Tag Archives: change

Crochet Review

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ScannedImageI never intended to be quiet for the month of December, but the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas just disappeared in a blink. I had many things ready to write and post, but my world got caught up in birthdays, families and traditions.

Speaking of traditions this is the usual time of year for reflections and promises of goals to accomplish in the next 365 days. I usually take some time reflecting on the year my family has had when I write up a Holiday letter, but that did not occur this year either, however I am sure it looked like many peoples. We made new friends, we lost others. We had highs, we had lows. We overcame challenges, some small, some large. We gained, we lost. We dealt with change, both positive and negative.

I thought I would take this opportunity to do something that I never have done before, reflect on where my crochet has been in the last year. I am not meaning focusing on my designs, or where my designing has gone this year (even though I can see it growing and it is definitely on a journey), I mean my actual crochet. Highlighting the moments of understanding and conceptualizing with clarity some stitches or techniques I have taken for granted.

MC900222914In 2013 I can say that I put to practice the concept that was introduced to me in the fall of 2012, using much larger hooks then would be expected. It has made a much greater drape in my work, and opened me up to some yarns that I felt were more limited in the past. It is a simple concept that I did not really put to understanding, but after some play it has changed my perception of Tunisian crochet, as it has made a great difference in this stitch technique for me. The work curls less, is not nearly as stiff, and can have a flow like silk in some cases.

I have also paid more attention actual stitch construction. This sounds like something I really should have understood well before now, but once again it is something I took for granted. I knew the parts of a stitch and how to create them, but this year I spent more time playing with how each part affects the stitch and what happens if they are changed. This has opened a completely new door for my thoughts, that I am sure will be carried forward with me for many years to come.

I have also really paid more attention to my finish work. After many discussion with other crocheters (and even some knitters), I began applying new ways of finishing my work, and seaming. The differences are subtle, but subtle can definitely make the difference.

So, basically, it looks like I learned a lot this last year from playing. I hope that I have more opportunities to play, in the upcoming year; and that the adventure in learning, even from things I think I know, never ends.

My Color Change

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ScannedImageSometimes what makes the biggest difference with the appearance of your work, are the things that it is assumed you know. For crochet this means those little things in a pattern that state; “weave in ends”, “change color”, “finish off”, “yarn over”, and the unwritten beginning slip knot.

These are areas that I have taken a little time and explored, to see what feels most comfortable to me. I have some past posts talking about weaving in ends and yarning over, so today I thought I would take a look at color changing.

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Completing a stitch and working the next stitch in a new color

I have played with a couple different approaches to changing color since I started crocheting oh, so many years ago. I think in the beginning I just tied the colors together, sometimes at the end of my last stitch and started the next stitch with the new color, having a little knot at the top of the stitch. I mean I would cut the working yarn and tie the new color to it, and just keep crocheting away, so it was just one long piece of yarn in my experience. It is not exactly perfect, always a little unsure of exactly where the color will change at, and then there is the little knot, so it adds a slightly different texture.

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Changing color at the last yarn over of the adjacent stitch

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Smooth transition of color, see how the last loop of the purple stitch actually rests on top of the next stitch shown in the previous photo, creating a straight white line

Then I graduated to the point of changing the color after completing a stitch, and begin the new color with the next stitch. It was similar to the cut and tie method I did in the beginning, but I did not necessarily create a knot. I would cross the yarns over each other so that the last loop of the first color would get to loose. But if you look at this approach, it does not leave a smooth “straight” line of the color change, there is a little color overlap in the newly created stitch. The reason for this is due to the stitch construction for crochet stitches. The last yarn over and pull through of a stitch, actually creates the top of the next stitch adjacent.

So then I realized that I needed to change color at the last yarn over and pull through of the point of the color change. This gives me a cleaner color change, and a secure transition of yarns. It allows my work to have an appearance that looks a little more skilled. Granted I have ends to weave in, but this simple technique has taken my work to new level.

Inspiration is a Time Not a Thing

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ScannedImageInspiration, it does come from where you think and often comes to you when you least expect it. I had an acquaintance tell me that I was an inspiration the other day. I accepted it as a compliment, but I have to admit it really got me thinking.  What makes an inspiration? Where does inspiration come from? Do I take it for granted at times?

The context of the compliment I received was in discussing what I do for a living, I am a freelance crochet designer. But I haven’t always been. Much of my life has been in public service; assisting caregivers and older adults in locating resources to help stay at home and meet their wishes for aging gracefully. (If you are needing assistance please contact your local Area Agency on Aging office, they cover the entire US, and are amazing almost hidden gems) But things changed at my local government office and circumstances changed in my life, there was no longer a match that was positive for both of us, so the little design hobby that I began a year earlier was now my full time passion.

When explaining this story, probably with a little more gusto and some extra details that don’t really add to the basic premise, I had inspired this acquaintance. When I asked how, they told me because I had the courage to step out of what I had already known and believed in myself. That is a powerful statement.

I never really thought of my life in that manner before, believing in myself and taking a risk, it was just the option available to me at the time. But I guess in a sense they are right. In the last 2 years that I have been doing this work, it has changed how I look at things, but that is a discussion for another day.

Usually when I think of inspiration it is something “out there” somewhere in the universe, but really we are all inspirations to each other. The simple decisions, which each of us makes, reflect to others and encourage them to find more in themselves.  Our growth is unseen to us, but noticed by others, making a difference that we cannot even recognize.  It is kind of like kids growing over summer, they haven’t realized that they grew an extra two inches in three months, the parents may not have directly noticed it either, but when they put the school close back on of the first day, or grandma comes to visit, you find the pants that are well above the ankles and that grandma is not bending down to give hugs; growth has happened.MP900070786

So I guess inspiration is that point in time when you see or hear something that you really need to, in order to help point you in a new direction, and open up possibilities in your mind of where you want life to take you. Inspiration isn’t a thing, it’s a time. Even artistically this can apply, one day a sunset can inspire a new stitch pattern or color way for a design, other days it is just a sunset.