The Zen of "UN" Crochet

We all like to think we are perfect.  Or at least that we do things pretty well.  Maybe it's just me.  I'm a perfectionist and a control freak.  It's probably not the coolest thing to admit but these are things about myself that I can admit.

A small story to illustrate my "control freakishness":  I'm afraid of grasshoppers.  I'm afraid of frogs.  I'm terrified of roaches.  The list can get pretty long and so I've consolidated the list to things that hop, jump, leap, scurry or flutter.  And dinosaurs.  I don't like dinosaur movies where things just come running up out of the shadows.  Freaks me out.  It was pointed out to me recently that the reason why these things scare me is because I can't predict or control their movements.  Sadly I've realized it's true.  I'm good with snakes because they are usually pretty straight forward but I cry if I even think there is a lizard in the area. 

So how does this have anything to do with crochet?

No matter how perfect I think I am.  No matter how closely I follow the pattern.  I am going to make a mistake.  Usually it means pulling out a few stitches, sometimes even a few rows.  In this particular case I had finished an entire bag but I didn't like it.  It was too long so when you put something heavy in it, it stretched until it almost hit the floor.  It sat around for a few weeks.  I ended up making a pattern that I really love.  (I will post soon.)  I decided to use the yarn from the first bag so I had to pull the whole thing out.  That is a serious lesson in learning to let go.  I put time and effort into the first bag but the yarn was worth more to me than that so I sat down and pulled it all out.  It's sort of like therapy.

Yarn and Button Bracelet

Yes, these bracelets are technically crochet but don't let that scare you off if you don't know how.  You will need a crochet hook but you don't need to know how to crochet.  You only have to learn how to  "chain" if you don't already know the basic stitches.  Here is a good tutorial for how to create a chain stitch.

What you will need:  yarn in one or more colors, a button or two, a crochet hook (size is up to you but I would go with closer to an F,G or H hook), possibly a darning needle (or any needle large enough to fit your yarn if you can't thread it through the button holes with your fingers.)

Step One:  Tie a slip knot

Step Two:  Chain 200

This number is fairly arbitrary.  You should really just chain until you are happy with the length.  If you are using multiple colors you may want to make it a little shorter because after you put them all together it will get pretty fat.  If you are using only one color you might make it a little longer.  Different people crochet with different tensions so use the 200 number as a guideline but use your best judgement.

Step Three:  Fasten off and tie a loop in one end of the chain.

I did this by inserting my hook about 6 chains from the end, wrapping the end of the yarn around my hook and pulling it through.  Then I tied it off.

Step Four:  At the opposite end ad a button by threading the end of the yarn through the button holes.  I was able to do this with my fingers but if you have small button holes you may want to use a darning needle.

Step Five:  Repeat with as many colors as you like.



Finished!  Wrap it around your wrist and button.

I did mine in orange and blue... WAR EAGLE but had to do a hounds tooth and crimson one for my niece and as much as it pains me I will show both.

Mmmmmmm..... Yarn.....

One of the moms from work apparently has a bad habit of starting projects with the best intentions, investing money and then not following through.  While I TOTALLY understand that problem I can also understand why her husband told her she had to get rid of some of her "projects".... especially considering that one of the unused items was a professionally installed kiln!!  Knowing the back ground I was not at all surprised when her husband brought in a giant bag of yarn one day and told me that she was gifting it to me.

This happened right before I got sick so while I was laying in my bed the bag of yarn kept catching my eye until I finally just dumped it out on the bed so I could look at it and try to get an idea of what I wanted to make.

It kind of sucks that you can't see my toes in this picture because I seriously just laid in bed rolling the yarn into balls and looking at it.  I know I'm crazy but yarn makes me happy.  Also, throwing it into the basket became a game and one of my only means of entertainment.  It's actually a pretty good time when you have a high fever.

I got to the point where my brain couldn't consider following a pattern or even doing something simple like a scarf but I really wanted to make something.

The more I looked at all the yarn, the more I realized I liked all of the different colors and textures together.

I remembered seeing a friend make a simple scarf that was nothing more than a lot of different strands held together with a piece of tied string.  The simplicity of that was RIGHT up my alley.

Fairly quickly I put maybe 8 of them together.

I've been wearing one and I love it.  I gave one to one of the teachers at work and one to my niece tonight.  I love the idea of giving them all away.

I "signed up" for a pay it forward game on Facebook.  Someone is sending me a gift and I am going to send 5 gifts out into the world with the expectation that those five people will give away their own gifts to five more people.  I love that idea but I'm not sure whether or not I'm going to use these for  that.  There is just something nice about the idea of giving something to someone for absolutely no reason and with no expectations of reciprocation.

So no instructions needed.... Literally just cut yarn to whatever length you like, tie it together and you are done!

Maybe if you make one, you can make two and make someone smile.

Here I am World!!!!

I've started a blog.  Woo!!  OK.  I'll admit I've done this before.  I had one where I ranted about things that got on my nerves.  That was kind of fun but sometimes I would have to edit myself so much not to piss everyone off that it stopped being entertaining.  I had one about romance novels (under a different name because it was dirty) and that was REALLY fun... especially when the authors were commenting on my posts.  It made me feel special.  But having to keep up with multiple passwords was really just beyond me.  So I'm going to try again.  I'd like to say this is a craft blog but I'm going to call it a "me" blog.  Chances are there will be a good mixture of rants about whatever is on my nerves at the moment, funny things my kid says/does, annoying things my husband says/does (I'm just kidding.... after 11 years of marriage he is always perfect), and random factoids.  BUT there will be lots of crafts.  I love crochet and really anything with yarn, sewing, painting, stenciling.  Also, probably a fair amount of recipes.  You'll also see some fun family/kid fun stuff.  So... hopefully you guys will subscribe and give me lots of positive vibes so I'll keep it up.  I promise to try to be entertaining, though I know I will fail at times... Remember I base my self esteem off others thinking I'm awesome!! ; )