Friday, August 23, 2013

It's time!

2013_08230004

You know, 3 months ago I put my crochet hook and yarn down, and I said "I'll get back to you very soon".....then the move got in the way and the drive and setting up a new house, and family moving in and before I knew it, the very soon turned into months.

Crochet, as you know, has always been my way of relaxing and de-stressing, it's always been that one go to when I'm sick or feeling a little down.  No matter what was going on, it relaxed me, and I've missed it so very much.

I know I said the other day that I was getting back to it, but guess what???  Homeschooling started and that got in the way and so here I am, back at square one, and ready to just get to it.

2013_08230003

These baskets and bags have been sitting here waiting, patiently...sometimes not so patiently as I've found some yarn on the ground having fallen off.  Now of course I know it was one of the kids or the dogs as they walked by, but I choose to pretend that it was the yarn jumping out, begging to be made into something cute.

I have so many projects saved that I want to make, quite a few actually.  They're all saved in my Crochet Folder, and sometimes I open it up and look and go through the list, but then I get a bit overwhelmed so I close it again.

I decided that the best way to tackle this is to open it up, and start right at the top, go one by one and make my way to the bottom.  Right???

Or at least that's what I envision happening, though to be completely truthful, I have a feeling that I'll get halfway through and get distracted with something else. HA!

2013_08230006

For me the best part of the whole process, from start to finish, is picking the color.

Sometimes it just comes to me, but then other times it is frustrating because I just can't seem to decide.  That is when I turn either to the web and look through color wheels or my favorite.....I just look around and get inspiration from items in my home. 

2013_08230007

One of my most used color schemes?  Inspired by my Cath Kidston items.  But then I don't have to tell you that, I'm sure you already know.

2013_08230009

And one of my most enjoyable yarns to work with???  Crochet thread.  Oh I was terrified the first time I tried, I felt like I had huge fingers and couldn't hold the delicate thread, but once I got the hang of it, it was just pure joy.

Matter of fact, I am making some dishcloths using double crochet thread, it works really well.

2013_08230010

So yes, I am ready to get back into it.  I am smiling so big this morning, if only you could see me.

2013_08230012

I do have to finish this blanket though, it's been sitting around waiting.  I can't just crochet this one, I am kinda weird when it comes to blankets because they're so big and take so much time, I always have to make sure I have a small quick project on hand to break the monotony. 

Am I the only one who does this???

Alright, now I'm curious.  How do you crochet, do you stay on one project until it's finished, do you have a few going at the same time, do you prefer yarn or crochet thread and the question I am most curious about......what is the ONE crochet or knitting item you have sitting in your basket unfinished???

And I'm talking about the one item that has been sitting there for years LOL 

I'll tell you about mine.  It's my African Flowers Blanket!  I know, it's a shame because it's so gorgeous, but I ran out of the yarn I was using and now I don't know what to do, not sure whether to buy more and continue to make it into an afghan or if I should use the individual flowers to make an owl which I'm leaning heavily to.   Decisions, Decisions!

Your turn!!!

10 comments:

Naomi said...

I am terrible for having multiple projects on the go at one time (and not just limited to crochet either!) and find it so hard to stick to one thing at a time.

My unfinished item is a japanese flower scarf. It has been sitting in a bag for over a year now which is such a shame as it's beautiful silk/merino yarn but I just can't get motivated with it! I think it's because it is for me and I feel a bit indulgent, I always make things for the house or for Emma or other people!

xxx

Deb J. in Utah said...

I too enjoy crocheting and find it very relaxing, but like you, put it aside when life got busy. I thank you for your inspiration to pick it back up and maybe do just a bit each day, because I do have some projects I would like to finish. I would love to crochet an afghan for each of my kids, so if I start and work just a little bit every day, at least I will be making some progress, instead of looking at my crochet bag and wishing that I had a whole bunch of free time which I don't right now. Hope all is going well. Have a nice weekend!

Sherri B. said...

I have promised myself that I will follow the example of you and others and start this Fall on at least one project...and finish it too!

I love seeing your wood stove and thinking how nice and cozy you all will be this winter.

Have a lovely weekend. xo

Anita Philipps said...

I'm weird....I take breaks when doing my ”crafts”. I'm sew a bunch of things. Then get burned out, move on to crocheting a bunch of things etc.

My unfinished is a crochet owl hat for my cousin's little boy.

I have taken a crafting break as we had our fourth baby 5 weeks ago. I do miss it though

Mary said...

I used to do embroidery and cross stitch. The cross stitch, was mostly samplers, but embroidery projects, can occasionally take on a life of their own.. and I too would put one down and start something else, something smaller that I wanted to prioritize.

I have been promising myself to learn crochet, start with a granny square type project. I just would like to find a tutorial that plainly explains granny squares without too much jargon, and with pictures.

A few questions for you, Sandra. I enjoyed this blog article, and when you started talking about, for example the cotteon crochet thread, I was hoping to see some of the dish clothes you make with it. Is that the type of material you use to crochet socks? I'd also like to know, do you recommend crocheting with cotten yarn or the acrylic yarns? Each time I go to the store and go to the crafts department, I walk around and get lost in looking at the various types of yarn/threads, and would like to be better educated on what is the best to use for what. I'd love to have the benefit of the knowlege of an experienced crocheter.

Debby said...

I don't crochet but I have the same problem with sewing, quilting projects. Sew much I want to do but I keep jumping around. Longest in my UFO basket are Christmas stockings for our grands, the little girls will be 3 this year!! blush. PS I want to buy some of your dish rags so get busy!!!

NITA said...

Lots of UFOs Crochet, cross stitch, plastic canvas...I have four babies, two weddings and a secret sister I am doing projects for...
My Mom always called it her Nest because projects seems to multiply by the chair...
And of course for every project we need a new bag : D

Connie said...

The colors of your yarns are so beautiful. You seem to have a good eye of what goes well together. I not so much. I'm always at a loss as to what to put together.

Connie said...

The colors of your yarns are so beautiful. You seem to have a good eye of what goes well together. I not so much. I'm always at a loss as to what to put together.

Amber said...

What happy photos in this post! My too-long-WIP is a hexagon granny afghan that I've been making for my daughter. My goal is to finish it and give it to her for Christmas.