Saturday 10 January 2015

Crochet II

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Memory Afghan (part 2)
Pattern : Floral Fiesta Afghan designed by Maggie Weldon (click on link for pattern)  

Thought it was time to update my Memory Afghan with a few pictures & musings. It is still in progress; about 60% complete when these pics were taken (now it is 75-80% done). Have visualized the border; still need to put it to hook to see if it will work. It can wait .....

Some Thoughts / Update :
Small motifs crocheted & joined in this pattern uses up even small scraps of wool.

As mentioned in my earlier post, I have used all kinds of yarn, of varied thickness.  While the size of each motif remains more or less the same, the density may vary, as well as the amount of yarn used. Thicker yarn is used up more & has a denser, fuller appearance.

Pony crochet hook #13 (2.25 mm) used for joining at corners ...



At 190 motifs, the afghan weighed 500 gms and was one diagonal short of the halfway mark. 250 motifs made so far. 12 motifs across (42') & 18 or 19 motifs long to get around 72'. The 35+ colours have kept me motivated, & I am still trying out new combinations.  (Since writing & photographing this, I am now less than 90 motifs short of completing the afghan! Then on to the border)

After the initial random joining of motifs, I systematized & settled to joining from left to right, diagonally, resulting in a growing triangle (till width of 12 motifs is complete). And these are some possible alternate uses of this pattern ….

Some Alternate Applications :

Triangular Wrap
If one works in a triangle, starting from one corner & joining diagonally as one goes, one can create a beautiful Wrap !!! In the pic, the ‘last’ row is still incomplete, but it gives an idea, doesn’t it ?!

Throw Cover or Handbag, with flap
This same triangle can be folded from the corners in the manner indicated by the arrows & numbers; sew on the bottom edge. Voila! We now have a square throw/cushion cover with a flap ! To make the flap stay in place, simply sew on a beautiful button & loop.
If you sew on some strings on either side, you have yourself a handbag or shoulder bag or a jhola bag!!!

 

 Incidental Advantages
Back to Future Memories :

Colour Palette
An incidental advantage of using so many colours : it acts like a colour palette !!! Trying out various combinations, some in 'unconventional' and unorthodox combos gives rise to some really unexpectedly lovely 'mergers'. Such a project can act as a guide to future colour selections and combinations !

Replacement
In this pattern, not only does one get to use up small scraps of wool, but Just in case some part gets frayed in the future, one can Easily Replace it with another motif !
And if one is using colours in no regular arrangement, then one can replace the motif with whatever colour & yarn is at hand !

Create Memories
One can Deliberately cut off a motif & substitute with scrap yarn from new projects !


Back to School Memories :
Another incidence of why this has turned out to be truly a Memory Afghan. 
It sent me back in time, to school lessons in Maths & Science !

Pythagoras theorem 
Size of each motif, as mentioned in the pattern : 2½” sides & 5¼” diagonal
I got the sides correct & carried on. Eventually when I measured the diagonal, it turned out to be only 3¼” !!!
How it That possible ?! If Both sides are equal, making it a Square, & I got the tension right, why was the diagonal not conforming ?
Pythagoras Theorem to the rescue. Applied it, and turned out the dimensions of my motif were right …. Phew !

Static electricity 
There are so many ends to cut in each motif. (I cut them as soon as one motif is complete). I keep collecting these yarn bits in a little glass jam jar (that has a lid), & throw them out when it fills up.
I also needed a needle frequently, to weave in the ends after each round. To keep the thread lengths short, I used the shortest needle I had. This needle fit in easily in the jar ; easy to pick & put back, whether there were yarn bits in the jar or not. Basically, the jar acted both as a temporary litter-container & a pin cushion ;-))
And look what happened : Static Electricity, resulting in magnetism !!!
Took me way back to my 5th or 6th grade ;-P


TIP : So, how about using yarn bits to stuff in a pin cushion ?! Yes, next time I make a pin cushion. Good recycling, too.


One minor drawback :
Cannot crochet on the go, especially if one is using many colours.
This can be minimized by –
* using very few colours,
* letting the thread ends of each round hang, and
* hiding all the thread ends together at a later stage.  (Not something I relish - too many loose dangling threads, plus such a chore to tackle it all together.)
 

Related Posts : Memory Afghan 


6 comments:

  1. I had forgotten about this and it is sooo beautiful can't wait to see the border is it going to be black or ivory or ecru or what? I mentioned those colors cause that is what I might pick of course one of the ones you have more yarns will work. I am so cold I would make leg warmers with big buttons down the side :) Can't wait to "pin" the finished work :) Almost done!

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    1. Legwarmers are a great idea ! Thinking outside the box :-) And buttons down the sides -- love it !!!
      It's been very cold here as well for the last Several weeks, without any sunlight ...so this wool work has kept me warm .

      Everybody had suggested ecru instead of black , in the comments on earlier post. Luckily I have plenty of cream, yellow and black. I am considering the 1st row in cream, 2nd in yellow (with overlapping stitches ) and only a final slip stitch line edging in black. I want to keep the arched shapes intact or at least 'highlighted'. Will need to try them out to see what comes out best.... I might have to post asking for more advice :-)
      I'm hoping these 3 colours will work and I won't need to buy any other. I Really want to finish/reduce my stash.

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  2. Oh that is a good idea, I was only thinking one color and like the several colors, and light too and the pintrest idea this is exciting to see, and ya it is cold we have not got the cloud cover here just the super cold high of 24 degrees and we warmed up to 40 but that is not warmer for me. I do believe that is why I was able to think of leg warmers cause it is soooo cold :)

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    1. Now I'm excited to try out the border :-))) I might give it a go today & see how I feel ... If I can't decide, expect a few pics in a future post, asking for advice or choice ;-)

      Carollyn, I'm highly impressed that even in such cold, you are able to tat so many beautiful pieces so quickly !!! My MIL wears leg-warmers knit by me .... only those hand-knit ones keep her warm, not the store-bought ones .

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  3. How fun to see that you've been making this pattern too. It's a great way to use little pieces of yarn from other projects.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by :-))
      It really was a fun project & like you said, I got to use up all my years & years of stash, including little pieces.
      The afghan is complete & I was working on the border/edging, but got bored & will continue next season.
      Eager to see how your's turns out ....

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