Just grannying

It amuses me that I originally took this photo on my big camera, then saved it on my laptop, emailed it to myself, saved it on my phone, then played with it on an app (Afterlight) for the surround and a dusty filter, THEN saved it on my phone again, put it on Instagram, emailed the final result to myself, saved the photo on my laptop, then uploaded it here for use on the blog....all for five minutes of sunshine and photo out on the back lawn. 

Anyway...moving right along....this is the start of a pansy/violet themed granny square blanket.  I've done a few more squares since, but have put them aside to finish up a medal ribbon themed scarf (for my father), and to get starts/finishes on another couple of blankets.  It's a never ending story, and a great way of using up the stash.  I'm finding that, as this lean year progresses, I'm working my way through some lovely fibre, and have only purchased minimal amounts in order to fill colour gaps where needed.

The plan for the squares above?  Once I've finished eighty in this fashion, I'm planning to edge each in a neutral colour, then join.  It'll be an eight by ten mix, with a broad neutral border.  I can get about five of these middles done in a night, and it's proving to be very relaxing...unlike the photo saving and communicating process!

Yarnbombing

Well, this is only a temporary form of the great art of 'yarnbombing' (I've decided that it's a compound noun, no matter what anyone says!), but having had to dig this image out in the last week, I can't help but smile.

It's actually my most recent granny stripe blanket in progress (late last year), and it's hanging over the edge of a very elevated terrace at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.  It's a stunning day looking into the centre of Melbourne, and even though this is simply an iPhone photo, I think the nature of the city and the blanket alike are very well captured.

When I think of travelling, it's funny how many times I actually connect yarn to the concept.  I'd love to go to Purl Soho in New York, Loop in London, and possibly the HQ of Deramores, Shilasdair on Skye, and a few others in between.  What I'd do in an ideal world is buy some of their beautiful product, step outside, liberate a few loops and leave a signature little granny square or similar, then take a photo, just as a connecting marker of having been there.

Well, that is the dream, anyway.  I'm not sure if yarnbombing my way around the world is a feasible concept, but I'd certainly like to put it on the bucket list!

Heaps

I had to retrieve yarn.

It's said in exercise circles that, for a session to be effective, you should at least end up a bit sweaty and short of breath.  In that case, I've found the perfect workout.

I had to retrieve yarn of various types in order to get a diverse group to try out a chain stitch.  So I toted a variety, including chunky, acrylic, cotton, laceweight, fun fur (for hedgehogs more than novice crocheters), metallics, and a ball of Noro for show and tell.

The response from the new learners was that (apart from the fact that some of them obviously thought I was crazy...hey, it's a general 'train the trainer' class, not necessarily naturally disposed towards crochet love!) this was a LOT OF YARN.

Huh.  No, it's not.  Iceberg, tip.  Not even tip.  This is an iceblock tenderly removed from a massive glacier. I did a spot count while I was gathering the bundle above, and although I haven't been extravagant in purchases - particularly in the last five months - I have at least twenty tote bags full, along with four or five huge plastic bags that are probably double the capacity of each tote bag, one huge 125 litre tub, one 80 litre tub, two drawers in a deep chest of drawers, one big round tub, one basket, and a couple of other bags.

Too much?  Probably.  But it's a great resource and one that mostly brings me much enjoyment except for those occasions when it decides to collapse and get all muddled up in a tangle around my feet.  It represents the enjoyment of making projects, picking out colours and - in my present parlous state - 'shopping the stash'.  I actually look forward to the day - hopefully not too far distant - when I have made as much as I can from my present collection and can then assess my needs, rather than bored biscuit eating time orders, in order to build an informed yarn bank.

So yes, right now it's HEAPS of yarn - but it's also heaps of fun, heaps of resources (when did I get that Cleckheaton Merino Silk in a lovely eggplant shade???  Anyone????) and heaps of crochet stories just waiting to be told.

Ripple Done!

One thing I have learned, although it's a lesson that I try to deny - a week of intensive study with no escape, lasting for around ten hours a day including lots of driving, does not make for easy crochet time...or indeed for anything but taking notes and travelling.  Thoughts of sneaking projects in under the radar can be rejected when the lecture theatre is full of about 140 other people, and especially when the project in progress is a blanket at border stage (and I made that up myself, too.  I admire those who flatten the ends to create a full rectangle, but that's not for me.  I think the ripple effect throughout is the charm).

Weariness at the end of the day also does not make for effective border completion time.  However, it's beautiful and bright now, and only awaiting the birth of my niece in about seven weeks' time.  I also have a full range of the colours still remaining, having convinced myself that two balls of each colour would be needed.  Funnily enough, just one was required for all shades except the Ivory Pearl.  I'm quite tempted to replicate the whole project again.  Working with the Stylecraft WonderSoft Pearl was just lovely, and the end result is a substantial but not too warm blanket.

I hope the little one likes the final result - and that her mother (my sister) does too!

A blank canvas

There it is...a slightly crumpled, forgotten for a while, nearly finished, using the materials at hand.....twine bag.

It's one of 'those' projects - a combination of giving it a try, making it up, handy for hot weather, a spare moment, while chatting to visitors - you know the sort.

It can nearly be done without looking, except for the fact that the twine's hard on the hands and splits every third stitch - but that doesn't matter because it's cheap, natural, great texture and soft but structured overall.

It's round and round and how wide should I make the handles?  It's handbag size but could be a purse, does it need a fastening?  it definitely doesn't need a lining, how about a pocket?

It's almost an amigurumi bag in the making, nicely neutral like all those Ikea baskets and hanging pods that get Pinned, and then there's the questions of should I try a cross stitch on the perfectly suitable base?  maybe a rose or an initial or just a running stitch of randomness....or maybe it could spring with round flowers - crocheted and sewn - so that it's the background, not the feature, a solid garden bed to rainbow blooms.....

And it gets mulled over and nearly put away, but I know I want to make some more of these, because, like every just because project, it's the perfect food for thought, the inspiration, and even though slightly crumpled and tossed into the WIP collection of uncertain fate, it tempts me with every slightly clipped stitch - a blank canvas made of kitchen twine.

And finished!

Start...and finished!

There is no feeling of satisfaction greater than that of completing a project, and with a new baby landing in the family in just over two months' time, it has been urgent (to my way of thinking) to get as much as possible made before her arrival.

I made a little jacket, out of Rowan Pure Wool DK - which, I'll note, was lovely to work with in hot weather.  The pattern was a Cleckheaton number, and with all the seaming involved, reminded me why I love top down, no seam projects.  I don't mind sewing, but this was quite a test of patience and fortitude, and despite blocking, there are still slightly lumpy seams on the sleeves.  Then there was the incident of the third button down.

The third button down took half an hour and lots of blood (literally - I stabbed myself twice with the needle) to attach.  At one stage my younger brother was deployed to hold the jacket in place while I tried to get the button settled.  He gave up and I took a deep breath.  Finally, it worked, and the little jacket was finished.

I love these timber buttons with floral patterns, and have quite a selection now.  While actually attaching them is problematic, the result is worth the effort, and choosing which pattern to use is a fun exercise in itself.

Now it's back to the ripple blanket (part of which can be seen in the header) I'm also creating for my new niece.  I'm slowing down a bit on this one because of the need for new supplies, accompanied by extreme heat.  Working with a pearl acrylic is a bit slippery in such conditions.  It's quite intriguing to read of snow and rain....I find myself thinking wistfully of the need for a partial weather exchange.  We in Australia are dealing with the usual summer challenges - fires, cyclones up north - and simply facing the soaring temperatures each day as 40 beckons regularly is quite a test.  Just a few days of cool breezes would be most welcome.

However, I must admit that summer sunrises are a real highlight.  The one below comes from this morning, caught on my phone at around 6.30 am.

At least this is a nice way to start the day!

To start

It always begins with a yarn.

Cotton or wool?
Granny square or stripe?

Order online or hope to find something locally?

Now, that's a yarn in its own right.  My overwhelming aim is to use up the stash.  Until it's more economically viable - circa 2016 - finding 'something locally' is it.  And 'something locally' means unearthing whatever fibre I need in the cupboards, the bags and the assorted containers that have always seemed to - somehow - fill up without me even knowing it.

The last stash enhancing order (necessary for blanket in progress) went in this morning, after doing many financial permutations to see how the next year and a bit will shape up.  With study and the unknown on the horizon, it's all about being economical.  Fortunately, I crochet fast, I crochet even, and I crochet often.  You want a ripple blanket? Stand still for a minute (or a week).  Medallion bunting?  Done!

I started crocheting back when all acrylic squeaked, and the idea of Ravelry or Deramores was like believing in the Tooth Fairy.  Let's just say it was the late 1970s. I was an eccentric little tacker (nothing changes), and my late great aunt spent quality time teaching me chains, trebles and granny squares.  I have been thanking her for it ever since.  Somewhere out there is a flamboyant shell stitch scarf that I made for my father.  There's also a chunky royal blue baby jacket that I made for my younger brother, and he hasn't let me make anything for him since that scarring moment.  I even made granny square blankets galore up through early high school....and never realised I had to weave the ends in!  Ah, those were the days....

So, the challenges are:
- don't buy, use (exempting extreme cases of specific requests, or vouchers to LYS being given as presents by kind relatives)
- make something for my brother that he will use....Coaster?
- start an Etsy shop if the projects shape up
- enter competitions for tea cosies, scarves and a Roses and Daisies blanket
- make a few more bits and pieces for my future niece (due in April)
- add finished projects to Ravelry more regularly.

I think that's enough to go on with, and I look forward to sharing my successes - and attempts - with you along the way.

Detail of a larger project from 2013 - Summer Garden Granny Square blanket