Collar Conundrum

                                 Collar Conundrum

Thank you everyone for your fantastic response to my last post and to my latest new shawl pattern, 'Cherry Kisses'.  I'm so glad you liked it and even more excited and  pleased that some of you have even brought it.  Yippee, thank you so much for your wonderful support!

But let us now turn back to collars.  You'll remember maybe, that I made a couple of collars during the summer that I showed you here?  You might also recall that although I could see they were pretty, I wasn't altogether convinced of their usefulness to me.  Well some solutions have presented themselves, but more on that later.

First I want to quickly show you my second foray into the world of dainty collars that serve no real purpose but I just can't seem to get out of my system.  Yes, I know, more!

The first a cute peachy one that you might of seen around blogland quite a bit.  It's been very popular and is made by the clever and talented Emma Escot of Lulu Loves.  It's her Crochet Peter Pan Collar.

I decided to make mine a little longer than normal as I don't have many of the crew cut style neck lines that collars probably work best with.  I really liked how it turned out.  It's cute without being too fussy or frilly and I find I'm happier with that.

There was only one problem, it would keep slopping around the place.  Everytime I moved, it moved and I was constantly re-arranging it.  Not so good.  But the planets were in alignment (or something) because I also noticed that a favourite white t-shirt had a little stain on the collar.  What could be a more perfect solution than sewing down the mischieviously moving collar to the t-shirt?  Stopping it's irritating antics andcovering the eye arresting stain all at the same time.  Two birds, one stone.

(Ps none of these are my necks)

The second one, I just couldn't resist making, I think just because I have coveted it for so long.  I found it on Pinterest originally and I adore it.  There's only one slight problem, the pattern is for 2 -3 year old child.  Hummmm. 

For some reason, this didn't make me stop and question the fact I was planning to wear it myself, a fully grown adult with considerably more years to her name.  Maybe it should have done, but it didn't.

The original pattern, 'Flower Girl Collar' by Katherine Heise was not much of a starting point as I wanted the collar so much bigger, so I just followed the pretty picture and made up my own version.  I even copied all the flower details as closely as I could because I loved it so much.

I'm really happy with how it turned out, even though I can't take any credit for it's prettiness.  Again, it's cute without too much fuss, so I think I can bring myself to wear it quite happily.  I'm going to put it on now actually, just to make sure I do indeed wear it.

So, back to the original collars and the conundrum of what to do with them.

Wonderful people that you are, you all came up with many and varied suggestions and ideas for how to wear them.  Some suggested wearing with a jumper, some suggested that the process and enjoyment of making them was enough, some suggested they would make a good present.

However it was the suggestion of a bloggy friend that really excited me.  Something that I had to leap up and try the moment I read it, it was that good. 

Could the frilly collar be used to decorate a lamp shade, she wondered?

Couldn't it just!

Isn't it just perfect?  Don't you love the way the light shines through the lace?  Well, I do and I'm so glad that lovely Annette shared her idea with me.  What's even more perfect is that it's just held into place using the ties on the collar, so if I have a change of heart, I can simply untie and wear it.

I was so pleased by this solution that I decided to stop fretting about the fact that I may not ever wear the other collar from that tale and instead took those of you who suggested it could be used as a gift up on your offer. 

So, that is my plan, to give the last collar, shown below, as a gift to one of you.

I probably shouldn't tell you how relieved it makes me to feel that I've found the perfect answer for both of these collars, but it's true.  I'm so much happier to think that they will have a purpose.  One makes me happy decorating a lamp, the other can go and live with someone who will cherish it and wear it. 

If you really would like to own the collar above and think you'll actually wear it, then  please just leave me a little comment below to say so.

I shall put all the names in a hat and send the collar to whoever pops out.
(I'll send it for free anywhere in the world.)