Winter Blanket

My winter project is getting too warm to work with! This tells me it's nearing completion, and that spring is on the way, for real.

We had a steak and mushroom BBQ to capitalize on the balmy (60° F) weather.

Photo: D. Schultz 

Double Duty

Crocheting blankets is doubly useful - it keeps me busy and focused in the winter months, and if I work quickly, I reap the benefits of a warm knee rug as I sit in front of the wood stove. 

The color palette was determined by what I could blend together with the scraps I had available. This is the second one I've made this winter, and it's getting less and less interesting to finish up but complete it, I will. This is a Tunisian crochet stitch that looks remarkably like the knitting pattern called stocking stitch.

Benefits of Industriousness

Ooh, one of the advantages of creating a blanket in winter is that the quicker you work, the warmer you'll be as you go along.

In other words, I benefit from my own industriousness😊

It is my "mission" not to buy new yarns, but to use discards and leftovers only. I pick up scraps from the transfer station or friends and neighbors' spring-cleaning to keep myself supplied. I like to try and make leftovers attractive, despite being discards. 

It's a challenge, since colors are not available in similar abundance, nor a common ply, and there's no guarantee that the colors will match or blend, but ... this is what makes it interesting to me. I see a problem that I have to work around, and it becomes an opportunity to get creative. It piques my interest and stimulates me.

Patterns with Yarn

I'm having so much fun using YouTube to find new crochet patterns I can follow. I'm amazed at how 2 basic stitches, combined in different ways, can produce such different textures and outcomes.

This one is so simple really, with a 2 row repeat. I like that the pattern reforms itself each row, without having to count stitches even! It feels thrilling to me to find out that I can do this! 

I pick up discarded balls and cones of yarn from our "Take-it" shop, experiment with different needle sizes and color combinations, and make straight up and down shawls: no shaping needed.

This shawl grew so quickly! Completed in 6 days.

Each time I start a new pattern and color, I feel excited. It's the possibilities, the potential outcome that thrills me, and keeps me going. 

Dallas Does Crochet

Dallas seemed to want to try her hand at crochet after noticing my previous unsuccessful attempts. Though it started well, I had to take over because she couldn't resist playing with the moving yarn, plus she kept dropping stitches and making frayed loops - not really her fault, since she doesn't have the requisite opposable thumb needed to make her grip less tenuous. 

I began this shawl at least 6 times, experimenting with stitches, tension, ply- and hook- sizes. I wanted something less crochet-holey looking, and more knitted in appearance. I'm pleased with the way it's finally turning out - hopefully, the shawl I intended from the very start will end up as a comfort shawl this time!

Then this happened: I wasn't turning my work and counting the stitches properly in each row, and the shawl started shrinking and then increasing again along its edge. Not good. So I pulled it out again, down to about 4 inches of work.

I know whoever gets this shawl will know that I've included many thoughts of perseverance and good karma into it without losing hope!

I'm now this far into it, having pulled out another 10 inches or so because I didn't like the color flow. I'm going to edge it off with the navy color all round.

From Shawl to Blanket

I began a new fiber arts item, attempting to make a shawl for my friend's "Cozy Butterfly project" (https://shelleyburbank.com/cozy-butterfly-project/). I decided though, that I was much better at crocheting than knitting, so wanted to try making a crocheted contribution instead.

Somehow, I got carried away and miscalculated how wide the shawl needed to be. Instead of pulling it out and starting again, I decided to use up some odd balls of yarn and continue with it as a campfire blanket, or knee rug. 

I tried something from YouTube called the crochet knit stitch; this is how it turned out. It doesn't look like knitting to me, so when I start my Cozy Butterfly shawl again, I'll have to try something different.

Matching Mats

 

My latest crochet project - not perfect, but ... ok for home use. The color appeals, and the heft is nice, like a weighty blanket.

Sun, shadows and railings created this effect

Crocheting Time-Out

This us why I give up on shaped, hand created items ... the cardigan I crocheted just doesn't hang right, and I couldn't really tell until I was assembling it. Ugh. This is why I don't enjoy making my own clothing: it never seems to fit as it should. I can't bring myself to get back to it to fix it - YET. It'll need a severe pulling out, but until then, it's been discarded in this spot for at least 10 days now, in timeout!

Punishment corner ...

Creating is Life-giving!

How weird it feels to analyze what I'm doing with a piece of thread ... I'm 'knotting' or weaving it in such a way as create a whole piece of fabric, stitch by stitch, row by row. It's such a simple and basic thing, and yet gives me so much satisfaction. And then, when I stop to look at the product of my labor, I can appreciate and value the outcome of my time spent. I love creating!

When I first revisited my ability to crochet about 3 years ago, I practiced on all manner of leftovers and oddments of yarn, satisfied that I was able to create a recognizable and useful product. As time has gone by though, the desire to work with a yarn of my choice, both in color and texture, and with the luxury of quantity, has brought me even more fulfillment than I could ever have imagined.

The act of creating is amazing. I feel accomplished and proud to be creating a 'whole' from pieces of yarn, of crafting a story from  pieces of language, of producing a meal from pieces of produce, or of composing a photo from pieces of light.

Hack Failure: Update

I'm disappointed to report that my hack of using plastic bread ties as stitch markers for my knitting projects is not working. It seems that the slit in the plastic is too big or loose to be reliable. They've been falling off my work as I move along the row ☹️

I'm now simply using safety pins. Easy-peasy. Paper clips would do the job too, as would cheap key rings, or real jewelry.

Sub-stitch-ution Solutions

Yet another yarn saga! I gave up completely on my maroon shawl, and started off with a whole new pattern and color! I thought a lacy shawl would be nice, so I should try a fancy pattern. Using black as my yarn color seemed a good way to mask errors!

I got quite far, and then decided that the errors I KNEW were there, were just not acceptable, even if most people wouldn't see them. Believe me, there are loads of mistakes in there, and I'd not feel happy about giving it away to someone, nor even wearing it myself! I just couldn't live with the fact that the lacy holes didn't line up and kept changing their location. (I think I'm a slow learner - I'm NOT a knitter!)

So, I undid it and began again, this time realizing I'd need to use stitch markers, which I didn't have. And then I found I had a great new use for my little collection of plastic bread ties in my 'messy' kitchen drawer. They slide perfectly onto the yarn, or the needles, and stay put because of their ingenious little slit!

Twist ties are also a perfect stitch marker substitution. I just couldn't bring myself to buy a specialized item like a stitch marker made for the knitting market, when it is was super easy (and much more satisfying) to be resourceful.

The Saga of Loops, Drops & Clusters

After knitting a comfort shawl recently that did not require any shaping or stitch changing (i.e. just like a scarf, but wider), I decided it was time to be more adventurous in my next pursuit. Enter YouTube, and a few searches, making sure to include the word 'beginner.' I watched a few demonstrations, and then decided on a pattern, and got going right away. 

It's always exciting to try a new pattern, and I was pleased with the look of the stitch for this quite coarse yarn (makes my fingers feel dry and rough as I work with it). I wasn't happy with the raggedy edges, though. I also had a sneaking suspicion, that this method of creating a triangular shawl was too steeply shaped (starting at the point and adding just one stitch each row), as is obvious from the photo. 

Since it hadn't taken me very long to get that far, I wondered if I should begin again, modifying the way I start and end the drop stitch row (Drop stitch? Who knew that was even a thing; I'm always trying NOT to drop stitches! Some smart person decided to make a feature of it!). Or maybe adding tassels will hide the loopy edges?

Well, I pulled it all out instead - the shape really wasn't going to work well in practice. I started something new and complicated instead - a pattern labeled as 'Advanced Beginner' - whew, it's difficult, but I definitely love the new challenge. I'm not sure how far I'll get ...

Oh no! This one uses Cluster Stitch, and you have to be consistent about keeping your work in the same orientation - in other words, count rows & stitches, so that the pattern stacks up consistently, and pay careful attention ... ! I'm certainly learning a lot. 😀 

I've pulled it out again! Too many errors were creeping in, and the pattern was the kind that was unforgiving, such that errors grew on each other. I started this difficult pattern once again, pulling everything out and beginning from scratch. I watched the video instructions afresh and with new insight, after having become more familiar with the sequences and new stitches, but, alas, barely 4 rows in, and the stitches don't match up to the instructions by the end of the row. Back to the drawing board! And though I pulled it out and I tried again two more times, I still couldn't get the stitches to line up according to the pattern. 

Infuriating! So, I picked out another pattern entirely, with a 2 row repeat (no clusters or drops), and not choosing one that stated, "if you're expecting to knit mindlessly in front of the TV, this is not the pattern for you." 

We live and learn ... even if it's learning that some things are too difficult for my skill level!

Fun without Electricity!

 

We were without power for a total of 43 hours after our recent heavy snowstorm. I was determined to maintain an upbeat demeanor and not let the unfavorable situation get the better of me. Since I was spending my time knitting during the outage, I though I'd make a video of the calming, soothing activity, as a sort of Zen-experience.

So, I placed my headlamp on my head, put my phone into video mode, and slid it onto the front of my head under the headlamp strap. I picked up my knitting and began clicking my needles through the row, when Dale looked over and saw me with my phone protruding from the top of my head. I heard him exclaim, "What on earth are you doing?"

Not wanting to ruin my video, I didn't respond, but instead began giggling and shaking in my chair, trying hard to keep knitting. The giggling got too much for me, so I grabbed my phone off my head and stopped the video. I played back what I had captured, and it turns out, that not only did Dale's question intrude upon the video, but I had forgotten to change the camera direction when I pressed record, so it was facing backwards: all I captured was the top of my hair and scalp, which began wobbling and shaking with my laughter.

I did try it with the camera facing forward after that, but it was pointed at the woodstove, not my knitting. In retrospect, I'm not upset that I didn't record what I intended - the process of doing it (incorrectly and unsatisfactorily) gave us a good laugh in difficult times. You're never too old to have some simple, home-made fun! Release your inner child 😂.

P.S. I deleted the video before I decided to write about it!

Discovering Old Skills

Three years ago, I stumbled across the fact that the crocheting I had been taught by my Grandmother was an intact part of my muscle and cognitive memory. I hadn't kept it up since learning it as a pre-teen, but suddenly in my fifties, it became obsessively engaging and soothing! I hadn't taken to it at the time I was being taught, probably because I automatically rejected things that were stereotypical, gender-specific at the time of my upbringing. As such, needlework, fiber-arts, or cooking were a definite NO-NO for my self image. 

It really stung, though, when I was forced to choose between Home Economics and Accountancy at our small Catholic school (150 students total, and 15 in my Senior Year), and I HATED Accountancy EVEN MORE PASSIONATELY than Home Ec. I was embarrassed to be taking it. It seemed like such a bad fit for me. 

There was no option, as far as my parents were concerned, to switch schools where more choices were available (putting their daughter in a government school was NOT an option, and the next closest Catholic school for girls was too far away to be viable), so I cringingly chose Home Ec. It forced me to study Mothercraft (bizarrely, taught by a nun!!!! Go figure), Needlework, Sewing, Nutrition, Cooking, and Home Decorating - everything I rebelled against as definitions of who I was, or wanted to be. In our senior year, we created the outfit we would wear at our Senior Prom - it was required to have an inlay as the technique to learn - it turned out horribly! All I liked was the color.

So, back to the present. Despite my inner rebellion, and my determination not to focus on skills exclusively for women when I was growing up, I'm in a place now where I've discovered that some of these skills give me pleasure (and I can savor a glass of brandy at the fireside while I do it, or binge-watch an adventure TV series).

The pleasure for me is in the creative challenge, to form something new and unique, as well as in the soothing process (when it goes smoothly) that accompanies it. After reviving my crocheting skills, a friend's recent project to spread 'love and encouragement to women who are emerging from difficult circumstances' (https://shelleyburbank.com/blog/) has inspired me to try my hand at knitting.

And, joy! I can do this, too! I was taught about 50 years ago, with little to no practice in the interim. I don't seem to have the mental obstacles and fears I had as a child when I was tackling these activities. I feel freer and way more confident. There's no fear of failure, or wasting my parent's resources that were invested in buying the patterns, fabrics, matching thread, buttons and zippers, or yarns and different sized needles. Plus, YouTube has been an invaluable resource to learn and follow new patterns and stitches, for free.

How exciting it has been to find uses for knowledge and skills long buried.

Creating Memories

A friend's Mom gave me a whole pile of yarn some time ago, and I've been using it to keep myself busy this year at home. This piece has been sitting at my TV chair for months, only picked up in the evenings before bed. It was a way to use up a series of single skeins that weren't enough to complete a project individually, and hence the uneven width of the stripes. It's become a warm, heavy throw, probably good for keeping feet warm at the bottom of the bed (for those whose extremities reach that far). Or a TV or fireside blanket.

I thought I'd finish the border whilst watching figure skating performances on YouTube ... hah! That was impossible. I found myself stopping, with my needle and yarn in mid air, mesmerized and glued to the screen, my heart in my mouth, as the Ice Dancers performed incredible lifts, spectacular spins and graceful glides. That memory is now woven into this blanket.