Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Spotted: The Entire History of Crochet in One Project!

I was clicking around the best social network ever, Ravelry, and I came across one of the most fascinating projects I've seen in a long time. 

Image used with permission of WarpSpeedLinda  | All Rights Reserved
 !!!
 So you may be thinking, 'Cami, it's just a spare tire. It's cute, but what's the big deal?'  The reason I was so worked up about this is that the project combines some of the essential elements of crochet and uses them in a new way.  The elements I see in this project are as follows:
  • History - The doily is one of the oldest incarnations of crochet.  Crochet became popular in Europe in the 19th century, and white, crocheted lace doilies were a must-have accessory for any household.
  • Innovation - Like all art forms, crochet has evolved through the ages and artists have incorporated the trends into their work.  Quick, chunky yarn projects are on trend right now, and so are modern, brightly-colored doilies.
  • Relevance - In these difficult economic times, where petroleum costs are skyrocketing, I think it's interesting to see a petroleum-based (acrylic) yarn used to adorn a petroleum-driven machine.  Ironically, while gas prices rise, acrylic yarn remains very affordable.  It's the perfect yarn to use on this type of project. It will never lose its color and it will remain fresh in all kinds of weather.
  • Self-Expression - This yellow doily on the yellow car is a bold statement to the world: I CROCHET!
(Okay, so maybe I read into things a bit too much.  I just really liked the project.) 

The above project was posted by Linda who blogs here.  I found it on her Ravelry page.  Linda did the right thing and mentioned her project inspiration, which was fellow Raveler, HapiKamper.  Below is one of HapiKamper's projects.

Image used with permission of HapiKamper | All Rights Reserved
 Thanks to WarpSpeedLinda and HapiKamper for letting me blog about these wonderful projects!