Crafty Times

I do the majority of my crocheting and knitting in the winter. I'm not really so into being covered by a bunch of yarn in the summer when it's hot and muggy. In the winter, I love working on a big giant afghan because after a point, I can cover myself up with the afghan while I'm working.

Well, since I've been sick the past few days, I've spent some quality time with my yarn. I have a really difficult time sitting completely still. I have to be stimulated in some way. I mean, in addition to the TV. I drive Jason nuts because I constantly pause whatever we happen to be watching and jump up to go do something real quick. However, with a cough that gets worse when I move around, I have to sit still.

I am notorious for starting a project and then getting distracted with another exciting project. I get excited about new yarns and new stitches (especially since I'm still learning to knit), but then I tend to lose my momentum. I have finished things, but sometimes projects languish for awhile. One bad effect of letting things sit for too long is sometimes dye colors change slightly, even when they're supposedly "no dye lot" and if you didn't buy enough yarn to start and you have to supplement your yarn, say, 2 years later, you might wind up ending the project with a different color than you started with. As I found out recently. The color isn't THAT different, but to me it's glaringly obvious.

I have recently discovered the perfect way to do things for me. First, work on 2 projects at once. Second, make sure those projects can be broken into discreet segments so that I can easily bounce between the two.

In an effort to use some of my extraneous yarn, I have started 2 projects in the last few days. One is something that I won't discuss because it's for someone who reads the blog and I want it to be a surprise. All you need to know is, it's crocheted and it's made of squares. The second is this:
It's called the Morris Park Blanket and those are knitted squares. I bought some super soft red and blue yarn to make an adorable rugby-striped blanket for a baby. Only after I bought the yarn, it occurred to me that the baby was really more of a toddler and was probably too old for a blanket.* When I saw this pattern, I thought it looked so cozy and would be great for the red and blue yarn. Then I went to the yarn store and found complementary shades of green and brown in the same type of yarn. On sale even! In the same shades as the slipcovers and pillows on the couch and loveseat in our living room. 'Cause what Jason and I really need is another blanket.**

The Morris Park Blanket is made of 3 different stitches - one for each of the 3 colors. However, since I'm using 4 colors, I'm going to vary the stitches among the colors. I went through the pattern yesterday and marked out which squares would be which colors and I'm excited. I've made 2 1/2 squares so far and I'm loving the way they feel. Hopefully, it will be done by winter and I can enjoy it soon.

My point is, having these two projects made of squares has turned out to be perfect for me. I crochet for awhile and get a couple squares done and get bored, so I switch to knitting and work on one of those squares for awhile.

Jason always asks me why I bother when a machine could do it in a fraction of the time for a fraction of the price. My answer is a combination of I get a satisfying sense of accomplishment, it's cathartic to work with my hands and I like to be able to give people I love something that I took the time to make myself. Just like I like getting handmade gifts. I think there's something in my genes too. My great-grandma used to make all the grandkids and great-grandkids homemade presents for Christmas. We all got variations on the same thing and it was so fun to see what she had made.

My mom used to be a wonderful seamstress. She made a lot of my clothes when I was younger, and also outfitted by Cabbage Patch Kids. I have a box of doll clothes in storage that are full of little treasures she made. She also used to cross stitch all the time. I used to cross stitch more, but lately I find working with needles and yarn the most satisfying.

Here's a question for other crafters: why do you do it, whether it be knitting, crocheting, whatever?

* If I know you well and you are having a son, I have an adorable rugby-striped blanket in my head that I may bestow upon you.
**We have a LOT of blankets. But this one's going to be awesome. And soft. Also, since we never turn on the heat in the winter because it would cost a small fortune to run and not really heat the place very well because the furnace is ancient and we have a million windows, blankets are very, very useful long about January.