Crochet Crazy

Posted By Liz on February 2, 2010

Im glad to report that my emergency paying on ebay for wool has arrived – so I now have 15 more spare balls of the colour I was short on. I should (I hope) have enough to finish now.

Its growing well, Im now near the top of the 3rd diamond row,  Im finding it harder to crochet with my wool in a bag, as well as 4 big furry faces wanting to assist, much as I love them their idea of “assist” really isnt assisting, lying on it, drooling on it, distracting me coz they want to hug, go out, eat, play, hug, play, did I mention hug? its almost like one of those comical things where each time you put a toe in the bath the phone rings or something.

Id do a picture, but its another bout of playtime, and I want some lunch so maybe later!

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Posted By Liz on January 31, 2010

OK, so I have realised I seriously dont count well when it comes to wool and blankets, I either buy 20 too many thinking its going to take like 50 to make a blanket or I start out with like 25, and realise I need 20 more.. what gives?

Anyway, heres my blanket so far:

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Posted By Liz on January 31, 2010

I wish I had enough money to give up working and crochet for a living – much as I stuff up and its annoying occasionally nothing like the stress of being at work.

But and heres the issue:

A 6ft by 4ft blanket, costs only around 14 odd pounds to buy the wool.

However, if you then take into account hours worked, at minimum wage, 5.80 an hour, if I can do one in roughly 2 weeks and the hours Im putting in thats gotta be somewhere around 50-60 hours a week, err thats 290 per blanket, + wool. so, if you say between 300 and 350 pounds, would anyone seriously pay that much for a blanket?? I doubt it..

Thus why I guess I cant ever give up work to crochet.

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Posted By Liz on January 26, 2010

So, progress is very slow, this is not aided by 1 small factor.

Someone keeps sleeping on it!

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Posted By Liz on January 24, 2010

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Posted By Liz on January 23, 2010

Well, this time last week, my blanket didnt look much different, in fact, arguably I would have to do a lot to explain just how undifferent it is, but in short, the stitch I missed was gone  back to and found. The pale joiners are now 2 stitches wider, and so now add up. Sad part is, if I hadnt lost that stitch a while back Id only have had to go back 2 rows..

For those astute, yes this is the same pattern as the one I did for me before, but this time the diamonds are the darker brown not gold and the “background” is all the pale brown, oh and technically each of those diamonds forming the bigger diamond is 1 bigger, it was a 6×6 now its 7×7. As its done on slightly smaller hook, the blankets no bigger but, it is slightly thicker.

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Posted By Liz on January 22, 2010

So, following the revalation that I had majorly stuffed up my blanket, I sat down and reworked back to the place where I had lost a stitch – which was half way through the first big diamond, on top of that, I then spent a couple of days working out how in heck I had got it so wrong. Turns out, I cant count, on my design, I knew what I had meant (and I swear I had counted so carefully) but, I had got it wrong and I had placed the joiners in the wrong place. As a result, this is why it wasnt working out – as when I came to do it for real, its much easier to see, and so, now I have adjusted my design and continue on.

Just a shame nearly a week later I havent caught up with where I was!

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Posted By Liz on January 17, 2010

OK, my crochet has been rapidly driving me mad, at most in this pattern I will have 21 balls of wool on the go. Now, while thats a bucket load of ends and colour swapping, this isnt the problem, the problem really is 21 balls of wool rolling round the floor with dogs wanting to “help” and the wool gets mucky coz the dog hair (no matter how much you hoover) and I want to create something to hold my wool.

Now, there are wool tidys on the market, most of course hold 1 ball of wool. I have seen 1 that holds 3, but, realistically thats so no use to me, nearly everything i make requires multiple colours on the same row.

Now I had some ideas..

Now, as I think about it the area for each ball needs to be at least 7 -8 inches tall, and probably 4-5 in diameter, the bottom doesnt need to be hugely firm, but it would need to be heavy enough that any slight tugging wouldnt lift it. the tops need to be individually removable as lifting it with like 30 balls of wool going through it would be a pain.. The material would need to be non abrasive so most cloth/felt/etc would be out as it would help the wool prevent turning.

So, one theory I had was a box shape – nice and practical to make, and having diamond shaped dividors, either in cardboard or some shineyish cloth this would be reasonably simple to make but at the same time… May not be hugely efficient, plus, the issue of the “lids” comes to mind

The second theory I had was more revolving round cardboard tubes with plastic lids each end, the top lid with a hole and joining them in a kinda V shape around a pole so you can have a number of balls say 6 per row or  something but wouldnt take a lot of space.. Problem is it wouldnt be very easy to make or carry.

I just need something to organise upto 30 balls of wool (so smaller items which hold say 5 or 10 could work but they would have to be small enough they dont take up the size of my couch) where I can replace/fiddle with any individual ball without it rolling around – I dont have a wool winder, so all british balls of wool you have to work from outside in, which makes it harder to put the balls into a smaller space as they need rolling space.

Ideas would be hugely welcome – its driving me insane.

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Posted By Liz on January 16, 2010

OK, so I started my blanket Im about 46 rows in. I got to the end of the first set of brown diamonds, went to check the spacing again as it looked a bit uneven to find, it is. How in hell have I done that? Im so annoyed. I cant see how Ive ended up out of line, there isnt the space required. Before I pull it all apart, swear and curse like a navvy and possibly even give up, I need to find where Ive gone wrong, if its coz Ive designed it wrong, I will be mad, coz thats always a possibility given I was changing the pattern, if I have counted wrong, I dont see how it seems according to my design I have the right number of stitches between the diamonds at the widest points, so how can it not add up now? The diamonds are right, only thing can be the connectors, and frankly they are simple enough that shouldnt be possible.Grr something isnt right and I dont get it.. So annoyed.

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Posted By Liz on January 10, 2010

I think this is the last one I promised to do

Martin Collins

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