• afghans - Crochet

    Double it up

    October 1, 2020 - By 

    I’ve found a way to use up more yarn from my stash – using two strands at a time. I’ve mentioned before that I like using worsted weight yarn. What I hadn’t considered was using two DK or sock weight yarns to make something. I’ve used two or three strands or worsted weight yarn together. Even using a larger hook I got tired of it, my hand would cramp and the project would be too stiff or too loose when I used a larger hook.

    This doesn’t happen when two lightweight strands are combined. I hadn’t thought about using DK or sock weight together – mainly because I don’t have a lot of those in my stash. I’ve used sock weight and worsted together for give a little hint of color in a wrap but why not for a project on its own? As I continue on my stash busting quest, I’ve found some lighter weight yarns that I won, was gifted or purchased [because I liked it and had little intention of using it]. Now those yarns have taken center stage since I want to use most of what I have before adding more.

    Why hadn’t I done this before? It was easy to go to buy another skein or two of yarn to try or buy a color that caught my eye. Since January, the only yarn that I have bought was for a gift and the novelty of a Caron Anniversary Cake because it’s so gigantic. I’m purging as I go as well, there are yarns that I thought I’d like and don’t or that I find too difficult to crochet. Someone else may like it. I’ve happened upon some fun yarns at thrift stores, likely because people just didn’t like them. When it’s time to buy more yarn, I will consider purchasing some DK weight yarns to combine and make more colorful scarves.

    I’ve always known that you could combine two strands or yarn. Combining two strands of worsted is like working with a bulky and that’s cumbersome after a while. A quick search on the internet will tell you that combining two lighter weight yarns will make an equivalent heavier one, though it may depend on the yarn manufacturer and your gauge.

    Two strands of lace weight together equal a DK or Sport weight
    Two strands of fingering or baby weight equal a DK / light worsted weight
    Two strands of DK equal a worsted weight or Aran
    Two strands of worsted equal a chunky/bulky

    There is still the issue of dropping stitches by not pulling both loops through the hook. With two worsted weight yarns this seems to be a greater issue but not as much with the finer yarns. The thought of using such fine yarn on its own never appealed to me, just as I don’t like using super bulky. Two lighter yarns together, now I’m onto something. When I’m adding more yarn to my stash in a few months, I will consider acquiring some sock and sport weight yarns to the fold not just to look at but to actually use and add more color to my work.

    Why stop with combining two of the same weight to equal a heavier weight? Why not use a lace weight with a solid worsted to add color? With yarns ranging from cobweb to jumbo, the only limitations will be SABLE (Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy) getting in the way and the limit of your funds.

    Happy crocheting!

  • afghans - crafting - Crochet - stashbusting

    Ode to the Granny Square

    July 1, 2020 - By 

    The Granny Square is a utilitarian way of using up yarn. Generally, when many people think of a Granny Square afghan they think of lots of smaller motifs joined together in bright colors. The Granny Square, which is a simple shell or fan stitch – three double crochets with a chain stitch then three double crochets again with a few chain stitches at the corner can be used to make a block as large as you wish. This is a pattern that I can almost make in my sleep. It’s versatile.

    The best part about making one large Granny Square is that you can use up a little or a lot of yarn and make something unique and random or planned and bold. The reason that I make the Granny square so often is that I end up with a lot of small amounts of yarn from previous projects and I don’t like to waste yarn. Scrapghan patterns that have lots of colors are fun. Some people don’t like the unplanned, unmatched look. The bright colors don’t bother me as much as I really, really, really, REALLY do not like joining motifs. Joining colors is ok, especially since I found the craft life altering Russian Join so I don’t have to weave in ends.

    I like color. Lately, I have been playing with random colors that are complimentary or as I like to say, “sort of” go together and then are tied together with a neutral like gray to make the color changes in the Granny Square really stand out.

    Before looking down your nose at a Granny Square afghan consider that you can buy kits online that range from the tens to hundreds of dollars depending on the material and size of the finished afghan. A quick search online will yield lots of patterns for a Granny Square, and different variations – the Modern Granny, Rectangular Granny, Corner to Corner Granny, Granny Log Cabin and so on.

    What I like most about a Granny Square in addition to the ease of making it is that you can take a small amount of yarn to start and then continue changing colors for each round or doing multiple rounds of a color and you can make something beautiful. I have never seen a solid color Granny Afghan. It can be done but why. The beauty of the pattern is that it is so simple that the colors do make a statement. One, two or five rounds of the same color offers a nice symmetry. Even numbered rounds, odd number rounds or even a Fibonacci sequence can be used as a plan for a colorful afghan.

    Often when I start an afghan I don’t plan that far ahead of time, I gather what I think is enough to make an afghan, which is tricky when you have small oddballs of yarn. Remaining balls of yarn are great for Granny Afghans – because you can start with just a little bit of color and go from there. The negative comments about Granny Afghans makes me wonder why I make them. The simple answer is because I like them, they are warm, and I can use a bit of yarn to make something beautiful for someone else.

    Happy Crocheting!

  • afghans - crafting - Crochet - pandemic crafting

    Waiting and crocheting

    May 31, 2020 - By 

    March 13 when we left the office, we thought it was only for two weeks. Then we were told to shelter in place. Two weeks has become more than two months and we are still working remotely with no clear end date. Being able to continue to work  remotely and receive a paycheck is a blessing.

    I had met with a new friend who gave me some yarn the day before the initial two week working from home period began. We had coffee and talked about what was going to happen. There was a lot of speculation but we didn’t know and weren’t too worried after all it was only for a couple of weeks. Restaurants hadn’t been closed yet, things were still open, it was surreal.

    Two and a half months later, we are ending still sheltering in place in Chicago for a few more days and while restrictions have been lifted in other parts of Illinois. Now we have a mandatory curfew because of protests that became riots over the killing of George Floyd. Now we wait.

    The virus is still here, racial injustice is still here, people who still have a need for warm items when the weather gets colder are still here.

    Between all of the posts, articles and ads regarding COVID-19, protecting yourself, and other affects – joblessness, emotional issues etc., there are still posts and pleas from organizations. These groups are expressing a need for items because unlike sewn items, crochet and knit items take longer to make. Scarves, hats, gloves, and other items will still be needed when the weather turns cold, the need hasn’t gone away, it’s just that the other requests have become louder in the short term. Several organizations that offer warm items to people are asking because the need hasn’t gone away, and some people have time to make things.

    Unrest, stir crazy, insecure, anxious – many words could express what is happening now and has been happening. Not just to me, but to other people. There is a rush to get back to normal for people. Should we? What will normal be like? Yes, I miss seeing friends and family. I miss going for an impromptu coffee or meal. I miss walking along the lakefront. I miss getting together with my knitting/crocheting group and chatting about everything and nothing. I miss going outside without wearing a face covering. I miss going to church, the symphony, museums and concerts.

    Those are some of the things that I want to return – not the hatred, inequality and injustice that has been an unspoken part of our society.

    Crocheting and knitting can be more than just an escape, it can be political and emotional: remember the Pussyhats/Women’s March or Ravelry taking a stand to ban speech supporting the Trump administration, hate speech and white supremacy? The resurgence of crafting in the past couple of months hasn’t been about politics or race, they have always been there. Just as people with a need have always been there – just not in the forefront. Crafting during the pandemic has made a way for people to quell anxiety, be productive, escape and survive. In other words say maintain sanity.

    Whenever we are able to get out and freely move about unmasked – literally and figuratively, remember there are those who are still in need of things beyond the basics of food, shelter, employment, but justice and fairness.

    Be safe and happy crocheting!

  • afghans - Crochet - Odd balls - Scrap yarns

    An artistic proposition

    March 29, 2020 - By 

    There must have been a sale on Caron one pound skeins. That’s the only reason I can think of as to why I have four of these pound behemoths, in light blue, in my house. I have been thinking of the project where I could use black and a color and all the odd balls that I have. Why not put the light blue to good use? As part of my “inheritance,” a friend’s family gave me a couple of large bags of yarn and craft supplies.  There were full skeins but also lots of small balls of yarn that added to the stash that I already have. I think this would be an interesting at home project, at least to try to get things together to make something since we are sheltering in place. It takes a while to find everything up. The light blue could be interesting. I was thinking of cream or a tan, but why not use what I have on hand – lots of light blue.

    It will be either a failure or a great artistic work. Light blue isn’t necessarily the neutral that I was thinking of when I first envisioned this project but this will be interesting and colorful. What I need to figure out is how long the stretches of light blue will be, the odd balls all vary in length and I will try to use mainly worsted weight yarn for this project. I’m going to have to crochet a row of in the stitch I want to use, then measure it and cut some lengths of that.

    I’m liking this plan. I did like this plan…

    After more thought, I have some longer lengths of yarn and enough to make more than one scrapghan – or planned colorful afghans, as some of the yarn that I’m using isn’t scraps. Instead of using the same amount of yarn for the solid color, I might make a large granny square afghan in varying shades of blue with the light blue being the main color and another with rows of a coordinating color with black as the main color. For the black with rows of color, it may be the same color in two rows or it might be a different yet complementary color.

    When I first had this idea the sky was sunny and bright and I took that as a sign to work it out, but as I sketched things out and started with a few rows to get the idea some shape in my head, I think the two afghans will definitely use up more yarn. I have enough blue that it could be an afghan by itself, but I wanted to give it a little more pizzazz.

    I made the plan, then I didn’t like that plan. As I was working on an afghan already in progress, I decided to just take small amounts of yarn from my oddballs bowl starting with the smallest amount first making a round, then working a couple of rows of the light blue, then as many complete rounds of the next color, three rows of light blue and so on. The yarn was tempting me, because the bowl is near where I sit and crochet in the living room. I found a few colors to use and plan to use this method until I run out of coordinating colors (that’s a loose interpretation). Then I will finish it off with a few rows of navy. Some balls of the yarn are too small, maybe only a yard or so, but I am not going to throw those away. I joined a couple of the leftover bits of yarn that I used together in a ball. As I looked through the remainder bowl, I found some other small bits that I will add to this mystery ball of yarn. The result of this will be a colorful mystery ball. Adding lots of colors to this mystery ball will take time to some match up. The colors that that I’m selecting for the scrapghan in progress coordinate with the light blue main color. the small odds and ends are ones that I can’t bare to part with, due to my “frugal” nature.  I can just keep adding to the mystery ball until I have enough for an afghan, which might take a while.

    A few days ago I was on a Zoom meeting and since other people were showing their dogs and cats, I showed off the project I was working on. Someone asked me if I had enough yarn to keep me occupied. I laughed and said, “yes, and I already have a few projects planned.” The afghans are only the tip of the iceberg, I have yarn ready to make a couple of hats which likely will be finished by the end of the week or at least one set and more progress made on the other things I’m working on.

    Crocheting keeps me calm and now that I’m sheltering in place like many people in other parts of the world, I’m just doing more of it.

    Happy crocheting!

  • afghans - Donations - hats - Odd balls

    Social distancing and crocheting

    March 19, 2020 - By 

    Like many metropolitan areas I’m going to be working from home for a few weeks because of COVID-19. I’ve been planning and have much of what I need, I bought toilet paper when it was on sale several weeks ago, because it was a really great sale and I have a lot of food in my freezer so I’m good. There are at least two bags of coffee beans in my cabinet, as well as lots of tea and hot chocolate.

    Now is the time to work on some additional projects that I have wanted to work on. One is to make something for myself. This is in flux, every time I look at a pattern or see something in a magazine. I have the yarn, I just haven’t found the right pattern.

    Another is to join some of the oddballs and scraps of yarn into one giant magic ball with black between each color. I either want to make an afghan in an open shell or a giant granny square. I would rather have a lot of color for this scrapghan and have it pulled together with the black. Though the amounts of the color will change, I want to have the same length of the black between each one. This requires a bit of planning. How many yards do I want to have between each color. Depending on the pattern I might want enough for a third or a half of a full row of the shells. This would be easier to determine than if I make a giant granny square because as more rounds are added, it takes more yarn to complete a side.

    There are a couple of projects that I have finished since my office closed. I completed a hat to go with a set. Completed a scarf to go with a set, picked up an afghan that had been just sitting by my favorite chair in my living room. I generally work on it during a weekly conference call, but it was shorter than the usual hour, so I only finished a couple of rows. It may get promoted to my movie watching chair in the living room when I finish the other afghan, so I can finish it sooner.

    The yarn that I have to make a skirt or dress for myself is just teasing me. I’m not quite sure what I want to make. Do I want to make a two piece or a dress. If a two piece a skirt and a drapey vest or sweater or poncho – what type of skirt? Too many decisions. A few weeks ago I borrowed from crochet pattern books from the library just because it’s the library and they are free. Since I have time on my hands with so many things cancelled, I could actually look through the books, Pinterest and Ravelry. There is something out there. When in doubt – work on a sure thing!

    I finally wound the yarn I dyed a few weeks ago with Easter Egg dye and found a bag of eight hanks Lorna’s Laces Bullfrogs & Butterflies in Cat Bordhi’s Ahah! I figured since I had the ball winder and swift out, why not make it worth the effort. In the yarn I dyed, I chose one to use for the hat, as it has once section where the colors blended together more than the others and there’s a section of dark orange/rust. I didn’t wind all of the Lorna’s that I found, just enough for a hat and scarf this time around. I’ll save the other four for another time.

    In the meantime, there are more than enough project to work on and I’m making progress on my crochet 2020 goals. Be safe everyone, happy crafting and enjoy your period of social distancing!

    Progress as of March 19: Seven completed scarves, two hat and scarf sets, one afghan, and one hat for a set
    In progress: Three afghans

  • afghans - Crochet - hats - red scarves

    Staying warm

    February 18, 2020 - By 

    On Friday, a pile of warm winter gear rested in a chair because it was so heavy that it pulled my magnetized hook down when they were draped on the hanger with my coat. As I waited for the bus on Valentine’s Day, I wore a hat, a scarf inside my coat, and one outside wrapped around my face. Only my eyes could be seen. I was comfortable on the bus I had to take the outer scarf off, unzip my coat and take off my gloves.

    There were several people who didn’t wear hats or even pull up their hoods as a choice. Five degrees with a negative wind chill is not the time to look cute. I saw a couple in a car looking at me as I was in my blue standing mummy glory. Whatever! I looked back at them, didn’t care. I was warm. Then I thought about the people who don’t have the option of being in a car or don’t want to wear a hat.

    Extremely cold days make me want to continue my efforts to make hats and scarves. A scarf can serve a lot of purposes and contribute to body heat. I’m still enjoying crocheting and steadily working on the 2020 goals both the quantifiable ones and the underlying one of using up yarn in my stash. My love of crochet and seeking out new color combinations and techniques hasn’t waned. While I’m not a fan of hot weather, I do like people to be warm and like to share my handiwork with others. Share – not sell, for me crocheting is a vocation and a form of meditation.

    Completed as of Presidents’ Day 2020: Five scarves, one afghan and one hat
    In progress: Three afghans and one scarf

  • afghans - crafting - Crochet - crochet motivation - Donations

    New year, new goals

    January 9, 2020 - By 

    Yes, it’s the second week of January, well, the first FULL week of January and I’ve finally set my 2020 crochet goals.

    This year, I am committing to making 15 afghans, 15 hat and scarf sets and 40 scarves.

    I really missed making afghans.

    What I missed most about working on afghans is that when you work on them in the winter and they are large enough to cover your lap, your legs are warm. In the summer you can put and afghan off to the side or use it to block the breeze from the fan or ac, but in the winter it is a definite bonus. Without a goal in mind, I already started 3 afghans and a scarf.

    Though an outlier in the year’s goals is baby items: I might make some baby items, I might not. Another goal that I can’t measure is to use up yarn that I have or get rid of yarn that I don’t want from my working stash. Last night, I was looking for yarn to combine with some skeins that I was using to work on an afghan. I found some yarn to use, but in my search, I rediscovered yarn to make a couple of scarves. Surprise yarn is always great to find. As I was finishing my last scarf of 2019, I found some yarn that I didn’t like using, it was too bulky and I put it in the donation bag right away. I plan to do more of that this year. Someone else may like using it.

    There will be some colorful afghans made this year, because I am committed to using up what I have and not buying more. Not quite crazy quilt type, think neutral with pops of color. Getting rid of yarn that is taking up space is definitely on the agenda. I have purchased some yarns that I’ve liked from thrift stores probably from people like myself who didn’t like working with a project and just threw the whole thing into a bag to be donated or maybe a family was donating a deceased crafter’s unfinished projects. If you have the option, work with what you like and can afford. Life is too short to work with materials that you don’t like. I’m still going to experiment, try new yarns and also try to get to a non-big box, local yarn shop. I will definitely crochet (almost) daily in 2020, crocheting is like breathing and not even a goal.