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I found a medium sized bag of blue yarn from previous projects that I had been saving, which made my mystery ball grow exponentially. When I first started this I was thinking of dramatically switching up the color when I got to a certain point but the size that the ball is now has made me just decide to keep going with whatever I have remaining and use that as the beginning of a fanciful granny square with a blue center. I must’ve had this idea for a while, because there were dribs and drabs of blue yarn in resealable plastic bags and even divided by color and material. Scraps of wool are separated into their own bags. Anytime I have enough that would make several rows of a blanket or over half of a scarf, that is kept separately, because sometimes I like to do stripes or long rows of color.

This ball has grown large enough that I am fully committed to just blues, which still require a bit of planning, because not all light blues are the same and navy is a great neutral, but I don’t want to end on navy, because this is going to be finished in navy and it may not be the same navy, it may be dark blue, midnight, bright navy depending on what I use.

While I was searching for blues in my yarn bowl, which is no longer overflowing (whoo hoo!), I started putting some grays together and will likely start an afghan with different shades of gray and I have a small skein of a black and white blend which will be fun.

The granny square or when done horizontally instead of rounds, the fan or shell stitch in groups of 3 is my favorite. The pattern works up quickly and is a great way to use up yarn. Also, when I am in situations where there is low light or watching a concert or movie in the park, I am familiar enough with the pattern to be able to work on it without having to fiddle with a pattern.

Before I start an afghan, I need to see how much yarn I have to I decide on rounds or rows. If know I have a lot of yarn from previous project and enough to complete a few rows which looks nice when tied together with a neutral color, I will work the fans or shells of 3 starting from a chain of my desired length in the neutral and join the colors as I go. For smaller bits of yarn I will use up small balls in the center and grow outward and coordinate as I go along. Sometimes when I buy yarn for afghans, unless I have used that brand of yarn before, I might not purchase enough for an entire afghan. There may just be enough to add a splash of color to a solid, for a fun border or central theme.

I like the challenge of planning on the fly or planning not so far in advance. Or at least it seems like I haven’t planned that much, but I was since I had saved all of these small balls of blue yarn. I already know that when I have exhausted the scraps of blue that I will start an afghan with a fun blue center and a navy border. It’s really an underlying and understated plan, that’s not at the forefront of my mind, a plan nevertheless.

I have two mystery balls of yarn that I matched and wound on my ball winder. As much as I like to use up my leftover yarn, the process takes too long. Instead, I decided to try a new approach and wind as I go. I was thinking that I could wind the yarn on a nostepinne, but since I know how to make a center pull ball by wrapping the yarn around my thumb until it gets to a certain size, I just decided to start the mystery ball on my thumb. I had a couple of scraps leftover from an afghan that I have been working on and decided that those were a good start for my mystery ball on the fly. I wound those two, then I had another scrap and added that on. These three pieces were from my project that I work on at lunch, so when I remembered to take the ball home with me, I had additional yarn to add to it. So far, the colors are all in the blue family and I may just use the blues and see how many blues I can join together or will I suddenly make a change and find a color that will coordinate with one of the other colors. (I would like to create the mystery yarn ball equivalent of yelling “plot twist” by adding a neutral color – black, white, tan and then a bright neon colored yarn. Hmmmm???)

Adding the colors on the fly is fun and if I stick with this and choose to do this in the future I might make start a few in different color families like shades of brown, reds and pinks or go full color blow out and add a neutral between each color for a different look. So many possibilities!

By adding the yarns with the Russian join and a few flicks of the wrist, mystery ball grows much faster than stopping and starting when using the ball winder. My tension is sometimes off, especially when I have short sections or bits that may have snags. So far, it is easier to create the mystery ball on the fly, because then my ball winder is available to be used, when I am in between colors that I am adding to the mystery ball.

In a short while, the ball grew easily and I can put it in the yarn bowl while I find more yarn to add to it instead of tying up my ball winder. I’ll keep you posted…

and outdoors!

Summertime means outdoor movies and concerts and plenty of time for mindless crocheting. Though it’s only Tuesday I have already been to two outdoor events – a concert in the park yesterday and a movie tonight. I planned my projects wisely, sort of. Last night, I brought a bit of yarn which would give me a good start to a Granny afghan, I ran out of the contrasting color and will need more to make the afghan the way I really want it to be. So, I started another afghan today with some yarn from previous projects, some that was gifted to me and a couple of skeins thoughtfully purchased to tie them all together. Today’s afghan was better planned, though I will like both when they are finished.

Another reason that I’m stalled on yesterday’s afghan is that I have some yarn that I know I will have leftover from an afghan that is almost complete. I don’t want to start using the yarn for the new project, until I have finished the other. I may have several projects going at one time, but I don’t use the yarn for one while working on another. [That will just make me run out faster!] The yarn that I anticipate on having left over will tie things all together, though I know I will still need to add more to Monday’s afghan. That’s not the point, the point is it’s summer and just because it’s summer doesn’t mean that I stop crocheting. For me, it’s a year round pastime.

I enjoy concerts and movies but I wouldn’t crochet in a movie theatre or concert because it’s too dark. There’s just something fun about crocheting at a free event in the [“gasp”] summer that makes it much more enticing. Granny square afghans are quick and also allow me to match up random odd lots of yarn for something beautiful, because before you know it… it will be cold in the Midwest and people will need something to keep them warm.

Summertime and the crocheting is easy and outdoors!

Last week I talked about yarn subscription boxes and the desire to have enough to make something that I would want to make in the weights and I want, etc. I ordered some yarn from Joann with a coupon and it arrived.

I choose some yarns that I had heard about because not all of them are available in the stores. I purchased several Lion Brand yarns which were on sale for my “mystery” box of yarn. The one I was most excited about is the Coboo, a cotton and bamboo yarn. I choose a bright, cheery orange. It is soft and silky, but not slippery. Then there’s Shawl in a Cake, which seems to be a lighter weight of Homespun and Wrap Star which has several fine strands which you hold together to work with. I made sure that I have enough yardage to make scarves, you know my gateway project, in colors that are fun to work with.

I didn’t see any interesting yarn on sale during Amazon’s Prime Day and a few sites were having sales. I almost bought a couple of the Lion Brand mystery boxes for $9.99 but they sold out before I made up my mind, so since they were sold out, that helped me with my decision. I’m still interested in buying a couple of different yarns and trying them out, but I’m not in any immediate need for yarn at the moment, but when has that ever stopped me from buying yarn.

Stay tuned for the trial run projects…

I like that feeling of accomplishment… Mastering a new skill, finishing a book, completing an afghan, scarf or hat. It makes me feel like I am in control, well at least in control of some things. On the fourth, I finished two afghans that were in progress, worked on another so, I’m about 90 percent done with that, finished a scarf yesterday and started a new one today.

Some projects lend themselves to being finished easily – great yarn, pattern that you are comfortable with or sheer dedication to finishing a project. There are some people who will only work on one project at a time or read only one book at a time. Not me, I have several projects that I am working on at a time and then I get to the point where I will finish several things all at once. It’s not bad to have only one project in progress or several at a time. It all depends on your comfort level. I don’t like carrying things around, so once an afghan gets too large or there is about a third of an afghan left to complete… it gets put in the needs to be finished category.

Since I abandoned a project a couple of months ago, everything else has been good on the crocheting front. I have three afghans and two scarves in progress and I like working on all of them. One scarf is for a gift, the other to donate. Two of the afghans are too unwieldy to work on outside of my home, so that’s another reason why I start new projects – not enough to complete in the allotted time, or they are too large to carry to a Meetup (which is generally in a pub or restaurant) or work on at my local coffeeshop. I like having several projects going at once, it’s like cooking a large family meal, some things are easy to prepare and take very little attention – like boiling corn, while others need more attention and care – baking Cornish hens or ham and some you need to focus on the task at hand – making a cake from scratch.

Whatever your choice when crafting – one project at a time or several at a time – do what makes you happy. It’s a craft; maybe you work quickly or slowly. The process and how you feel when you are working on an item is just as important as when (and whether or not) you finish.

As I write this the temperature is 95 and the heat index pushes the temperature above 100. I like cool weather and I have had heat stroke one as a kid. It was awful. Heat stroke or heat exhaustion are real and there are warning about it today. My solution – stay inside at your home or a cooling center (library, field house, public area) and crochet!

When the temperature increases sometimes crocheters (and knitters) put their tools and yarn aside because they say it is too hot! Not I!

There is an excessive heat warning for the weekend in the Chicago area, like many parts of the U.S. People try to find ways to cool off and stay inside, just like when it’s too cold – many people tend to look for indoor activities. A wonderful activity that can be done inside, in the air conditioning, is crochet.

When I left for work this morning, I closed the drapes and the lights were off which I knew would help make it easier on my air conditioners when turned them on after work. The air in my home was much more comfortable, especially after riding on one of the few CTA buses with non-working air. There was a fan going, it was just moderately cooler in one part of the bus, but still better than outside. When I opened the door to my home, I breathed a sigh of relief, because it was cool just from shielding the rooms from the sun. After I turned on the AC and directional fans to help those pockets that wouldn’t get the cooler air without assistance… Bliss!

There is a real debate among crocheters and knitters who will not work with yarn when it is too hot. I probably won’t work on an afghan at the beach, but scarves, hats and other small projects are quite portable. Working on afghans while you are in the comfort of air conditioning is quite convenient. (Working on a afghan at the beach probably wouldn’t be a good activity anytime, because of the sand, wind, etc.) The benefits of crocheting at home when it is sweltering outside, is that you can wear fewer clothes in the comfort of your own home and still finish several rows. Plus, when you are at home crocheting, with the ac on, you don’t need to worry about being outside in the heat.

Many of us are accustomed to offices that are too cool and you have a sweater or wrap to provide a little extra warmth. That would be a great idea for a summer project. When you control the air conditioning at home, you may or may not have it on Antarctic temperatures as many offices and stores do, but it is cooler than outside. Crocheting is not a seasonal activity, it’s a hobby, a pastime and for some a career. If you are working so fast that you are sweating, then maybe lower the thermostat if you can. Keep calm, stay cool and hydrated, but whatever you do – don’t put that hook and yarn down!

My father has never wanted to learn how to crochet. He would be really good at it because of the math involved and he would really want to create uniform stitches. (He likes things organized and lined up.) He has never wanted to crochet but has always supported me in my craft. When I was younger, I asked him to drop off a bag of scarves at a shelter because it wasn’t too far from where he worked. He said that the people he gave the bag to were really excited and still talks about how he doesn’t think the intended recipients got all of the scarves, because the workers all exclaimed – “these are new” when they looked into the bag.

Just because my father doesn’t want to learn to crochet doesn’t mean that he isn’t supportive. He proudly wears things that I have made and wants people to compliment what he’s wearing – generally a hat or scarf so he can say that his daughter made the item. He talks about what I make for other people. He has bought me yarn and still drops off things to shelters.

Having a supportive parent is wonderful, even if you can’t share the activity or have no interest in it. My father doesn’t wear sweaters that often, but I’m sure if I made him one, he would wear it. He is excited when I give him something made especially for him in a color that will match a certain jacket or coat. Everyone should have that feeling that someone has made something for them.

I may never meet many of the people I make scarves for, but my dad is a great cheerleader… “How many scarves have you made? How many afghans have you made? What group are those for? They are going to like those.” It’s nice to have someone say so.

I forgot about worldwide knit in public day on Saturday – I had funeral to attend and forgot. In fact the friend whose funeral I went to, one of her most recent comments on my FB page when I said I would’ve run out of yarn if I had more time, chided me in a friendly way for poor planning. [And she suggested that I needed to buy more yarn. Everyone needs a yarn stash/hoarding supporter.] It wasn’t poor planning – I had more yarn at home, sometimes I underestimate my crocheting speed (and the skein’s yardage).

Actually, crocheting in public is something that I often do. The knitting [and crocheting] group that I belong to regularly meets in pubs or restaurants and we work on our projects out in the open. Last evening, I went to an event and knew that I would have a lot of time to listen to the authors read, so I started a new scarf in a simple pattern that I already knew by heart and made good progress. After each speaker, I put my work in my lap, applauded and then kept moving.

In some places, people are so accustomed to me crocheting in public that if I don’t have something out, they will ask – where’s your crocheting or what are you knitting, oh I mean crocheting? (Some self correct from knitting since I’ve told them many times before.) I subtly say I’m crocheting a scarf, or hat.

Knitting or crocheting in public isn’t unusual but it is a fun thing to see many people crafting all together. In fact, I still keep in touch with some talented ladies who I met on a cruise last year during the knitters and natters group (people are welcome to bring their own projects and sit and talk). The communal aspect of knitting and crocheting (or sewing) is fun. Some crafters like the comradery but need to focus on their work, while others will select familiar patterns and chat and go, whatever your style crochet, knit, sew – it’s good for your mental health and fine motor skills.

If you are like me and missed the worldwide knit in public day – brag a small project, and go to a local coffee shop, get your favorite bev and work on a project. If you are worried about people looking at you, it may be because they are eager to learn and are too shy to ask.