How a Calligraphy Passion Inspired "Lovepod" Love Knots

Top half of my first business card

When I was a teenager some decades ago, I learned how to do calligraphy. The old-fashioned kind appealed to me the most -- gilded ornate first letters and flowery scripts. I learned about fine old parchments and vellums and 'aged' them with tinting. I even tried charring the paper edges.

Lovepod inspiration

Lovepod Boa

I loved calligraphy so much that my mother's friends paid me to "write pretty" on invitations and on framed parchment as gifts. More requests came from their friends of friends, and I soon had the start of a calligraphy business in my little midwestern town.


When I moved to Seattle in my twenties, I worked first in a flower shop, then at a dessert cafe and catering company where my employers put my calligraphy to new uses.

1980's promo dessert price list

When I look back on it now, the spidery lines that I could make with fine pen tips and ink bottles felt a lot like crocheting lace with fine thread. Thinking about where to embellish lace with beads or special stitches is like adding little flourishes on and around formal lettering.

A big difference between crochet and calligraphy is that I can just rip out a faulty stitch, whereas with calligraphy, I often had to start over completely!

These love knots have something of a
botanical look too. Palestrina Lace

Love Knot Nakshatra Wrap

The reason my old calligraphy days have been on my mind lately is that I've been bringing together all of my crochet experiments and ideas for my upcoming Love Knot Adventures class. 
(Sorry--that class just sold out. But here's the recent newsletter issue I wrote on Love Knots. See the image gallery links in it. Here's another link too, if you're a Ravelry member: I just created a Love Knots-only category of my Ravelry projects, which are the not-yet-published designs.)

One of my early calligraphy pieces

The Lovepod Boa is one of the first crochet designs that I was excited to publish myself. It was directly inspired by my favorite method of embellishing my calligraphy, especially the fancy initial letter: I loved adding leafy, budding vines and sprigs, and tinting them. Sometimes I gilded them with a bit of silver or gold, such as the "Irish Lullaby" title at right (the entire poem is embellished like this!).

Close up of Love Knot network

Lovepod Boa, 'gilded'

I remember travelling to another place in my mind while I added these ethereal little sprigs and flowers. When I first crocheted love knots* with fine mohair yarn, the same daydream came over me again. The idea for the Lovepod Boa came from this place. 


*Here's the usual string of alternate names for this stitch: Lover's Knot, Solomon's Knot, King Solomon's Knot, Knot Stitch, Hail Stone Stitch; in Portuguese ponto segredo). It's used in Turkish Oya crochet too, but I don't know what the stitch is called.

Poem-Lariat for a River Goddess: a Crochet Necklace

Aquamarine Réclamé Poem-Lariat 
(a Trailing Vines Lariat) ©2011

I call this freeform crochet jewelry the Aquamarine Réclamé Poem-Lariat:
  
'Réclamé' (reclaimed) because I recycled the aquamarine gem chips from an old necklace.
  
'Lariat' because the clasp is decorative, worn in the front, and slides for different styling options. Here the crochet clasp is a flower basket. It's a fun feature of my new Trailing Vines Lariat crochet jewelry design. 

See the other two versions below; try a section of the pattern! It's included in yesterday's newsletter issue #17, "Crocheting Fancy Cords."

'Poem' because of the river goddess Sabrina, who gave her name to the River Severn. 'Sabrina' is the poet John Milton's preferred version of 'Severn' which is the preferred version of an old Celtic word. 
  
Anyway, Milton wrote this famous verse in his larger work Comus. I love it so much that I memorized it as a teenager and used it for a calligraphy project:
   

Aquamarine Réclamé Poem-Lariat

   Sabrina Fair
   Listen where thou art sitting
   Under the glassie, cool, translucent wave,
   In twisted braids of Lillies knitting
   The loose train of thy amber-dropping hair,
   Listen for dear honour's sake,
   Goddess of the silver lake,
   Listen and save! 

Sabrina would save the aquamarine chips from an old necklace too, I just know it. Especially if she brought them home from Cassadega, Florida as a souvenir. The unusual town was founded in 1894 as a spiritualist community. Incidentally, the name means "water beneath the rocks."

   

The yarn is also a poetic choice: it's composed of organic sugar cane (Araucanía Ruca Multi). The aquamarine chips looked like sugar crystals as I crocheted them into the sugar-yarn. I thought about how sweet water can taste sometimes. Surely it tastes sweet to Sabrina.
   

©2011 Vashti Braha

©2011 Vashti Braha 

I subconsciously associate aquamarines with mermaids, naiads, sylphs, water deities--Milton's "goddess of the silver lake," and Nimue or Viviane, the "Lady of the Lake" in Avalon. I would envy Pisceans their aquamarine birthstone except that I also like mine, the amethyst (see below).
   

Photo from PaganPages.org

Aquamarines are rather crudely marketed. Strong-colored specimens have likely been cooked, and if you see a lighter strand, notice how they're strung on a cord that's a strong shade of what we tend to think of as "aquamarine."   


Unstrung, the gem is watery-looking and usually nearly colorless. (I've noticed the same thing with rose quartz jewelry: look for whether it's strung on a stronger pink cord to make you think the stones are more pink!) 

I had to make my own beading needle
for these aquamarines.

   
When I rescued these bead chips from the old yellowed (though "aquamarine"-colored) necklace string, I wasn't sure if I'd find out that I'd been duped. What if they were plain old quartz, or worse, glass? They seemed colorless until I sprinkled them onto white paper; then they showed a lovely pale watery-blue tint. I was hooked. Every aquamarine that I could reclaim and load into my crochet stitches was sheer joy. 
   
Something's been nagging me about this verse, though. Milton says 'knitting,' but crocheters know that half the time 'crocheting' is actually meant. That's just the way life is. (I'm suspicious of the term 'plaiting' for the same reason.) 

Let's try it:
   
     In twisted braids of Lillies crocheting
     The loose train of thy amber-dropping hair,

© 2011 Vashti Braha (Silk yarns; Amethyst chips at right)
Trailing Vines Lariat

It does makes more sense, in context. It's so easy to finger-crochet. If I were a river goddess, I'd be stringing pearls and aquamarines and moonstones, then finger-crocheting them into my hair, seaweed, vine tendrils....

Christmas Crochet Vest with Silk and Beads

I've been crocheting straight through the holidays! This fancy vest is the laciest of my December projects. At right is a temporary experiment in wearing it backwards, as a tunic. I really like the neckline of it.

I see "Alezannah" when I look at this lacy beaded red silk, maybe because both of my grandmothers have been on my mind a lot this month. The mysterious* name Alezannah is a women's name used over many generations on my mother's side of the family. Sometimes it was spelled Alzanah or Alzannah. A lovely riff on the name is my maternal grandmother's: her name LeeAnna was intended to be an updated version.

Here's LeeAnna holding me when I was almost six months old.

My sister and I called her Mamie and my grandfather Papa. I loved using these names, which are somewhat mysterious** also. I would like to be called Mamie too if I become a grandmother.

My husband went to a local yarn shop and picked out some fabulous yarns and this is one of them! He couldn't wait until Christmas to give me Tilli Tomas Beaded Plie. I knew I wanted to wear it around my shoulders somehow to a holiday party, so I Vashti'd up a stitch pattern that I've always wanted to use with the right yarn.
At left is a cellphone photo taken at the party two nights ago. That's my friend Colette, who coincidentally planned to wear the same yarn to the same party. (She used the Frostyflakes pattern.)

I tried on Alezannah every which way before I created the sleeves. So, in this photo at right (another grainy cellphone shot) I tried it as an asymmetrical wrap. I get great design ideas this way, for example the v-neck top in the first photo. Same thing happened with the Waterlily Layer when I discovered it can be worn upside down and backwards!

*The Alezannahs in my family tree were of English and German descent, as far as I know. The name fascinates me and I've never found it in name books. It seems like an unusually exotic name for generations of rural midwestern ladies. If you know anything about this name, please let me know!

**I'm told these are French names for grandparents; not typical for Ohio LOL. Perhaps the French ancestry on my maternal father's side is more than a sliver? I haven't met anyone else who uses these names for their grandparents (not that the subject comes up with everyone I meet).

The Orbit Cowl....Wimple....Yoke....Snood

Orbit's Futuristic Temperament

Name on Birth Certificate: Orbit Cowl (downloadable crochet pattern). Her Mom was planning to name her after a medieval ancestor wimple, like Genevieve or Alethea (see below); but then Orbit seemed too futuristic for that.

Birthdate: October 28, 2010. How could Orbit have known that Florida would soon be hit with record freezing temperatures?

Takes After: the military branch of the family--what with all the snug head and neck armor, and the crochet stitches that look like chain mail. Crochet ribbing consorts with this clan.

Stitches look good inside out too

To those who know her best, Orbit is like a medieval cyborg. She knows her Wimple roots, and has ancestors who fought alongside Joan of Arc and who protected Eleanor of Aquitaine--but she is a 21st century global citizen.

Orbit's crochet pattern is written so that each crocheter can choose the dimensions of their cowl--and change his/her mind partway through. In cyborg fashion, her cellular matter is fluidly recombinable, much like digital media.

Orbit's medieval predecessors were swift 'n mighty on foot or horseback. Nowadays she dreams of galactic travel. It's an orbiting spiral: a no-fuss easy crochet pattern. I purposely designed it to have zero speed bumps. Crocheting an Orbit cowl propels one into the peak aerodynamic speed of zero resistance crocheting. NO seaming. NO joining at the end of any rounds. NO turning.

Orbit as Yoked Wimple

This makes her mother proud: Orbit is stretchy and readily morphs while you wear it. If the moment requires a hood or 'snood,' Orbit's on task. If a relaxed cowl collar or yoke is better, Orbit stands ready. Need to cover a ponytail and big coat collar? No problem.

Proud Mom's Scrapbook

1. Orbit's birth was announced publicly over at the New Crochet Cowl Scarves blog.

2. Orbit's downloadable PDF crochet pattern is now available at my DesigningVashti online shop and in my Ravelry pattern store. Orbit has her own online photo album. Some images are viewable in several sizes, even if you don't own the pattern.

2. For Orbit's one-month birthday she got a drawstring to weave through the top edge of the neck opening. It's another weapon she uses to defend heads and necks from icy enemy winds. (I'll add a public photo of it to her photo album at some point.) [2018 Vashti added a band of slip stitch ribbing to her angora version!]

Bulky Bro, inside out

Bulky Bro

3. Orbit has a little brother called Bulky Bro. He's stocky and beefy where she's limber and lithe, but you can still tell they're related. He was made with a small amount of super bulky yarn and an 11.5 mm crochet hook. (Same pattern, fewer foundation stitches to begin, and fewer rounds.) [2014 Vashti made Orbit boot cuffs/spats!]

4. Orbit likes to socialize in Ravelry's Cowls group. She also plays in the slideshow (upper right column) of the New Crochet Cowl Scarves blog.

The Frostyflakes Scarf/Wrap All-Gauge 'Superpattern'

Name on birth certificate: Frostyflakes Scarf/Wrap

100% mulberry silk, DK wt

Birthdate: July 9, 2010. The heat of summer, when anything can happen.

Takes after: Filet crochet and Spiderweb stitch sisters; the eccentric corner-starting, sideways-crochetin' side of the family.

Caron Simply Soft yarn & silver bells

Malabrigo Lace wt (merino)

Quick Scarf of alpaca & silk

Beaded Cashmere

Well now, Frostyflakes is a zesty little firecracker. Her name is a bit unusual (she's not particularly frosty, nor flaky) but that's because she was born with Uranian aspects to her rising sign. She snorts and hums "Don't Fence Me In" loudly if she hears any talk of swatching, stitch gauges, or yarn requirements.

She's been known to say (holler, actually), "Silk and alpaca blend? Let me at it. I DON'T CARE how many yards are in a skein, dang it I don't need to know. Just give me a crochet hook a little bigger than what the label calls for and I'll have a beaut for ya before sundown. Git now."

Scarf-sized: 150 yds sport wt

Watch your yarn stash around her because she'll take anything and whip it up into a gift scarf or wrap (might want to supervise her around bead stashes too). Her style is, get a running start, jump on the horse and ride at full speed (double crochet stitches and chains). She does however indulge in some fancypants tastes when it comes to the horses she'll ride (i.e., yarn).

Frostyflakes was conceived when a particular yarn put a twinkle in her ma's eye. The exact moment was Saturday afternoon in the market of the 2010 CGOA national Chain Link conference, held in Manchester NH. A particularly sunny Melissa Leapman was in the Leilani Arts booth. She held up a glowing skein of pure mulberry silk yarn and said, "Have you seen this? It's wonderful." I said, "I wonder how many I would need to make something?" She showed me her crocheted shawl and said, "This only took ONE skein. That's really all you need." (See first photo.)

Three Beaded Amigos (red=lace wt & seed beads; white=heavy lace wt & glass beads; blue=light worsted wt & silver bells)

The yarn whispered sweet nothings in my ear, like "if you start in one corner and increase steadily until I'm half used up, then you'll know how big your wrap will be and then you can work your will on every last inch of me." And, "I'm so drapey and delicious that simple double crochet stitches will look great. Group them into some dramatic solid sections, surround them with starry open spaces, and our love will live on forever."

The Scrapbook of Frostyflakes
(Like a doting Mom, I'll update this section whenever newsy items occur.)

• To learn more about the Frostyflakes cornerstart crochet pattern, or to purchase and instantly download it, go to my pattern website here. To do the same in my Ravelry Store, go here. (If you go to my website, you can see lots more patterns--by me, and by Doris Chan, before they appear in Ravelry.)

• Frostyflakes has a social life over in Ravelry. Even if you don't visit her page to purchase the pattern, look at the tabs across the top and you can see the Frostyflakes projects other Ravelers make, when she pops up as a topic in forums, Ravelers' comments, and yarn ideas.

• Frostyflakes has her own Flickr set here. Actually she has two. One is public, and one can be accessed only by using a special pass found in her pattern!  

The Weightless Tunisian Crochet Stole

Name on birth certificate: Weightless Tunisian Stole

Birthdate: April 18, 2009

Takes after: 'Wicker stitch' sisters, thread crochet aunts, and lace knitting cousins.

Designers will tell you that when it comes to naming a design, it's really nice when crocheters AND knitters AND everyone else all "get" the name. This is true for Weightless.

Having the right name is a gift bestowed by her fairy godmother. (I had been calling her "Frosted Wicker" because she was conceived in frost-like lace weight mohair right after I created her Tunisian stitch pattern, which is called "Wicker stitch." But then the fairy godmother stepped in.)

Weightless has been having a grand time. Her weightless quality makes her Little Miss Popularity in school, and it disarms and charms those who might normally hold it against her that she's crocheted instead of knitted. She even gets invited to tea parties at yarn shops. This weekend will be her sixth! 

Thanks to another fairy godmother, she 'came out' as a debutante this past July at CGOA's Chain Link conference in Manchester NH. She was written up in Crochetville to critical acclaim.

This second fairy godmother, in the form of a good friend of mine, urged me to enter something in CGOA's 2010 design contest. She cajoled and flitted about my thoughts like Tinkerbell, sprinkling pixie dust all over my crochet projects until I agreed to enter something....and Weightless looks lovely with pixie dust. Good thing I listened because Weightless won Third Prize in the Special Occasion category!

Official CGOA Design Contest Photo

So far it sounds too good to be true, and it is. You should hear what a third fairy godmother did! She gave Weightless a Cinderella-like (or ugly duckling-to-swan-like) destiny by decreeing at birth that her true beauty will be forever invisible unless:

1. a crocheter heeds the pattern by waving a much larger Tunisian wand than usual over the yarn, AND
2. by the stroke of midnight, a crocheter must wield the magical Blocking Instrument of Lacy Excellence (spritz with water, spread out all stitches of Stole evenly and leave to dry completely on a flat toweled surface.)

The Scrapbook of Weightless
(Like a doting Mom, I'll update this section whenever newsy items occur.)

• To learn more about the Weightless Tunisian crochet pattern, or to purchase and instantly download it, go to my pattern website here. To do the same in my Ravelry Store, go here. (If you go to my website, you can see lots more patterns--by me, and by Doris Chan, before they appear in Ravelry.)

• The glowing review of the Weightless pattern by the founder of Crochetville can be read here.

• Weightless has her own Crochet-Along! If you'd like to join in, please visit here and see where everyone's at.
  

• About Weightless' award: see photo below of her in the contest with her ribbon. My girl is beaming! Thank you for the photo, Donna. This is what was read aloud as Weightless was presented with her prize: "When I think of this stole, I remember the first time I wore it. It was a special night, breezy and cool, and I felt beautiful. The Tunisian stitch pattern is my own combination of eyelet, slip, and twisted Tunisian stitches. I have not found this kind of eyelet lace used anywhere else so I've named it “Wicker Stitch". I like that the return rows settle into enough of a diagonal grain that the fabric acquires more stretch than the usual Tunisian stitch pattern. Yarn is a 75% kid mohair and 25% silk lightweight yarn called Ovation by S.R. Kertzer."

•  My original blog post about the award is here.

  

  (Donna Hulka's photo)

  
  

  
  

• Weightless has a social life over in Ravelry. Even if you don't visit her page to purchase the pattern, look at the tabs across the top and you can see the Weightless projects other Ravelers make, when she pops up as a topic in forums, Ravelers' comments, and yarn ideas.

• Weightless has her own Flickr set here. Actually she has two. One is public, and one can be accessed only by using a special pass found in her pattern!  

• On Sharon Silverman's Contemporary Crochet Facebook page, Sharon wrote: "Yay, Vashti! She won third prize in the Crochet Guild of American 2010 design competition in the "Special Occasion" category for her Weightless Tunisian Stole--the contest was this summer but the winners' names are published in the current Crochet! mag. Gorgeous work." (September 20, 2010) Thank you, Sharon.