Ever since I started looking at Irish Crochet it has all been a bit academic, so time to have a go at doing it. I started off with some Linen from Nepal that I bought at Womad (in the Cotswolds, not in Nepal) and a motif pattern from The Harmony Guides (volume 7). It took a while to work out that the instructions were the US version, but got the hang of it.

Next to attempt a bauble as in the lovely Lizard Jacket from the knitting and crochet Guild’s collection. I tried these in Anchor linen threads, 10 and 20 with 1.5mm or 1mm hook, stuffing the balls with sheep’s wool harvested from a local fence (and then washed). I’ve even got best of the tricky Clones Knot (above) that is used in Irish Crochet as a filling stitch.

To learn the Clones Knot I looked at Máire Treanor’s video here: http://youtu.be/PVGUMBZKR28 She is so softly spoken it’s a joy.
The rings in white are made by wrapping the thread around your finger 5 or 6 times, then stitching doubles around this. If you start and the top and work down one side, you naturally end up at the top again ready to make a small chain before starting the next one. (note to self: Don’t try this while blackberrying next time). This chain of loops is in Anchor thread 20.

The next experiment is made from nettle fibre, and counts as ‘nettle lace’. If that isn’t a thing, it is now.