Creativity for the Uncreative

People tell me that I'm creative. But, the fact is, I don't think I've ever made anything up from scratch in my life. In the 1950's, a man named W. Edwards Deming went to Japan to teach U. S. manufacturing techniques to Japanese automobile manufacturers. The Japanese took this basic structure and ran with it, and we all know how that went, don't we? Well, I do the same thing--I decide what I want to make, I find a pattern that closely matches the form of my end-product (any pattern, even a not-so-good one, because it's a "look" I'm going for, rather than perfection, and some basic guidelines on how to achieve that shape), and then I go from there.

Take the armor: I made this armor for my son when he was about six years old. (As you can see, it still fit him when he had to dress up for medieval faire at school last year.) The benefit of hand-making something like this is that it has held up to six years of usage by three boys and, really, the helm took an evening and the gauntlets another. I started off with a basic pattern for an acorn cap (no longer online, as far as I can tell, but I'll keep looking), and then, using an open dc pattern that resembled chain links, extended it down his face and neck. I started working back and forth at the section with the face opening, and, then, when it was the right size, chained across, joined, and continued working in the round until it was long enough. The gauntlets were a mitten pattern--I made them fingerless, and then attached to the wrist end and worked my chainlink pattern until they suited me. I got fancy and edged the helm in gold crochet thread (he was King Richard from Robin Hood in the orginal rendition of this costume).

Don't ask for specifics--it was a stream-of-consciousness thing! And, really, that's the point--even an advanced beginner can do things like this when you have a basic foundation to work from. If it doesn't look right, you pull it out and redo that part (which is what I like about crocheting--knitting is still very scary to me in that respect!).

Echo...Echo...

OK, yes, I *know. I've been naughty. No blog posts for months and months. Yet another blogger gone bad. Perhaps it's guilt (still haven't finished the Afghan from Hell, which I frogged and started anew). Perhaps it's that I've just been busy actually knitting and crocheting (yeah, that's the ticket!). Perhaps it's that left-handed needlecrafts observations are few and far between. Perhaps it's just that I haven't developed a following and no one cares whether I post or not!

Let's see? What nugget of wisdom can I pass on to get the ball rolling? How can I move into the big picture side of my whole "right brain" concept? OK, here goes...let's try this:

I recently got a Palm Centro. I haven't had a Palm in a while, but I was excited to find that the program Handy Shopper is still available. Handy Shopper is more than just a shopping list. It's a flexible database that allows you to assign a "Store" and a category to each list item. But, hold onto your (knit) hats...a "Store" can be ANYTHING YOU WANT IT TO BE-- from rooms in your house (for cleaning or decorating projects) to people (for gift-giving or family trip-packing) to :::insert drum roll here::: NEEDLE SIZES.


Yes, Virginia, there is a cure for the disorganized needler who likes to buy projects on the spur of the moment and now has a half dozen size H crochet hooks just because she can't ever remember if she already has one!

Oddities

I belong to a community orchestra (I play the flute, right-handed!). I stopped to chat with the mother of one of the other members, who happened to be crocheting. It isn't often that you catch another crocheter in public. We are obviously a stealthy bunch, and it was nice to come across a like-minded soul who is brave enough to admit that she does something other than knit. As I chatted with her, it struck me that something looked wrong. Awkward. Odd in a way I couldn't put my finger on.

Finally, it hit me--she was RIGHT-handed!

So, righties, now I realize why you always think we lefties look odd. Back atcha! :)

Project Linus

Yes, I know, I'm all feast or famine!

Project Linus is a charity that collects blankets. They want clean, new, hand-crafted (crochet, quilt, sew, knit) blankets for donations to children's hospitals and charities. I'm trying to fit some of my acrylic stash into nice, child-friendly blankets that I can donate. This one is finished. I'd started it for one of my boys, but decided that it was too girlish. I'm sure a girl will love it though!














Here are the other ones I'm working on (yes, I admit to being nuts!)

Update

OK. The more I do this, the more I realize that I need a new camera. But, we'll persevere. Here is the blanket I was making for my son using the Lamb's Pride wool. It was pleasure to make, and this picture simply does not do it justice.

It was made in mostly double crochet with the occasional triple crochet embellishment, using the pattern "A Child's Very Own" in Leisure Arts Presents Afghans for All Seasons. Lamb's Pride is simply a pleasure to work with, and I splurged on a Laurel Hill Forest Palmwood hook for this project (and, really, I'm addicted to these hooks now--I'm making the Afghan From Hell using one).

I Know, I Know

I swore I'd post often, and well...such is life. I can happily report that I have completed quite a few projects since last posting. I'll take a few photos and get them up. My knitting has improved, though still slow. I am currently working on quite a few child-sized afghans, trying to plow through my stash of cheap acrylic and move it on out. I've also started a wedding afghan for my sister (made with Encore wool/acrylic, which is, so far, an excellent yarn to work with--which is good, since this has been dubbed The Afghan from Hell).

Rippling Along

Crossposted to the NEIS Ripple-Along .

This morning I tried to take a picture of the progress I've made on my ripple. Unfortunately, my two "helpers" wanted in on the action. My 4yo is my Official Random Yarn Picker. He is extremely adamant when he chooses, and he's made a fuss a few times when he thought that I wasn't going to use the "right" yarn next ("Mom, WHERE is the magenta?!?! Why isn't it here?!?!")

The other "helper" is my cat, who eats yarn for dinner. She is very intriqued by the huge pile here that I am needing for this project, and by the sorting and digging that has gone on in my stash as I gather what I need.

As for the ripple itself, I had slowed down partly due to the above-mentioned 4yo's birthday, and partly because I was very dismayed by the section with the dk blue, lt blue, and peach. It was looking very lively up until then, but my "Flower Power" ripple wilted on me. The bright green and magenta have revived it, though, and I've decided that, despite the demands of my Official Random Yarn Picker, I need to ensure that there are no more than two pale colors in any 5-segment section (in between the recurring 2 rows of "Flower Power" variagated), and that each section includes mostly brights and darks, like the first one.