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.

UFOs no more…

Many times people talk about WIPs – works in progress or UFOs – unfinished objects. While I may have five or six projects in progress at a time, I do finish them. If I abandon a project, I try not to let something languish too long. This past week, I finished several projects and then started a few others. Scarves are the most portable projects but generally I may have anywhere from two to four afghans in the works as well. Here are a few of the finished projects from this past week.

Navy is my favorite color. Then any shade of blue will do. Then I like neutrals – dark brown, black, but who am I kidding? Give me blue, blue, blue!

Yet, when I’m working on different crocheting projects, I choose colors that I may never wear but are bright and fun. Just because someone is in need, doesn’t mean that they can only have drab colors. Some organizations request colors that won’t show dirt very easily, like cream or white. And while I don’t generally work in white, because it would be too difficult to clean, a tan or khaki color won’t show dirt as much and that’s about as light as I go. (For a gift where I know the recipient has access to a washing machine, that’s different.) There are lots of other colors that are bright, fun and fabulous and will make people happy. Though I’m not a fan of pink, I will select a few pink hues or a rich magenta that will brighten someone’s day as well as warm their neck.

As I’ve mentioned before, scarves are projects where I can do a test run on a yarn to determine whether or not I really like the yarn for a larger project. I might not make an afghan out of a color changing cotton and viscose yarn, but it made a lovely scarf. A shocking pink afghan might not be to everyone’s tastes but in a scarf it can provide just the amount of whimsical cheer that is needed in the bleak, dark winter in Chicago.

All bets are off!

When it comes to buying materials or ingredients for things, I’m all for saving money and buying what you need, except when it comes to yarn (and ground beef). When I buy ground beef, I can always make something with it, pasta sauce, tacos, burgers or make extra taco meat and freeze individual portions for a meal at a later date.

This is kind of how I feel about yarn. While I do have a sizeable working cache of yarn, I do reach a point where I use most of it up and have to replenish or find something to break up the monotony of a project. This year I have made a commitment to make 40 scarves as a personal goal so I have been buying up yarn in scarf sized lots – especially for untested, new yarns. Rarely do I abandon a project because a scarf is a low stakes project and I will generally finish a project if I like the yarn unless it is wonky or terrible. I may not use the yarn for a project in the future, but I will like it enough, there’s the possibility I will purchase more.

The age old question arises – how much is too much yarn. I belong to a few crochet groups on Facebook and there are some devoted to certain types of yarn. Mostly the acquisition of the yarn, because there are more pictures of yarn hauls than of finished projects. Then there are posts that people will share of what another person has generously gifted them and there is a picture of the haul.

People have given me hauls of yarn and I will either use it or share it with other crafters. There are some yarns that I don’t like using. Currently I have five works in progress – some I work on in various places, such as during lunch at work, so I leave this growing afghan in a bag under my desk. I have in my crochet basket by my bed, another by my favorite chair, a small portable scarf that will fit in my purse and an afghan I just started at my knitting/crocheting group this week – solely because my other projects were too large and unwieldy to work on at the time (and I like to work on scarves during intermissions and talks, not in a group).

I don’t think there is too much yarn, if you are actively using it. There are times when I slow down on my active purchasing, but if an incredible sales comes along or there is a yarn I want to try out, then I will get it. I won’t refuse yarn and I won’t pass up a great sale, especially knowing I will use the yarn.

Here are some photos of the recent projects I have been working on. The yarn that I dyed with Easter Egg dye and was all dyed together yielded an interesting dye pattern. I am fascinated how this turned out and will try this again. I liked the yarn, which I purchased at Webs.

The remainder variegated yarn that was too much to add to my mystery ball without being overpowering have been put together in this colorful afghan. Instead of completing a certain number of rounds in this large granny square afghan, I complete as many rows as I can. There are a couple of colors that have an odd number of rounds or incomplete rounds. The black pulls everything together. I wasn’t sure about this at first, but as I have progressed through this afghan and tried to go smallest amounts of variegated to largest, it’s starting to grow on me.

There were several reds and variegated red skeins in my working stash. I decided to make a mitered granny afghan with large swaths of red separating the variegated sections. It’s shaping up well, though I didn’t have enough of the red that I started to use, so fortunately I was using a non-dyelotted yarn from a big manufacturer and just bought a bit more to finish up this  one. It’s fun only working on two sides and it works up quickly.

Everything isn’t all roses in crochetland. I have a scarf that I have been working on and I have decided to abandon it because the plies of the yarn are too “splitty.” I have tried different hooks and a different stitch pattern. I think this was just a defective skein. Twisting it just a little bit more has made it better, but I’ve put it aside too long and it’s been floundering for several weeks. (Generally, I complete a scarf a week, along with working on other projects, so I’m done with it.) I’ve had it for a while and it was a gift, so I will just take my hook out and put it in a bag for donation. Someone else might not have the same issue that I have with the yarn. It’s ok, but there are so many other great yarns that I have that I don’t want to waste time on a project that I don’t enjoy.

To plan or not to plan… That is the question.

Often, when I begin an afghan I don’t purchase all of the yarn at one time, unless it is a solid or variegated that I have become smitten with and plan to use.

Generally, what happens is,  I begin a project with some yarn that I have in my working yarn bins (completely different from my stash) and hopefully fish out enough to complete the project.

Another scenario is that I have selected too much yarn, in that case the remaining yarn goes back into the bin or I decide that I am going to start something and see how much I complete before running out of yarn, then I go to the reserve and see what will work. Since I buy many neutral colors to use for afghans and also use many non-dyelotted brands of yarn, this works well, especially if I need just a yard or so to complete the project.

Then there is the third type of project which requires me to go to the store and purchase something suitable to go with the rest of the project. This doesn’t happen often, because I try to plan and have more than enough – sometimes a skein or so remaining which I can use for another project.

My method would probably drive some people mad, but I look at it as a way to use up the yarn that I have in interesting and unique ways. When there is too much left from a project, but not enough for a scarf and too much to add to the yarn bowl for future mystery ball use, I will make afghans with stripes or bold swaths of color. When as many complete rows as I can finish are done, then I take the remainder and add it to the yarn bowl. I try not to waste yarn. When it happens, its because it is too twisted, or knotted, so I toss it.

Making an afghan and sometimes a scarf is like cooking, just throw some complimentary spices together and see what happens. In this case, using complimentary yarns will yield a n interesting project. This picture shows some variegated yarns that I am using for a granny square afghan. The plan is to complete as many rows of a particular color as I can and then each section of color is separated by 3 rows of black yarn. Next post, after I have completed a few more rows, I will show the work in progress…

Fellow crafters – do you always plan your projects or play chicken when you run out of yarn?