Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Bea's 'Dodi - New Pattern - What The Heck is a 'Dodi?!

Bea's 'Dodi is my newest design that went out with our Winter Ficstitches Yarns Kit Club last month. But what the heck is a "'Dodi"?

That’s a fine stitch,” Gladys said.
I held up the hand span of crochet I’d worked. Lacey holes like starburst danced from row to row in a color that reminded me of a nighttime in the woods, where the black sky and the brown woods twine together to trick the eye until a spot of starlight shines through.

This is yet another example of how author C. Jane Reid and I work together to develop her stories and my designs to seamlessly tie them together for our kits and books. We wanted the project for the Winter Kit to be a lacy scarf that symbolized the starlight seen through the dark trees of the forest as Hollis is traveling. 

I started with a version of filet crochet, which uses chains and spaces to create diamonds and stars. But I was not satisfied with the look of the stars, as the typical way of working filet crochet stars does not look the same on the top and bottom. By working into the gap between stitches and adding some special decrease stitches, I achieved the look I wanted.

We chose this gorgeous blend of yak, silk, and merino from Mosaic Moon after C. Jane discovered that buffalo fiber was used in that time period. Yak is not quite the same, but the animals are related, and what the early Americans called buffalo were actually bison because they look similar. Both their fiber is softer than wool, though I believe bison is even softer, and we like to expose our kit buyers to a variety of fibers.

“What will it be in the end?” she asked.
“Alisquanosdodi.” The Cherokee slipped out without me giving it any thought.
Gladys frowned at me to show she didn’t think kindly of me speaking a native’s tongue in her keeping room.
“A scarf,” I amended.

Unable to pronounce the long Cherokee word, Bea shortens it to 'Dodi, after Hollis gifts the finished scarf to her. The starburst lace also resembles Cherokee symbols of home, which is what he feels whenever he thinks of the widow he visits each year along his travels. Perhaps this delicately hooked gift will be the gesture to turn friendship to something more... 


You can now purchase the pattern for Bea's 'Dodi on Ravelry, and Hollis's story, The Solitary Stitch, will be released in a full novel later this year. As always, our Kit Club members were the first to read the stories, but you can catch up on the first to books in the Unraveling Series. while you are waiting for Book 4.

A new story (Book 5 in the series) is starting with our Spring Kit Club, following the next generation of Hollis' family. Don't miss another Story and Kit, PreOrders are open the month of January only!

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