Bucket and Twine
For all things crochet
In a major fiber slump …
Wow, it’s been a long time. Maybe, it was Christmas. Burn out. It happens. I was churning out projects faster than requested, but now … I’m in a slump.
Nothing is calling my name. Patterns I’ve saved are just, blah. Blah, blah, blah and more blah.
I needed a change. Watercolor, gardening, and now, jewelry. I’ve twisted wire, strung beads, knotted pearls, and tatted necklaces for few decades now, but haven’t touched my tools for about a year.
This weekend I broke them all out. My case of beads, caps, niobium (yummy) wire, and got to work.
Melancholy.
Melancholy. Depression. Loneliness. Emptiness.
It’s all too real. I haven’t added to this blog in months. I had such high hopes for what I wanted to accomplish, but … in the end … it was really about filling a void … a chasm, really.
Each tiny stitch is a moment of profound loneliness. There are thousands and thousands of stitches this year.
I taught myself to knit. Why? Because, I teach myself something new to distract myself. I started last year with three sweaters, finger-less gloves, two scarves and some wash cloths … all beginner stuff. All easy peasy. This is my fourth sweater. Leah has requested an ocean-themed sweater with a puffer fish. While I love this new skill of mine, it does make the mind wander. My mind stumbles deep into a dark forest. Stitch after stitch. Row after mindless row. Knit, knit, knit, knit, knit … knit … darkness.
Some city tree trimmers are out on the driveway checking on a neighbor’s tree that looks a tad close to the power lines. Quickly, I set down my knitting and scurry up the driveway to chat them up. It’s my first “grown up” conversation in way too many days. I’m starved for human interaction. So starved, I’m sure I look like a crazy lady.
They look at me surprised and little scared (we live in a horsey-rural street on the outskirts of the city with quite a few “eccentric” neighbors … you know, the kind that shoot the gophers in their backyard). We chat. It’s nice. I stop myself from asking two strange guys back to the house for milk and cookies. I wonder if they would think it’s strange to offer to crochet them a quick hat since they are bare-headed and it’s cold outside. Too much? Yup. I realize I’m being the “weird” girl and retreat back to my little house.
I’m not going to knit anymore today. I will write it all down. Maybe, I’ll sign up for a class with actual people in it. I can teach myself to do almost anything, but I can’t stand the loneliness of the house anymore. I need friends. I need a social life, and social media is not a replacement for actual adult contact.
I don’t know what will happen with this blog. I just wanted to reach out in the off chance that someone out there may be feeling the same.
Tunisian Crochet Smock Crop
It’s too hot! Too hot to make blankets or sweaters or anything thick. I did have some super soft lightweight Knit Picks Shine Sport yarn that I’d been saving for such a day. This yarn is HEAVEN guys! Pima cotton and modal make for fantastic fabric! It is sock weight, so it’s not too thick for a top. And, at $2 a ball you can fill your cart with a multitude of colors!!!!! I used exactly two balls for this little top for my 8 year old. That’s a $4 top gals! Read More
Tunisian Wrap Top
Ahhh … to find a pattern you love only to discover that it is in a language you can not understand …
It happens to all of us who browse Pinterest only to discover links that loop back around to Pinterest or are in a language we don’t understand. Again and again we keep finding ourselves staring at a photo of the perfect pattern wishing our parents would have sent us to Ukraine or to Japan for boarding school.
Projects, projects and more projects
A few months have passed, and I’ve been busy, busy, busy. I think I’ve tried to post about a half-dozen projects or more, but get bogged down by school ending, vacations, birthdays —- you know, life.
So, I’ve finally reached a point where I can finally start writing it all down. Below are some pictures of what I’ve been up to since my last post. Some are from my own imagination, and some are patterns I will be writing reviews for. All pictures are of my own work … nothing “borrowed” from Google Images, I promise.
Let me know in the comments section which project you would like me to cover, and I’ll make that one a priority. Happy crocheting!
Charts!!
(Pattern notes on the above top can be found here)
You know what’s better than spending hours rewinding and skipping through You Tube patterns? CHARTS!
Visual learners, this one’s for us.
I must admit that I am waaaay late on this one. What have I been missing? Only about a million free patterns from all over the world. No translation required, no ginormous sentences explaining a simple shell stitch, no wondering where the pattern writer is taking you. It’s there. All there. For your gorgeous eyes to soak up.
The Ridged Granny Square
It’s amazing how a little texture can upgrade the simple granny square. Today, I’m going to show you how you can alter this simple pattern with a simple “front post double crochet.” Read More
Join-as-you-go Granny Style
This is a wonderfully fast way to work up a blanket. It’s perfect for anyone needing a quick way to join their squares. It works for any granny square pattern, and you’re going to love it! Read More
The Starburst Granny Square
I keep seeing this square popping up in my Instagram feed, and I had to give it a try. If you can’t read a pattern, yet, this one is perfect for you! You gotta learn sometime if you want to take advantage of everything crochet has to offer, and this one is simple enough to dive right in to pattern reading.
The No Seam Solid Granny
The Solid Granny square is as versatile as it is beautiful. There are so many ways to use it that you won’t easily become bored. It is worked in much the same way as the clustered granny, found here, with only a few little changes. Read More
Bucket and Twine 