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!
My 2019 crochet goals have changed a few times. I met the baby hat goal, original scarf goal, then added a hat and scarf set goal, then met and exceeded that goal. Now everything that I’ve made has been donated. This leaves only 8 scarves to finish for the modified scarf goal. Four are in progress and no holiday gifts are on the horizon, so I’m ready to keep plugging away!
The holiday season between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day can be stressful. Since my counting of completed projects is inaccurate until I’m ready to send them, I chose to make more hat and scarf sets to donate. Ambitiously, I was going to make a nice round number of five, but decided to not impose added stress on myself and donate the four completed ones.
Pressure to create is real for many people especially those making Christmas gifts. I’m not making anything for anyone – yet. But, I’ve been in that position before, so I chose not to put any additional pressure on myself and concentrate on meeting my revised goals. The four scarves in progress means that I and a few stitches closer to the goal of 75 scarves. How do you meet your crafting goals – one stitch at a time.
This is how I feel when I have to frog projects and rip things out. Only to have to rip out a section and start again. I tried a new-ish stitch pattern. I liked how it turned out the first time I tried it with a different yarn and thought that the stitch pattern would look nice in a color changing yarn. It did but the yarn was a heavier weight and made it a difference in the drape. At the end of the rows it started curling up. The rows were the same width but there was a slight curl on the edges like a soft ripple.. I persevered. Then when I added another skein of the same yarn, same dye lot, same hook, same stitch and everything… something happened. The rows got wider. I had mistakenly added a stitch. So I ripped everything out from that section and began again. It happened again. I checked and counted and there were the same number of stitches but my gauge was totally off with the addition of this new skein. I tried a third time. Same thing.
Then I decided to give up, rip it out and find a new stitch. I only did a couple of rows because I unraveled, and rewound and started fresh in an open shell stitch [Star stitch, from the Crochet Bible], one that I hadn’t done in a while. It’s similar to the Iris stitch that I started in the current lunchtime scarf. It’s started out better than the previous one and I don’t think my gauge will vary. Some stitches work best with lighter weight yarn to create a better drape with the yarn. The heavier the yarn, the “less fiddly” or rather, simpler the pattern should be because the weight of the yarn is an element itself and changes the drape.
The pattern I used with the single crochet starting row and additional stitches at the ends goes like this: