Crowns for a queen...or a king

My latest addiction is crochet and I found the neatest kit on, of all places, Anthrologie's website. The yarn used is tricot, which I think closely resembles T-shirt yarn, which is the latest craze. How cute is this?! I can see it holding a potted plant, jewelry on my vanity, and a zillion other uses! The yarn is cushy soft and washable, a double-bonus in my book. There was enough yarn included in the kit to make TWO of the square shaped baskets, plus some left over. I experimented with the pattern and leftover yarn and made a round basket. The kit's name is "Lace Basket", but I think it looks like a crown, don't you?

I just checked Anthropologie's website and, unfortunately, this kit is no longer available. Bummer. If it makes you feel any better about missing out on this kit, I will tell you the pattern was unbelievably HARD to follow. I can't count the number of times I pulled out stitches and started over.

I mentioned in my very first post about my shop within the walls of Paply's Antiques in Killeen, Texas, but failed to mention that I also have an etsy shop. You can find it here. In my etsy shop, I list vintage items, with a focus on vintage linens. I adore all the handwork comprised in vintage linens...the tatting, crocheting, hemstiching, embroidery, etc. Here's an example of one of the vintage hankies I currently have listed in my etsy shop.

If you look closely, you can see a name sewn into the corner of this hankie. Ida Paisley. Hmm. I wonder where she lives/lived, and if she made this hankie for herself? The history of an item intrigues me, and I love it when I can tell the 'real' story behind a piece I've purchased. Unfortunately, I know nothing about this hankie's history...only that it is beautiful!