One of the things that I think is lacking in today’s “fast everything” culture is handmade gifts. We have been too quick to abandon work that takes time in the interest of “saving time” when what we make may be not as perfect as mass-produced (and likely cheaper) goods. This deprives both ourselves and the recipient of knowing we are both “worth” the time and effort.
Of course, there is also something to be said for the thrill of finding the “just right” gift in a store! And sometimes those are the better choice – it all depends, I think, on the gift-giver’s ability to create, to search for handmade or small-batch items, and to take the kind of time that home-made and home-crafted requires.
In other words, no judgment from me if you are a person who prefers or needs to purchase rather than make items! And that includes things like clothes, food, etc.
At any rate…. I decided to start making more of the things I wear and give and/or purchasing from smaller makers. This means fewer items will be given, at longer intervals (since my ability to work depends so much on my energy on any given day). Still, despite my less-than-expert hands’ imperfect work, I can make useful things that are pretty enough, and show more care than stopping by a store (or an online vendor).
I have been enjoying Rich Textures Crochet videos on facebook and over the summer made some washcloths/trivets for under small pots using this post: Scrubby and Washcloth. For some of them, I used Sugar ‘n Cream Scrub Off yarn (an all-scrubby with no plain yarn is Red Heart Scrubby yarn). The color choices were different in the spring and summer! For others, I used some Sugar ‘n Cream all-cotton yarn from my belated grandmother’s stash. It was similar to this one, but white and yellow.
A month or so ago she posted this beautiful Embossed Shell Stitch and of course I decided to make something with it!
I had previously purchased two cones of Lily Sugar ‘n Cream “Autumn Leaves” cotton yarn. So although I really wanted to make a slightly more-delicate afghan (or something) for my mother, I realized that a nice warm lap robe for my mother in law would be a great way to practice the stitch (it is looking better and better – you can see where I started, for sure!), and also make something beautiful for someone who used to crochet.
I didn’t take video or many images because it’s really just a practice/sample, but here are a couple. I keep measuring progress by how far down my legs it goes! The first image is about 16 rows…
And a little bit bigger…. But not yet big enough! The image below is a full cone and about a half (so far). I won’t use the whole second cone, but it’s amazing how dense and literally heavy this lapghan is.
