Thursday 18 February 2016

A Secret Crochet Confession

Can you keep a secret?  If so, read on and be prepared for a shock …

The news I am about to reveal about myself is bordering on the scandalous:


I confess

that


 I have barely picked up a crochet hook in weeks, 
maybe even months!



Shh!  Don't tell anyone!

Close friends will attest this is quite out of character for me but before your audible astonishment gets too carried away, let me explain:


It's all good.

It has simply been a ridiculously hectic time with lots going on with family and household.  By the end of each day, I am too exhausted to reach for my crochet but exhausted in a good way.

At last, after getting through the busy end-of-school-year and Christmas–New Year seasons, then navigating the back-to-school information overload,  I am reaping the benefits of last year's hospital treatments. What a relief!
view from my hospital bed last year. One can see a jug and glass on the overway, the bed controller and nurse call button hanging on the bedrail and an infusion pump with the accompanying tubes.
The hospital
treatments worked!

It is so exciting!  My energy levels and my stamina have improved and I have been able to do things that were impossible to even contemplate only a few years ago. 

I have been very busy catching up on all sorts of physical jobs around the house that have been waiting for years to get done;
 

Filing cabinet drawer front
It feels good to
regain some order.

 
e.g., sorting out the filing cabinet–a task that used to be regularly undertaken at 6-monthly intervals but I let that routine slide when I became ill; doing some household cleaning to my standards and filling in the gaps that often get glossed over by hired help.  

What's so exciting about such mundane things?  The fact that I can now do them! It is so satisfying at the end of the day to know that, instead of unravelling yarn, I have unravelled a little bit more of the chaos that was trying to infiltrate my household while I was so incapacitated.

It was such a treat to be able to accept invitations to go out to see friends instead of them only ever coming to my home to see me.  

A crocheted circle with a red centre and red arms gently spiralling outwards interspersed with yellow V-shapes which have dark blue between the stems of the Vs.
Crochet with friends a few weekends ago.
Time to play - 4 ply cotton colourwork in the round.



 










The edge of Sarah's blanket lined up across the edge of the table.  Also on the table is an iPad and a skein of purple-blue yarn which is the current colour being worked.
Sarah's blanket progress.

There we were, three of us with hooks in hands and an entire afternoon to dedicate to ourselves, our crafts and
our friendship.  

It was a welcome time to play and reacquaint myself with tapestry technique in the round while my friends continued with their blankets and throw rugs.

A close up of Sarah's multistitch blanket. It is worked in very bright 'zingy' colours: green, orange, pink, purple and blue.
Bright and cheerful
South Australian crochet by Sarah.
She is a beginner and this is her first blanket.
Sarah credits "YouTube Girl, Multistitch Blanket"




A close up of Meredith's corner to corner blanket.  The long colour changing yarn creates diagonal stripes of varying widths.  Working the rows on the bias (from corner to corner) gives the blanket excellent drape.
Meredith finished a corner-to-corner blanket with another gorgeous mix of colour.
She used 12 skeins of long colour changing yarn.
Meredith noted with interest that the colours looked quite bright in the skein but once juxtaposed in the blanket, they developed a more muted tone overall. 
So beautiful!



I like the colours of my free-formed circle but the 4-ply is very thin and fiddly. I am seriously thinking of undoing it but I am pleased with the effect from a couple of hour's crochet. 

Do you think I should (undo it) or keep it for a future project?  

Coincidentally, this week's blog entry by Helen of She Loves to Crochet, was asking the very question, "Do you ever change your mind and rip it all out again?"  I might have a very timely answer for that one! 

Even though that might have been the only hook-handling in recent weeks, I'm still thinking, planning, viewing and reading about crochet when I can!

And that's not the half of what I've been up to but it's time for this very tired typist to sign off now!

Happy days!




Related Posts on Lupey Loops





References 


She Loves to Crochet by Helen, "Half Term Treats", blog entry, 13 February 2016: http://shelovestocrochet.blogspot.com.au/2016/02/half-term-treats.html

 

4 comments:

  1. Hi Jodie, I'd keep the motif for now and see if it inspires you. Glad you have been feeling better. Thanks for visiting my blog and the link above, I sometimes don't pick up a hook for a while either, shh! Hx

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    1. Hehehe! I don't feel so guilty now! Yes, I'm inclined to agree with you about keeping the motif for a little while until I am either inspired to develop it further or desperately in need of the yarn scraps. I hope your hook is in your hands this week because I am interested to see what your frogged yarn becomes after your photo teaser. ;-)

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  2. How wonderful you are feeling better! That is terrific news. And with a friend named Meredith how can you ever go wrong?
    Hugs,
    Meredith

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    Replies
    1. Haha! Of course, Meredith is an excellent name to go with excellent friends. Thank you for your regular encouragement.
      I don't know how long this 'feeling better' is going to last - I am madly trying to do as much as I can while working hard at the same time to restrain my enthusiasm so I don't overdo it. A "crash & burn" (as my GP describes it) is not what we want at all!
      Hugs to you too :-)

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