Crochet Crotchets

I admire that craftiste who, upon finding the pattern of something which she desires to make – (say, for argument’s sake, the crocheted jacket on page 10 of Margaret Hubert’s “Runway Crochet)” – opens the cupboard containing her yarn stash, frowns a bit, then says “yes, that’ll do nicely” to some skeins of something and, just like that, starts to make the (again, just as an example), close-fitting long-sleeved  Juliet Jacket.

 

I admire her because she has made up her mind about the pattern , she has the right amount of the right yarn, she knows the right size, her tension is good,  and she just – starts.  It’s not like that for me.

I bought Margaret Hubert’s book at Colonel Light Books, a marvellous second hand store along with a copy of “Knit Your Own New York”.  I had to leave other lovely craft books behind.  Should you be thinking of adopting, there are many very appealing homeless craft books there.

Have I now started the Juliet Jacket?  Oh no way!  There’s a lot of pain to get through before I get to that stage, silly. I have hummed and ha-ed and carried on like a pork chop about how to make this jacket, out of what type of yarn, in which colour, on what hooks, what size and blah blah blah. I have made swatches from this yarn and that one and another one.  Here are two examples –

I have now bought a ball of pretty blue cotton from Spotlight (only ball they had, of coure) and  ordered a ball of Debbie Bliss stuff from Deramores to experiment with (in picture above).  Why don’t I just use the recommended yarn, you ask?  Too expensive ( these experimental yarns are free of course) and it looks too thin, particularly with my tension problem. I SO want to make this jacket but  I need a break from the boredom of swatch-making and so it has gone on the back-burner.

http://www.fabulousyarn.com/artyarns_silkrhapsodyglitter_light.shtml

My tension problem?  Not high blood pressure.  My crocheting is too tight and too “short”.  When I crochet a swatch, although it might be the right length, it is always too “short”.   I have recently found an excellent video which I hope will help – I must remember not to be a yanker.

On Facebook I saw a beautiful part-finished rug in Bouvardia Tokyo yarn.  The pattern is Frank O’Randle’s Galaxy of Change.  So lovely!  So different fom my usual rugs.  Being inspired, I started the rug in Tokyo and it was  just dull.  So, being inspired by another example on Facebook I started the Galaxy of Change again – this time in  Bouvardia Lollypopp.  I think I lilke it.  Do you?

You can see that it is bubbling because of my poor tension but I am not worrying about it too much.  I can improve it a little with blocking and it is a rug, after all.  It doesn’t need to fit like a Juliet jacket.  Sigh.

See further progress on the Juliet Jacket and other bits and pieces here.