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)

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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!!!

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 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 !

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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 5^th or 6^th 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.

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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.)

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Related Posts : Memory Afghan 

Crochet - I

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Crochet Memory Afghan

Pattern : Floral Fiesta Afghan by Maggie Weldon

Winters mean shifting to wool !

True to form, I have picked up my wool stash to make my 4^th afghan. Except that this time it is a crochet one, not knit.

The free pattern can be found here

It is a 3-round motif pattern, joining as you go. The 2nd round in each motif is white in the original pattern, but I decided to let my fancy choose a different colour for the 2nd round instead of only white.

A great stash-buster project !

I have used all kinds of wool yarn , all plys, (I am not too knowledgeable about yarns)

Wool yarn ranges from pure to worsted to chenille to a tiny bit of mohair ;

Yarn thickness ranges from 2 to 6-8 ply or more ;

Brands include both baby wool & normal wool from Vardhman, Wendy's, Jaypee's, and some odds & ends that I have forgotten.

With this range of yarn, it is turning out to be quite a Memory Quilt ! I have been able to use up bits of wool left over from projects completed down the years ... including some that have long since been discarded or gifted .

Pretty nostalgic.

I have used Crochet hook # 9 (3.50 mm)  because this could tackle all wool sizes. 

Each motif works out to 2.5" x 2.5" (sides) or approx. 3.25" x 3.25" ( diagonals )

I didn’t quite estimate how very useful my earlier post on winding threads, will come in handy :

• By winding yarn around the spectacle case, I was easily able to calculate the length of yarn required for each round :

Round 1 - 8 winds x 6.6" = 52.8" (1.34 m)

Round 2 - 6 winds x 6.6" = 39.6" (1 m)

Round 3 - 25 wraps x 6.6" = 165" (4.2 m)

• The Quick & Handy Yarn Stash Samplers (below) has done it’s job too! I simply choose & clip the pairs of colours required for the next 2 or 3 motifs … And since I wrote down the quantity of wool on each strip, it helps me decide which colour needs to be used more or used less. In fact, I found some short short lengths of leftover wool that can be used for Round 2 in a few motifs, & which are not included in the stash sampler below. So that probably takes the number of colours close to 35 !!! Still wish I had more colours/shades ;-P

Thoroughly enjoyable though a whole lot of ends need to be hidden ; hence the tapestry needle & scissors are a constant companion. I am hiding the ends after each round – better now than a mountain-load later !

Also, as the blanket gets larger, I might start a separate piece & join it to the first piece later. It is easier to handle smaller pieces, and also keeps the project from getting dirty. 

It is such fun to choose colours & placement. I wish I had even more shades & colours …. Love the warmth & coziness of colours during the grey winter days.

I am planning to crochet a black border in the end …. I think it would bring the whole thing together, especially since so many colours have been randomly used. Need to figure out some pattern/edging … Any ideas ?

Related Posts : How to wind yarn, & yarn stash samplers
Memory Afghan ( part 2 )