'Tisn't the Season

All right.

I admit that this is terribly out of season, but I'm fairly proud of finally finishing a treetop angel, so I'm going to brag about it. I've wanted one of these for years, and never quite managed to actually make one. I forget when I started crocheting this project, but I know it was a second attempt after finding a poorly-written free pattern somewhere on the internet. That first one was sort of a disaster, possibly because the designer was under the influence of something regulated. So I got smart and bought a booklet (Our Best Christmas Thread Crochet from Leisure Arts) and did pattern #12, Treetop Angel. (Where do they think of these creative names? I'm just kidding, Nanette Seale, your design is lovely.)


I do know that I pulled out the barely-started angel in June or so of 2005. I remember working on it on the lawn at Pritzker Pavillion during Grant Park Orchestra concerts. Sometime later, much closer to Christmas, I had the flash of insight that really made this project special. The original design is all in white, but I happened to have silver crochet thread in the same size, and I realized that all of the outermost edging is done at the end. So after some debate about whether I should make the edging gold or silver, and silver won, I was anxious to finish. And I did get it done in time to place it atop my tree, maybe early to mid-December, so that was sort of a personal victory.



The technical stuff: Finished size is about 7" tall with a wingspan just shy of 4 1/2". I used standard size 10 crochet thread, mostly white, with the edging is done in "silver" which is actually more of a pewter color with a metallic silver wrap. It's kind of irritating to work with because it twists up so much, but worth it for the final result. I used a size 6 steel hook--this is the part that usually freaks knitters right out, because the size 6 has a diameter of 1.8 mm. That's 0.2 mm smaller than a size 0 knitting needle. (And not even remotely close to being the smallest of the steel crochet hooks. A size 14, which I don't use because I value my eyesight and my sanity, has a diameter of 0.75 mm.) The part of the hook that you actually work on is where my index finger is resting in the photo.

Oh, and to finish it, I used a product called Stiffy. Seriously. It's a fabric stiffener that really works well. (No, you don't have to go to a special section of the fabric store and ask for it in hushed tones and then receive it in a paper bag. But it sounds like you should.) You just immerse the finished piece, let it soak a bit, gently squeeze out the excess, and then pin it down to the shape you want. A bit tricky with the whole 3-D thing, but a styrofoam cone is your friend here. The only caveat is that Stiffy is permanent, so take your time and get it right the first time!

Next year, I might even post a picture of the angel actually on my tree!