Found in Translation

I love sloppy reinterpretations; the 1930s as portrayed by the 1970s, Victoriana in the 80s, kitsch by conservative knitters, dance wear right now, environmentalism...
The Japanese are crowned princes at clever and slightly blind reinterpretation, as evidenced by their fascination with doilies. In their slightly off-kilter, anachronistic take on western crochet, they are often closer to the mark than our western memories are.
The best 'West as triumphed by the East' books are published by Ondori. I am working from their book "Crochet Lace". PM me for details.


The book is beautiful and contains many different styles; pineapples, filet, spirals, beading. There are doilies with a patina look, and many crisp white choices. What I really admire is that starching seams to be kept to a minimum. I also like the idea of having to protect martinis from bugs

Japanese crochet books work with charts, as opposed to row by row written instructions (else I would need a translation). I am a bit of a convert. I am starting to think that all crochet instruction should be written this way. Pattern language is usually the stumbling block for the beginners and often trips us up in my crochet workshops.

I worked my bugstopper with No.10 Crochet Cotton. I used a 1.65mm hook and a collapsible eye needle to string on the beads. For those readers in Halifax, DeSerres sells sets of these needles and they are great. A tip for buying beads? Take your cotton or yarn with you to the store! Brilliant, I know.