Hey, A New Project!

This time it's a crocheted afghan from a kit, the Northern Lights afghan from Herrschner's. The yarn is nothing fancy--not spun from the hair of female French goats fed exclusively imported grasses from the foothills of Bordeaux, and then dyed using only organic nuts and berries, or anything like that... It's just your basic, 2 ply acrylic afghan yarn.

But it's pretty!

Anyone who does any kind of fibercraft, knows that making something from a kit is like cooking from a recipe...usually you can't resist making changes. I wasn't especially thrilled with the pattern that came with the kit, so I went with a basic ripple pattern, and also made it wider & longer than the 40 x 53 the kit calls for...which means I'll have to order extra yarn, since these kits are notorious for giving you just enough yarn, and no more.

The nice part about crocheting an afghan in winter, is that it keeps you warm as you make it!

Drawbacks, though? Yes, please!
Since you work with two skeins of yarn at a time, and switch colors every two rows, you have to pay *close* attention to the color changes, working in the new yarn at the correct spots. Also, I'd like to throttle whoever is working the machines that make the yarn skeins--every single skein had lots of places where the yarn had been cut and tied back together, and they all had some pretty serious tangles, as well. I had many opportunities to practice finding my zen while spending loads of time untangling yarn.

Outside of that, it's a fun kit that works up fast, and the frequent color changes keep you from getting bored.
I love the colors, my daughter says it looks like green hills, with the ocean and a sunset.
I have to agree!

Necro'ing Another Old Project!

Another crochet project risen from the dead!

This is a ripple baby afghan I started no less than 11 years ago for my own daughter, that got stashed away due to my injuring both hands in a fall down a flight of stairs when I was 9 months pregnant. The subsequent surgeries and physical therapy that followed made things like crochet impossible for a long, LONG time, but I decided just recently to try again and I can do it for really limited amounts of time. All that origami folding has paid off & helped!

So time to break out the mothballed projects, yay!

It's made from Hayfield Pretty Baby 'Changes' yarn from the UK, which in 1999 went for $4.45 a skein at my local boutique-y yarn store, long since gone. Sheesh...

It sure is pretty yarn! The color changes very nicely from shade to shade and makes for a really nice finished product. I only have 1 1/4 skeins of the stuff left...I wasn't following a pattern when I made the blanket and just kinda winged it. So it may work out to be a decent size or be a bit small. I was wondering why I hadn't gotten more of it at the time, until I realized how expensive it was when I bought it.

Also, I dunno what I'll do with it, although my daughter has taken a fancy to it!

I broke out my 'Future Projects' binder (doesn't everyone have one of these?) yesterday and was amused by the pink freebie flyers I picked up years ago from Super Yarn Mart, long since gone. I'd forgotten about those and it was fun to see them again and have memories of the place come back...I used to love going there and looking at all that wonderful yarn. It's a real pity that sewing/notion/needlework stores are disappearing here in southern California because no one does things by hand any more (even with the advent of Etsy & Ravelry!)...you'd think with all our modern conveniences we'd have MORE leisure time, not less. Oh, you can buy things online, I know, but that doesn't compare to being able to run out and lay your hands on the yarn RIGHT when the mood strikes and take it home that day, and being able to see & touch the various fibers. That's how I used to pick out what I wanted to work with--by seeing it in person and being able to handle it.

I have at LEAST two more half-done crochet projects lurking out in the garage, too. One is a regular-sized afghan in blue & green tones, the other a throw in brilliant scarlet chenille--gorgeous yarn!

Edit: I just noticed the sticky note I'd left myself in the project bag for this afghan, which reads 'USE SIZE 'F' HOOK!' I'd apparantly taken the hook out before storing the project...

I had re-started this the other day using a size 'G' hook. AHA HA, that's a good joke on me, how funny! *whimper*

*Rip, rip, rip, rip...*

Again.

*sigh*