My new routine includes going for a walk which is a way to be more mobile, since I work on the computer for hours each day and then read for a bit. There’s no walking to from public transportation to the office. My route varies and I enjoy seeing the flowers and little free libraries that are decorated in different designs. I also check out the offerings in the boxes to see if there is anything I’d like to read. My walks have also become inspirational, not just in the spiritual sense of taking a break and movement as a way of relieving stress, but inspirational as in seeing the different colors in nature or art installations that give me ideas on how to combine different colors in scarves and afghans from my stash.
Hibiscus, lilies, peonies, impatiens, the lake, bushes, mosaics and murals are some of the things I notice when I go walking;
not just the wonderful fragrance of the flowers and greenery but the vibrant colors. Then when I come home and look at what colors I have and can combine. Even if I don’t have the same colors to replicate what I’ve seen, ideas come to me. Until recently, since the beginning of the pandemic, the only yarn that I purchased was for a friend’s gift. A few days ago, I ordered some natural wool because I didn’t have any and needed some for a dyeing project and didn’t want to pay shipping on my order. This means that colors I would not have normally put together have been combined.
For August, I set the mini-goal of 10 scarves. I’m getting to the interesting color combination phase of my crafting. there are some yarns that I was given and can incorporate those colors with what I have. Even looking at some of the multicolored yarns with abrupt color changes gives me ideas of color combinations.
Planning isn’t really that involved especially for a scarf. This is how the conversation in my head goes: “Not enough of this and not enough of that? Well, let’s put them together and see how it looks!” This happened when I combined two green multis to make a scarf. In the photo, the light section in the dark ombre looks white but it’s a light mint. The yarn was leftover from another project and it was too much to add to a black/multi ball and not enough for a scarf or hat on its own. In one of the bags of assorted yarn that I was gifted, there was a two strand mint/light green yarn that I decided to experiment with. The mint was too heavy for a baby project, it was a heavier worsted yarn than dk but still soft enough for an adult scarf… what the heck. I’m pleased with the final product, though the pictures don’t do it justice.
Combining colors helps me use up what I have in creative innovative ways to make truly unique items. Also, it helps me put off winding yarn.
Happy crocheting!
The collection of black and mystery balls that I have been amassing – I have four complete and one I’m still adding to – are waiting for the right pattern. I want something that isn’t a granny square, maybe another open shell type pattern but a pattern that will make the colors stand out. It may be as simple as two or three rows of alternating front and back post or rows or a few rows to make it seem like blocks of color.
There are a few ideas that I have considered, but I need to make sure I have enough yarn, especially if I choose a stitch pattern that creates a more solid fabric. I want the color to make a statement in a unique way other than joining colors that aren’t in the same color family. The black breaks up the flow and this will definitely make a statement.
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.
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.
Last Saturday, after exercising and showering before my busy Saturday of reading on the couch, I went shopping in my yarn stash. I found some yarn for hat and scarf sets and other small projects…
Black ties all the colors together nicely. Many yarn companies make color changing yarns and some of the combinations are striking. Why not make my own? Wool yarns or fancy yarns aren’t included, but ombre, color changing, are all included. This is a fun and different way of using up yarn. I plucked a ball of yarn out of the yarn bowl to start the ball rolling (bad yarn pun intended) and I wrapped black around it until I felt like changing colors, then kept alternating between a color and black. I use all of the color, then wind some black around.
This is a work in progress because I need some additional colors to add to the mystery ball with black. Two full pound skeins of black with the colors interspersed should be enough or at least a good start. For the mystery ball that’s just yarn joined together, no amount is too short. If it can be joined (using the Russian join so it’s somewhat seamless) and it coordinates with the color it’s being added so – it’s included. Unlike the black and color balls, the mystery ball is solely color and colors are matched together as they are joined. In a run of three colors, the one in the middle coordinates with the ones on either end of it. When I’m ready to use that ball, I will use it two stranded with a lighter weight black for as large of a square I can make and then complete the rest of the rounds in black.
Solo hats were not on the agenda but as I’ve been going through the yarn I have, I’ve been finding leftovers from previous projects that aren’t enough for an afghan or a scarf. That’s how a hat came to be, I had almost enough yarn for a hat. Then I found a similar yarn in a different color way for a contrast and just decided to put them together. It’s very warm because of the chunky yarn. The hat looks better on than just laying flat on the table. I found some other yarns to use for a hats because when there’s a little of one color and a little of another in a similar yarn but not enough for an accent in a scarf, and the colors coordinate – a bold hat. I found a skein of yarn that I really like and I can make a hat. Baby hats may be on the horizon as well. Though the little red hat projects has ended, other groups seek donations of baby items and I found enough yarn to make a baby hat or two from previous baby gifts.
I miss eating and laughing with my knitting and crocheting group while sharing a meal, but we still share photos of projects online. Use this time to focus on your craft, continue on the projects that have been languishing, or be bold, unravel them and start something new. Use your craft to keep yourself from unraveling.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.