Happy New Year 2012

How am I going to start again? It's been too long, almost a year since my last post.

Year 2011 went with lots of knitting, some crocheting and hardly any drawing.

There were no trips to other countries, no significant vacations. All in all nothing

truly interesting happened.

I hope this new year

have been mostly following other people's designs, which is good in a way. I needed somewill re-kindle my interest in drawing and scrumbling. My projects

time off from my imaginational designs. That way I am able to start fresh this year.

Mind you, I made some freeform creations for FreeForm International annual chal

lenge, and some scrumbling in the summertime, when I was dog sitting Jasper, my son's dog. I stayed in their home two weeks. That green scrumble was my achievement in freeform projects while staying at my son's home.

I am hoping to begin this new year with more of my own ideas and creations, however, if there

should be any gift projects, those usually are done from patterns that other people had designed.

If you are interested, here are some of my freeform scrumbles and projects

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9793630@N03/sets/72157601039327688/

Slow motion time

It's been, once again, a long time since my last post.

I've been riding on a free form crochet road like a mad person, and have reached a frustration city. I feel like I am in a tunnel, but there is no light at the end of this one.
There are only scrumbles that don't want to fit anywhere.
(See the explanation for scrumbles at Sylvia Cosh and James Walters site, quite interesting)

I am using crochet thread in different sizes, the thinnest being size 20, which isn't too bad, just nerve wrecking to see the blackness in this delicate thread.

I have hoped to finish this creation by the time I will travel to Knit and Crochet Show in Buffalo. It is in four weeks. Some would think I have lots of time, but when I make one idiotic scrumble in one day, and then either "fix" it, or frog it, then it becomes an idiotic object. I need quite a few sane pieces, but am unable to go beyond the box. I am very surprised that I, a free spirited, laid back individual, would be so stuck in only a few stitches, and does not feel comfortable to make a double crochet stitch, or any other after making chains and single crochets, occasional half double crochet, picots, and buff and limpet stitches, that's about the size of my range of different crochet stitch world for this project. It seems to be a lot, but there is not very much variety in the travels. Oh, I forgot the occasional flower motifs, that do have some double crochet stitches. Hmmm. I need to take another look at my project today and hope that something will look like a vest or a shawl or a headband, my head feels very big these days, not because I am good, it's because it's ready to explode.

Yesterday, while chatting with friends at Purple Purl, I felt brave, and tried to make a circle that was in a pattern in a crochet a magazine. That was to follow a pattern. Ok, sometimes I feel very self assured, and thus started making this said circle, but came to the last stitch on the first row, and got stuck. I could not tell how to make the joining stitch, perhaps because I had incorrectly started the first one. My frog pond is getting very full, since there was another one for the pond. It's been a constant battle with this project, and I had an insane moment the other day, I took scissors and ALMOST cut the whole dang thing. I stopped, though, when I started sobbing and the scissors got wet from the tears that fell on them. Oh, no, I cannot have any stains on this thing.

I then forced myself to crochet something, since I had planned to stay for a while at the store, besides, my parking ticket had another hour and a half left, so I was not going to leave, not only for that, but also for the fact that I had a full cup of coffee in front of me. Oh, and the main thing to stay was to wait for my friend Sherri to arrive.

Well, once I got home, I started again, and this time I was fairly excited because I was able to create a scrumble that actually fit in between other scrumbles, well, with a little help from some
ever so eager chain links.


Here is a short video from Mendoza. I wish I had taped more.

My latest obsession

It was Cricket weaving loom in a Lion Brand newsletter that tricked my interest in weaving.
Oh, I was in love, it looked so neat. I asked my friend Noreen for her opinion. Of course she liked the loom. I got very excited and started using my math brain cells, and this time they worked, and I came to a decision, this Cricket was way over my budget in price. First, there is the over the border hump, the dollar amount has to be brought over it, and then the carrying charges, plus the customs officer's salary has to be paid somehow, so Canada Customs probably would take someone's hourly pay from me.

I was not ready to fork out that kind of money, so I settled on a potholder loom, which is going to cost me an arm and a leg to get it over here, from the good old USA. I also won one weaving loom at the e-Bay, and that shipping isn't free either.

Plus the books I now need to learn to put yarn thru those wasps, ooops, warps....let me check it that is the right word. Sounds weird, but I think that is the word. Anyway, I have now spent the amount of money on other things, including some knitting and crocheting books, that I would have spent on that Cricket. I am not sure if I have done a right choice. I will, I know, buy that Cricket one day, too. Unless I absolutely hate weaving.

My friend Sherri would know exactly what I mean by upgrading the tools section in crafts. She spins, and has some nice equipment to do that. Just like that Lucille 2 in the picture, with Hugo sitting on top of it.

While I am waiting for my nice looms, I am knitting socks, crocheting freeform scrumbles and dream about having enough time to finish all my WIPs before May. Why May? because I have to have my job stuff done
before I go on vacation. That's why.

Why do I love Free Form Crochet?

Sometimes I sit at the table, idle, not knowing what to do, because it's either late at night, or early in the morning. Oh, and on the weekend, when I really feel lazy.

I have yarns, threads, needles, bags, hooks everywhere, but nothing invites me for action. I have a summer sweater on the go, on knitting needles. It looks very inviting, but my fingers just don't want to get in to touching the work.

I am staring at the tencel yarn I bought yesterday at Knitter's Frolic. It's supposed to go with the tencel I had bought at CGOA Chain Link shows. The yarn was for a shawl, original plan! a knitted lace shawl. However, like so many other "I'm going to make"s the shawl never got started. Instead, I tested the yarn with a crochet hook; started with a little circle, which was looking quite interesting. I love variegated yarns, specially when I have no idea how the colors are going to travel.

A scrumble was born, and another, and another. Soon I had a small collection of scrumbles, done with my "shawl" yarn, mixed with some Clea thread. I decided that I needed a solid color to join the scrumbles together. Hence my trip to Knitter's Frolic. Those two cylinder like tubes in the picture of yarn and scrumbles are my finds at the Frolic. I am quite happy with my selection and of course have been crocheting all night and all this morning, until my fingers started rebelling.

why do I love FF Crochet?

1. One small amount of yarn will create stitches

2. Any hook is suitable for any kind of yarn: too big: no problem, the stitch is loopy, but gives

a touch of lightness; too small: no problem, gives a nice solid texture

3. too many stitches? skip one, skip two, and get a new design, after all, where is the pattern>

4. cupping? make a little mountain, or a dome, crochet around, and make a design out of the

cup

5. curling? make a frilly part in your scrumble to give some excitement and continue with

flat part, or skip to another section.

6. change yarn as you wish

7. change stitch as you wish

8. perhaps a knitting needle would create a different stitch, and some rows of knitting

might give some new ideas, too

9. Yarns, cotton, wool, acrylic, silk, bamboo, fabric strips, ribbon, is there any end?

10. Time flies, when I am scrumbling.

There must be other reasons, but right now I want to get back to my scrumbling. Feel free to add to my list.

Scrumbling

It's been a while since I made any scrumbles. I guess it was around the time when I decided to make a summer top to wear at Manchester Knit and Crochet show. As soon as I decided not to go, I stopped making those scrumbles.

Summer is around the corner, although, when you look at the snow that still covers the ground, you would not believe that it's going to be spring and then summer. Really!

I have been knitting and crocheting obsessively, and not really been myself, that is, if I ever am myself, I don't often know who I am. I sometimes wonder if I will remember anything from this life in my next life. I certainly don't remember what happened in my previous life.

Ohhkay, off the subject, just like my knitting and crocheting.

I made a scrumble with the yarn Sherri had spun. She had made it just for me, in the colors that I like.

In the bad news section, I hate my hoodie. The fabric is loose, the hood joining is horrible, and the jacket itself is tight, and I don't feel like working on the zipper band, to make the jacket looser for me. The yarn is wool, so after washing the fabric might tighten a little bit, but I still have to fix the hood seam. I am not happy.