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Tuesday, September 2, 2014

crochet FAIL.....(but it's not all bad)


okay, so I know that I said in my last post that I would finish this project....



Well, I'm giving up. 

Why?
... two words...

cheap yarn.

There. I've admitted it. For years I've been buying the cheap stuff from the cheap shops. In my past pre-blogging life, this yarn was fine for all the kiddie projects. Pom-poms, finger knitting, scarves for toys, weaving... 

But now a whole new world has opened up. Now I'm embracing more advanced projects. Ravelry cardies, beanies, mohair scarves... the possibilities are endless. So I've been buying up some nice yarn. I can get it locally, from Think Kids, or from op shops, or online (yes, I've been late night browsing). I even picked some up from the beautiful Children's festival on the weekend. My small but pretty stash is slowly expanding.

As I started to crochet around the edges of my cheap, nasty granny squares, I found I was not enjoying myself at all. The yarn was harsh, unyielding, plasticky. So when I noticed the centre of this square had started to unravel, I was ridiculously relieved. A solid reason to abandon this once and for all.

My apologies, Kate. To see Kate's beautiful granny hottie, click here. This is what it should look like. Not some cheap imitation version. 

So I delved into my new collection and started again...

This time I started with no particular project in mind. Just started by finding patterns I liked, and playing with colours I liked. Letting it grow organically, taking shape by itself...



 And putting them together with edging I liked...




Late at night, when the kids are in bed, I'm sitting and Pinterest-ing and learning and practising...


And now I have this...



I'm almost out of some of the colours. I've got enough of everything for four more squares. I've plenty of edging wool, a free ball from this lovely shop. So, I'm thinking a cushion cover? 

The main thing is, I'm enjoying every moment of this. But mostly, the way this yarn feels in my hands. It's a completely different experience from before. So although my hottie has bitten the dust, a whole new addiction has opened up before me.

Crochet, I love you.

And thank you, Kate, for providing the inspiration.