The wild success of a crocheted doily trim as the letter “O” in What to Do in a Democracy, got me thinking about other literary possibilities for the doilies in my collection.
Let’s see. Through the summer and fall of 2020 I worked to make sure people were registered to vote and encouraging them to actually do it. So what other word besides VOTE had an “O” to fit the theme?
The word “election” has an “O!” Yay! But my collection of vintage crochet didn’t include a round doily trim of a reasonable size.
I would have to crochet the “O” myself. Saying “I’ll do it myself,” makes me feel like the Little Red Hen, who had to plant, harvest, and grind wheat in order to make bread. “I’ll do it myself,” sounds really sassy in a broad Texas accent, which I, a Texan, can do.
Unlike the Little Red Hen, I was happy about crocheting the doily “O” myself. I took advantage of it being custom crocheted, by using red thread for the center, so it would fade into the red patchwork background. The last few rounds were in white to create the letter. I had to alter the pattern to make the doily small enough, because the bigger the doily, the bigger the finished quilt.
You can find the original doily on Ravelry, where the notes say it was “published as ‘The Very Best Circles’ in Home Favorites in Crochet, Book No. 214, in 1944; as ‘Three Piece Doily Set No. 7699’ in The Complete Book of Crochet in 1946.” Download the free pattern here.
Election Day was finished in 2020. See if you can find the not-so subliminal message in the quilt’s patchwork.
If you’re interested in how to create and applique the white lettering, read the post about What to Do in a Democracy. Link above.
