Mistakes are Learning Opportunities!

What you should be seeing here is a new pattern, what you are getting instead is a whole heap of idioms! What I mean is that this week I put all my eggs in one basket and counted my chickens before they were hatched! This dear crochet friends is what my dining table currently looks like.

This is the conversation I had with Nick.

Rach:I've been working on a pattern for the last couple of weeks and at the last moment it's all gone a bit Pete Tong [Pear shaped] and I don't have anything to Blog about now.

Nick: So that's OK, why don't you blog about that, people learn more from their mistakes than they do from their successes.

That really got me thinking. You know how we live in a blame and shame culture, so that when you make a mistake the last thing you feel you should do is own up to your mistakes. But I'm going to stand on my soap box and right here and now and say, 

"This is a learning opportunity!" 

So what went wrong? I followed the design principles that I'd been taught. I researched my subject and experimented with my materials.

I chose my yarn and made a gauge swatch.

I made careful measurements and tested my ideas.

 I recorded all the details and wrote a detailed pattern, drew a beautiful schematic and a stitch diagram and started to put it all together using my Pattern Template...Uhoh!

Somewhere along the way my rigid plan changed from looking like the scribbled sketches I'd made and evolved into something more organic. The stretchy fabric I was using because it was stretchy, stretched!

So what have I learnt from it all? Well not to count my chickens too soon and to be prepared for my ideas to evolve. To generally enjoy the ride and not give myself unnecessary time constraints. 

And perhaps to have a few back up Blog posts just in case!!

Hopefully the next time you drop by there will be a new pattern here but no promises.

 

Wire Crochet Experiment.

 This week I have mostly been crocheting with wire!

Nick has been busy doing something in his man-cave, so when I spotted this coil of 0.25mm coated copper wire going begging I just had to see what I could do with it.

The only thing I knew about wire crochet was what I had read in 'Crochet Masterclass' and the chapter written by Nancie Wiseman. She uses 30 gauge Brass wire and a 2mm hook to make a sweet little purse.

I couldn't really think what to do so I grabbed up my copy of Edie Eckman's 'Connect the Shapes Crochet Motifs' and a 2mm hook. The first motif I made was No.17. It looks a lot different when it's worked in wire rather than yarn and presents different problems. The first thing I realised was that it was quite hard to identify the different stitches. The trebles (Dc-USA) look quite strange. When I'd finished I couldn't work out how to block it!

My next experiment was motif No.20 and I used a 1.5mm hook. I was hoping that this smaller hook would create tidier stitches. Those treble stitches are still not quite right and no matter how much I stretched it, it still won't lie flat. This little chap measures 6.5cm and weighs a mighty 4 grams.
 
It occurred to me that a design made of chain stitches and slip stitches or double crochet (Sc-USA) might look better. So still with the smaller hook size I moved onto motif No.25. I'm really happy with the way this has turned out. It was easier to pull it into shape, and with a little tweaking it will lie reasonably flat.

Being a practical person I am of course wondering what I can do with these motifs. With a few beads added the right motif would work well as a pendant. With a textile backing perhaps a brooch.

The fact that one of my motifs wouldn't lie flat made me think I could make a bowl or a bangle.

After a few(!) false starts I got the hang of it. I found that a bigger hook size was better. A large tapestry needle helped to open up any stitches that had got squished. Once the disc was large enough it was easier to work the bowl from the outside. I also found that putting some of those self adhesive thimbles on my non hook hand helped! It's definitely hard on the hands.

 
I worked the bowl in a spiral, increasing 6Dc (Sc-USA) per round for 8 rounds. A total of 60 stitches in the 8th round. At that point I continued without increasing.

I finished the edge of the bowl with a row of Slip Stitches. My finished bowl measures 9cm/31/2" in diameter and weighs 16g. It might look nice with a ribbon woven around but what I'm going to use it for I have no ideas!

I decided to make the 'Edie Eckman' motifs into greetings cards. I chose to sew the copper designs onto the cards, rather than attempt to glue them in any way.