The Granny of Gloom!
Okay...First things first!
I would like to thank all of you, who took part, in my Mystery Project Guessing Game.It was an absolute joy, for me, to read all the guesses that were sent my way. And, most of you came, at one point, or another, pretty damned close to correctly guessing. So, good job, everyone. Yesterday, however...one of my readers NAILED the Mystery Project. Let's hear it, for kae1crafts, who correctly guessed the project, as a Halloween, Trick Or Treat Bag. As promised, kae1crafts has been awarded with a v-gift, which matches the theme of this project (a jack-o-lantern.) CONGRATULATIONS!
As for all of you, who came so close...
I will be sending the pattern to you, via email, when I have completed my project. (I want to make sure what I send out is PERFECT.)
Again, thank you ALL for playing!
Now then...moving on!
Yesterday, after writing my entry, and taking care of a few household tasks (never a fun thing, to do,) I was able to sit down, and play around with my yarn.
The first think I did was tackle my granny, for the day.
And, what granny was that?
Why, granny 92, of course!
And, granny 92 is a beautiful square. She has the same charm as granny 88, and 97. And, what charm, might that be? Well, you all (should) know, by now, that I like my grannies to have a little something extra. And, all three of these grannies have a flower design, in the middle of them. Let's take a little trip, down Granny's Memory Lane. Granny 88. I worked this spiffy granny, a while back, using a brown yarn, for the center of the flower. The petals were (bright) yellow. The flower went beyond just cheery...It flat out SCREAMED at you: Hey! Look at me! Then, to make the brightness of the flower POP even more, I chose to work the frame, surrounding it, in the variegated yarn, I found at the thrift store, in Paso Robles. White, pink, green, and dull yellow. Sure, at first, I was a little concerned with this contrast. But, I think it played out nicely.
Just a few days ago, I worked granny 97...remember? The center was, once again, brown. Then, I used a variegated yarn, with shades of red, green, brown, and copper, for the petals. To frame this UNIQUE, multi-colored flower, I used my frosty green yarn. For this particular square, I got a lot of compliments.
So, back to yesterday's granny...lucky lady 92. Where to start? Well, let us first talk about the sample, seen in the book. This 6 round granny is worked, in 5 colors: the center round is worked in light gold, followed by a round in medium gold, followed by dark gold, a round of green, and two rounds of dreaded ECR-EWWWW! Oh, the poor square. Not only is it the victim of color overkill, which is sad, in itself. But, it also managed to fall prey to ecru!
A makeover was SERIOUSLY needed!
So, rather than go with color overload, I decided on three colors. They were creamy yellow, burgandy, and hunter green. The first round (or center of the flower) was made, using the creamy yellow. The next 2 rounds (or petals) were worked, with the burgandy. And, the last 3 rounds (the frame), were worked with the hunter green.
Personally, I like this square. It reminds me of a poinsettia. I think the colors go together PERFECTLY.
As for my mom, and uncle...well...this square was less than appealing.
"I don't like it." My mom said. I could not believe I had just heard that. I was SURE she would love this. "The colors," she continued, "are just so dark. It isn't a happy looking square, at all. It just looks so gloomy."
My uncle concurred.
Gloomy,I thought to myself, as they both went outside. GLOOMY...I don't think so. There is NOTHING gloomy about it! When I look at this square, I don't see gloom of any kind. I see a square, that reminds me of Christmas. And, how can Christmas be gloomy, at all?
"Oh well." I said, as I snapped the photo of it. "This is MY square, for MY blanket. So, I am the ONLY ONE who needs to like it!" So, there!
Well, enough talk of it. Without further delay, here it is. Decide for yourself.
www.flickr.com/photos/theyarnproject/4910884716/
Anyway...
Granny 92 was a breeze to make. And, all I can say on that, is THANK GOD!
Because, let me tell you...my Broomstick Lace Pillow, and my Halloween Bag, were both BEASTLY, beyond measure, yesterday! I swear, it was like these 2 projects had teamed up together, and come up with a diabolical plan.
Hey, I can imagine my Broomstick Lace Pillow, saying to my Halloween Bag. I have an idea. Let's be rebellious. Let's see how far we can push him...C'mon. It will be fun! (Naturally, my Halloween Bag was NOT the instigator, in this case. I love it too much, to believe that it could be the project, that came up with the idea to PUNISH me. Yes...the Broomstick Lace Pillow is the culprit! DAMN YOU, BROOMSTICK LACE PILLOW!!!)
Let's begin by talking about the Pillow!
Okay...to start with, the loops, I was making, simply DID NOT want to stay on my broomstick lace pin. I swear, it was like this pin had been oiled up, or something. I would slide one loop on, then as I went to slide the next one on...Plop. Off the previous loop came. (I could almost hear these little BASTARD loops, giggling, as they jumped off the pin.) But, was the the extent of the hell? Oh, no, my friends! Finally, I got smart, and put my finger, in front of these jumping loops, to keep them on the pin. I mean, surely, that is the PERFECT fix to the problem, right? NOPE! Now, since the loops were no longer able to bounce off the pin, and irritate me, in that way, they had to find some other way to annoy the hell, right out of me. So, they started sticking to one another. No...not just sticking to one another. These friggin loops connected together, in a FRIGGIN death grip! They simply would not seperate. It took me an hour and a half, to work these evil DAMN loops off this pin. I was at my wit's end. (You stupid pillow. Just know that your evil reign, is almost at its end!)
So, after this, I went straight for a beer. I allowed myself an hour, away from the yarn.
Then, it was time to work on my Halloween Bag.
Surely, I would love my time, with my Halloween Bag. Or, not!
Just as with the Pillow, the yarn kept tangling together.
Then, and this really threw me for a loop...
In one row of work, my black yarn had not just 1, but 2, weak areas in it. You want to guess what happened? That's right. SNAP! The yarn strand friggin broke...TWICE.
Then, a few rows later, I was back to working with the black yarn.
And, it decided to suprise me again. As I was working with it, I started to notice random puffy bits of blue fiber, all over the black yarn. That simply would not work. No, sir. But, the blue-fiber pom poms littered the next 4 feet, at least, of my black yarn. So, I had to cut this whole piece away.
Well...I have one thing to say, to both, the Pillow, and my Halloween Bag.
TO HELL, WITH YOU BOTH!
You both, had better be nice to me, today. Remember who is making you!
Okay...now that my threat has been formally delivered, maybe these two projects will be scared into complete submission. Hey, one can hope!
Today...One more ganny will be conquered.
I will attempt to keep my sanity, as I work yet another row, of my Pillow.
And, hopefully, my Bag will decide to be nice to me. (I may have to seperate it from my Pillow...I am sure the Pillow is a very bad influence on my poor little Bag.)
Well, that is all for today.
Time to go, and work with my yarn.
Wish me luck.
Happy crocheting!