I Do Actually Finish Stuff

I do finish stuff, despite what all my friends say. (I even did a whole 13 rows on my J & Coats project on Sunday. Nyaaah.)

Vine Leaf Card Purse, Treasuries in Needlework, (c)1870.

Original crocheted in crimson purse-silk, black ditto(?), and gold thread. No crochet hook size, gauge, or finished size given. Gauge and size of item was usually controlled by how tight the crocheter held the thread, so some patterns say to loosen up tension to get a bigger size. Bugger that.

I assume this purse was originally very small since it was meant to tote around calling cards, which were business-card size, and not much else.

Mine was crocheted in black silk unravelled from an ugly thriftstore top and vintage green and pink Silkateen, a 1920's silk substitute either made of shined-up cotton or rayon. I should have made the tassel honkin' big like the original but the silk just didn't hang right. I believe it's only a little bit bigger than the original would have been. I can only carry my ID, some cash, one key, a compact, and a lipstick. Any more than that and it just looks stupid.

Original pattern was also lines and lines of "1 crimson, 2 black, 7 gold, 3 black" rather than on a grid, making it a real pain in the ass to work from the book. I'm re-gridding it so I can make it again in red, gold, & black & will post it here.