On the go #12
Like many crafters, I have several half-finished projects lying around. Some I started with great enthusiasm, only to lose interest along the way. Others I am absolutely certain I will finish, but I keep getting sidetracked by newer ideas.
This past summer, I dug into a box of those lost/forgotten projects and made a few decisions.
Picking Flowers Sweater
I started this project back in 2018! The only and also the last time I wrote about it I had already crocheted the two granny square strips for the sleeves, incorporated them into the top of the sweater and made a start on the body.
After that I continued working on the sweater. Sometimes it disappeared into a box for a while, only to come up again for a few rounds. I had even gotten so far that the body was completely finished and I was working on the continued construction of the sleeves.
But actually throughout the entire crochet process I was in doubt. I didn’t think it looked very attractive. Both the stitch pattern in my chosen yarn and the model on my body failed to convince me.
That’s why I often played with the idea of frogging the entire project, because I would probably never wear it. But, of course, I could always finish it to give away?
Obviously, when I found this again, I could not muster the enthousiasm to continue it. So I made short work of it and simply frogged the entire thing.
Where’s my poodle? Cardi
I started knitting this one in 2021, but unlike the previous project, I was still curious about the end result. It is not an easy knitting project and one where you really have to count carefully and pay attention to which row you are working on.
When I took this one out of my box it was a bit bigger than what I have in the pictures here, but not much bigger. I had also kept very clear notes and I even tried to knit a few rows more.
After a few rows, which went surprisingly easy, I immediately noticed that you could clearly see a difference between the old piece and the new piece, in terms of knitting tension and stitch regularity. That is why I decided to just take it out and try again later. This is not for now, but one day, maybe.
Glas-in-lood deken
One that I’ve never blogged about and haven’t made any real progress on, except for that one square.
I did spend some serious time looking for a pattern when I first saw the photo for this blanket in 2021. I thought it was such a cool idea and wanted to try it so badly, but I found the photo on Pinterest, with no link to the maker or pattern. Eventually I was able to figure out that the blanket came from a book that I could buy and download here.
Like the previous project, this is definitely not one for beginners and not one that you can just whip out brainlessly on the couch. Plus, it’s a fully written pattern, which I sometimes find harder to understand and follow than schematics. That’s probably why I haven’t gotten past that one square yet.
In the meantime, I’ve seen several multi-colored versions of this blanket on Ravelry, which I actually find even more beautiful and also lends itself perfectly to small leftover yarn that I don’t want to throw away. So yes, I definitely intend to let that one square grow into several, but I haven’t really put my shoulder to the wheel yet.
Eastern dragon
And finally this one.
Crafty Intentions is a real inspiration when it comes to amigurumi. Her creations are truly breathtaking and I have always wanted to make one of them, but at the same time I find them quite intimidating patterns.
In 2022 however I took the plunge and gathered everything I needed for this Eastern Dragon. Only the required wire went wrong, because it turned out to be a lot thinner and floppy than what I had expected.
Still, I got started, by attaching several of those wires together to make a somewhat sturdier whole.
The crocheting went relatively smoothly, despite the fact that the protruding iron wire caused a lot of fiddling and especially maneuvering to not poke my own eyes out. It also gradually became clear that even though I had taped 4 of those thinner iron wires together, it did not yield a sturdier result compared to the crocheted fabric. The wire is intended to make the dragon movable later, but this would not work with this wire.
Despite those doubts, and despite the fact that I often found my stitches sloppy, I persevered for quite a while. I had already crocheted almost 80% of the body and was afraid of taking it out.
But then the project disappeared into a closet and did not come out for more than a year and a half, until I dug it up this weekend.
I still crocheted a few rounds, but then turned my heart into a stone. No, I was annoyed by too many things in the current crocheted piece and even if I would finish it, I would only keep seeing those “mistakes”. So I unraveled the entire thing.
But, I also started over right away!
I decided to just leave out the wire. The pattern says that it is possible to make a non-movable dragon without wire, provided you stuff it well, so I’m going to try that. I also decided to use a smaller crochet hook (a 3mm instead of a 3.5mm). Hopefully I can keep this dragon from disappearing into a closet this time!
And there you have it, four of the projects I rediscovered in the past few months. Four that I reduced to two and that I will hopefully make some more progress on!
Of course I have more half-finished projects lying around (I almost dare not mention my sewing projects), but I will tackle those another time!
Cheers,
Charlotte
