Before and After Doily ~ My World Tuesday, June 22, 2010

My World today is not an outdoor view but an indoor view of a quiet indoor activity. I've been working on a crocheted doily this week and I finished it in the wee hours of this morning. I should have finished it earlier in the day but wasn't up to much crochet until I had a nap. I picked it up around midnight and played with it off and on.

This is a photo taken about half way through the doily pattern.

I am not 100% sure if I followed the pattern correctly as it seems I had to do a little improvising on the last row but it looks fine to me with the minor changes. You might be able to see there are 6 large and 6 small pineapple motifs in this Pineapple Blossom pattern.  I chose to make this pattern out of the printed patterns I have because it is a larger than normal doily. Here is the book I got the pattern from if you'd like to make it yourself.  If you would like an easier Pineapple Blossom pattern, I found a free one here.

These photos taken after completion.

Now I will wash and block the doily and hopefully that process will flatten out the ruffles. I will update this blog post by adding a photo of the blocked doily when it is ready.

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Update:

Here is a photo of the blocked doily drying on a towel.  The colour looks different from the doily in the photos above but this latest shot is the true colour. I'm happy to report that after washing and gently stretching the doily into shape, the ruffles in the doily are largely gone and the doily measures exactly 18 inches in diameter. That means my tension was perfect as indicated in the pattern.  My second doily in the same pattern is going much smoother now that I am somewhat familiar with the design.

National Aboriginal Day

Today, June 21, 2010 is National Aboriginal Day in Canada. Do you know what that is?

It isn't a national holiday yet but is a day set aside  as a way of recognizing and celebrating the Aboriginal People's of Canada, the First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada.  National Aboriginal Day is now part of a series of Celebrate Canada days, beginning with National Aboriginal Day, and followed by St-Jean Baptiste Day on June 24, Canadian Multiculturalism Day on June 27, and concluding with Canada Day on July 1.

Here is a young Aboriginal boy dressed in his regalia and competing at a Calgary stampede. I'm providing the photo to give you an idea what young people might wear when sharing their culture on National Aboriginal Day. This regalia would be worn by plains or prairie First Nations.

 [Photo credit: efkaw from webshots]

[Photo credit: Maple Creek News]

The above photo is of 3 young Metis girls. They are wearing the traditional sashes (two woven ones and one beaded one in centre).  It looks like the two in the blue tops are wearing what prairie farm women would have worn in the days of homesteading and the young woman on the far left is wearing a white ribbon shirt with the Metis emblem of infinity design on the front. I did not upload photos of Inuit clothing as the server was not permitting this function at this time. Perhaps later.

In Vancouver where I live, I've often attended the celebrations which are usually held downtown on the grounds of the Vancouver Art Galley, at the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Center and at Trout Lake Community Centre in the city's eastside (Victoria Drive just south of 12th Avenue).  It is usually a fun time alone or with friends to soak in the music and the sharing of the culture from many tribes. Usually there are guest artists (singers, dancers, story tellers and crafts people) from other parts of the country who participate here as well.

This year due to variable weather and feeling under the weather, I opted to stay home but I did catch much of a 3 hour Aboriginal concert on the nation's Aboriginal Television Network.  Today I'm just lazing around as I've had a very busy week since returning home a week ago.  I'm baking cookies as I have a sweet tooth and I'm finishing my crochet doily. My plans for the swimming lessons fell through this morning as my friend who is taking them with me fell ill this weekend. I will now have my first lesson on Friday. It will be good to get going with the lessons.  I hope you're having a nice start to your week.