Finishing a WIP is just plain satisfying. Nothing like making that last stitch on the round, or the border, of a WIP and knowing you're done. Especially if that WIP has haunted, um, sat around for a bit.
Two WIPs are happily folded and available for use now, and one is receiving some much needed attention.
This small lap robe is one I haven't featured on my blog before because quite honestly I had forgotten about it. Yup, it's been that long. I was rummaging through the current WIP projects looking for a yarn color and discovered it quietly waiting for some attention.
I pulled it out and started working on it as an away-from-home project. The pattern was enjoyable, although I couldn't quite memorize the pattern and had to refer to the first few stitches of every row throughout the entire lap robe. I likely won't stitch this one up again.
Details: Red Heart Pattern LW3973 Rainbow View Throw. Yarn - I Love This Yarn in colors Forest, High Sierra Ombre and Light Taupe.
This next one I started as a mood afghan in 2014, but the block size as prohibitive as a daily block. It was put away until earlier this year when I had a plan to redo the afghan. I was doing well until life began getting hectic.... alas, it's finished!
I used the flat braid joining method. I had originally joined with a slip stitch every so often, but I didn't like the gaps that method left. Since I was ripping the blocks apart, I changed my mind and am much happier with this join. It's a bit fussy, but the finished product is worth it!
I used Red Heart and I Love This Yarn for the blocks.
I could've never finished this as my mood blanket. Each block takes almost two hours to complete. The pattern is beautiful, and can be made to different sizes. It's Arches by Dayna's Crochet.
This has now become a WIP, I'm sad to say. It's the CAL from Zooty Owl. I am time challenged, and was doing okay in keeping up.... until the block strips weren't the same length.
There was some stress in life, and I just didn't want to deal with it. When I went to pick it up, still didn't want to deal with it. Luckily, I didn't have to! A fellow crocheter helped me with joining the naughty uneven strips!
So I'm working on the blocks to finish joining the parts together. the colors are absolutely beautiful in my living room and go perfectly with my curtains. All yarn is I Love This Yarn from Hobby Lobby.... so very soft!
I'm excited to continue this trend... but I've started another CAL. This is from Sandra at Cherry Heart. I'm already behind, but it's okay with me. Details in an upcoming post!
Enjoy the fall weather. Curl up with your crochet project when the weather isn't so nice outside!
Happy on the Hook!
Gwenhywfar
My mandala is done. It didn't take long, just one night, but it took me some time to determine pattern and yarn colors for the mandala I would contribute to the #MandalasForMarinke project. I was trying to determine what color palette and what pattern I wanted to use, and that was a process. I decided on her Summer Hearts Mandala, and the color scheme is meant to reflect peace.
I didn't know Marinke Slump personally, but I had followed her blog for a few years and enjoyed her creative style and love of crochet. For her, crochet was a way to manage depression. Sadly, Marinke took her own life the end of July. Kathryn Vercillo of Crochet Concupiscence started a project to honor Marinke and raise awareness of depression. The crochet community was deeply impacted by this loss, and aim of this project is to gather mandalas and stories from the crochet community. It will be a wonderful explosion of yarny color, celebrating a young woman who touched so many she never knew.
The mandalas will be posted on Kathryn's website with the #MandalasForMarinke tag and promoted through social media. Each post will include at least one fact about depression to help raise awareness. All of the crochet and written work will be curated into an art show in San Francisco in late 2015/early 2016. In addition, all crochet and written contributions will be compiled into a book associated with the art show, available for sale online for those who cant attend the show. A portion of all sales from the art book will go to raising awareness about depression. The mandalas will be donated after the art show, how/who is still to be determined.
Deadline to have mandalas postmarked is Aug. 31, 2015 October 15, 2015.
My mandala is done in soft hues, representing the peace I hope Marinke (Wink) has finally found. I decided to contribute after hearing the news of Marinke's suicide. Crochet has always been my way to relax, de-stress, cope with all the things that pile up in life. I want others to find the peace I have found in crochet, the peace Marinke found in crochet. That's why I chose to contribute to this project - so others will see how much it means to me.
Rest in peace, Marinke.
I was trolling the social media world today and came across another blog post about knitting in public. The post questioned whether it was considered rude to knit in public or "perfectly reasonable to do so." After reading the entire post, I tend to agree with the final 'rule of thumb.' Generally speaking, if you're in a public space and your knitting (or crocheting or other activity) may imply lack of interest or attention, put the hook down. It's only common courtesy and we would expect it as well.
This post did make me stop and think, though, how my crocheting in public may appear to others. Would anyone think I am being anti-social, or as this post implies - rude? I have never had an experience like that. In fact, most of the time when I'm crocheting in a doctor's office or other similar place waiting for something I have comments from fellow yarn lovers and even from those who ask what I'm doing. I find it's a great conversation starter, plus it passes the time and keeps me less stressed while waiting for whatever the reason may be.
My crochet doesn't always go with me, but if I think there is a possibility of getting some hooky time... a WIP is most definitely with me. Not only does crocheting or knitting pass the time, it's been proven to reduce blood pressure, relieve stress, calm nerves, etc.
I would have to agree, however, that I would not crochet during a presentation, poetry reading, meeting, etc. where my attention should be fully on the task at hand (no matter how uninteresting the topic may be!).
So, the Golden Rule applies here as well. Do unto others as you would have done to you. If you wouldn't want someone knitting or crocheting or whatever during/where you are at, then it probably isn't appropriate to be doing it yourself!
Happy on the Hook!
Gwenhywfar
This has now become a WIP, I'm sad to say. It's the CAL from Zooty Owl. I am time challenged, and was doing okay in keeping up.... until the block strips weren't the same length.
