Stash Designs

I think life has finally settled down enough to be able to actually devote time to a post today (here's hoping anyway). I wanted to show you all pictures of the recently completed Skipping Stones Afghan. I finally tucked the ends in Sunday night and got out this morning to get pictures. This afghan was both easy and difficult. The pattern, the stitches used and the sequence of the pattern were not particularly difficult; the part that got me was that it wasn't something I could work on with my mind off on other things. I had to use markers to keep my stitch count correct and found it too easy to mess up the count even with them while trying to watch television as I crocheted. I frogged this poor piece many many times before I finally got it finished. I am grateful that I decided to use good old R.H. yarn because I'm positive most other yarns wouldn't have been so forgiving of the frogging. This particular pattern is one I've had in my WIM's folder for as long as I've been back crocheting. I just hadn't found the yarn I wanted; was looking for a nice bulky weight in vibrant red which is actually what the pattern itself calls for and more importantly (since I tend to make patterns in whatever colors I actually want to use) my absolute favorite color. I am just tickled with the outcome of this endeavor.

I've been reading a lot lately about how crocheters' design. It's fascinating to see inside the minds of people whose works I am creating for myself now. I am, as you know, a budding designer but so newly into the venture that I am in awe of some of the creations I'm seeing published these days and quite certain I'll never be able to come up with such delightful and intricate items like this crocheted halter dress http://www.medidit.com/free/sleezy.html or this crocheted lace dress http://www.interweavecrochet.com/projects/crochet_LaceDress.pdf.
As with all thinking processes, people approach the idea of crochet designing from many angles. Some people are visual, some are textual. I like that not everyone does it the same way. Would be a boring crochet world then for sure! It also assures me that if I keep learning and working very hard at it I will eventually begin some of this type of processing myself. Maybe then I will get bold and begin designing skirts, dresses, shrugs, jackets and other intricate items. Makes me a bit impatient with the scarves and scrunchies that I'm currently drumming up, but then I've always been the sort of person who wanted to run before walking. I love how some people just play with different yarns, or pick up a particular yarn and ponder on it, or pick up hooks and ruminate over them and how yet others sketch something out in their minds or on paper. The results are exploding attitudes about crochet within the general population who sometimes tend to want to impose the cliché umbrella image of little old ladies crocheting shawls and air freshener covers. I'm sure many of you remember the air freshener commercial that did such an injustice to crochet as an art and a craft insulting crocheters everywhere! How awful to think that the masses have such attitudes about our incredible craft.

I have been a bad bad crocheter again! I suppose if I actually HAD any of that jelly yarn http://www.3dimillus.com/ around someone would have to give me twenty lashes with it. I imagine it might actually hurt . My best crochet buddy and I went to Hancock's Fabrics the other day and there were two bins of yarn marked down from $5.99 to $1.20. Needless to say that resolution on no yarn buying until I cleared out my stash went out the window yet again. I ended up with such yummy yarns that I've just got to share the pictures.