In honor of the Great Atlanta Snow-Out of 2014 (v. January), I decided to take a short time-out from my big blanket projects and my frustrating lace knitting to make something pretty and springy and, well, Lucy-y. The idea was to do something that would be super-quick turnaround, done in a day. And while I got pretty close, it’s not all finished yet because there’s a step that requires painting the whole back with glue so it will hold flat and straight instead of curling all up. Pretty brilliant, actually.

So it’s pegged out on the blocking boards right now, drying. All the crocheting part is done and tomorrow I’ll pore through my bead & button box to see what kind of little baubles I can add to cuten this up.

The pattern itself is much more of a challenge than I was expecting. I used DK weight yarn, and in order to get those snug, neat stitches, I had to use the tiny little C hook. So much counting. So much ripping.

But it was nice to be able to reach into my big bag o’ Lucy Stripes yarn and just use bits of the stuff that was already there.

UPDATE: I’m so pleased with how it came out after the “glue blocking!” I’ll be using this technique with other decorative items, for sure.

The beading and assembly were a little more involved than I had expected; it was surprising how picky I could be about the selection of buttons and beads. Still, the end product has pulled bits from all parts of my life -- from my grandmother’s button tin (some of those are 75+ years old!), beads that have come off of my daughter’s clothes (don’t throw that away -- that’s a perfectly good bead!), and others that have just been accumulated during various spates of craftiness throughout the years.