire Treanor brought to our afternoon tea. Here's a close up of those rings:

Brandishing my 'flaming hook of justice' (á là Crochet Liberation Front): Sometimes I feel like Irish crochet lace is stereotyped as one type of crochet. The original crochet lace developed in 19th cen. Ireland was not monolithic. Even then, different villages, schools, even families developed their own signature moves.

For me, "Irish crochet lace" includes today's thriving continent-spanning innovations. Check out Antonina's Kuznetsova's virtuosic Ukrainian spin: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27775408@N07; in the US, I think of my friend Myra Wood's Creative Crochet Lace http://bit.ly/dTEX1d; and the Japanese designer Hirose Mitsuharu: http://bit.ly/fpUqvN
You might like to attend a crochet lace event next month in County Kerry, Ireland from April 29-30! http://bit.ly/hZT3eJ . <Flaming Hook is now cooled and sheathed>

Links I Enjoyed This Week
Crochet brioche stitch in the new issue of Tangled magazine! http://www.tangledness.com/
"Wind-knitted" scarves http://bit.ly/fQBJfy

DesigningVashti News

- DV has been officially in business for almost seven months and we're delighted to be a sponsor for these three crochet community events:

1) We're an Indy Silver Sponsor of The Third Annual Flamies Awards. Click here to vote (http://bit.ly/etrNdp) and to find out about the awards ceremony that will be podcast live from the red carpet for the first time ever.

2) March is (Inter)National Crochet Month and we donated three patterns to Crochetville's Treasure Hunt; winner will be chosen March 25. Find out more here: http://bit.ly/h2XgIX

3) DV is offering a $100 cash prize in CGOA's annual Design Contest. It's a Special Technique Award for outstanding use of alternate crochet techniques and construction including Tunisian, Broomstick and Hairpin.

- I have a Tunisian lace triangular scarf design coming out this year in a new book, Simply Crochet. First preview: http://bit.ly/gln0HX

- Blogged about all the accessories patterns of 2010: http://bit.ly/fg8Osd and the Teacher's Gallon Friend nominee: http://bit.ly/gdUz3U

- About New Patterns Coming Soon: Since the last newsletter issue when I was so sure that three new patterns would be ready any minute, I've been humbled. I found out that I can find many moments to crochet; I can come up with a great design idea even while sleeping; but when it comes to publishing a good pattern, a lot of conditions have to be right for it to happen! (For example, NOT Spring Break.) If another publishing designer is reading this, you must be laughing right now.

(2010 Shamrock Coffee Cozy
http://ravel.me/vashtirama/ifj7b)

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