Mini update: Ukrainian crochet lace + my neighborhood

A few weeks ago I posted about some Ukrainian artists on Etsy that I love, and since then, I have found a few more. I’m working on a beautiful leaves mandala/doily pattern by Mykolayiv, Ukrainian designer Crochet Lace By Lara, whose patterns are stunningly detailed and nostalgic. Many of them would be pretty stretched into a ring and hung up, as I hope to do with at least one of her patterns.

The one in the right photo is the beginning of a leaves mandala, for which I’m using Olympus mercerized cotton thread (a Japanese brand), and a 1.30mm steel hook. The thread is in a medium taupe/ “greige” color, which is a little bit warmer than this photo shows. I really love the tiny work 🙂 It’s challenging physically, in particular to keep the tension even throughout. The finished article will probably be around 30 -32cm in diameter.

I also found another amazing Kiev, Ukrainian crochet lace designer, Lena Masterica, who has equally beautiful and complex patterns worthy of wall display. She also sells detailed mandala coloring pages. I’ll attempt one of Lena’s designs after I finish my current one.

I’ve also made some progress on the Soul of the Sea shawl, fading into a light purple. I am almost to the point where the gradient will change to blue.

For the moment, my stitching is slow-going as I’m tied up with a lot of preparations for the semester final exams in the middle of June, as well as carefully laying out my summer travel plans. After the semester finishes, I’ll be on a plane to the U.S. for the first time in three years. It will no doubt be a reverse culture shock for me and a relief to see family after all this time.

I’ll leave you with some photos of my neighborhood this week, including a peony bush in full bloom. Poppies are starting to sprout everywhere, too, and I catch an occasional Claude Monet moment when I walk my dog near the ponds (poppies and parasols). Weather is perfect right now, but we’re in for a heat wave next week.