Crochet! · Unraveled Wednesday / Knit & Read

Unraveled Wednesday

Joining Kat & the Unravelers for Unraveled Wednesday…

CROCHET:

IMG_1227
IMG_1227

I crocheted the last charted circle motif the other day for Hexie Love (Rav link)!

My box of colors has changed a lot since February 1st.

Colorbox
Colorbox

I started with 35 and not only have I run out of some colors, but I've also dumped the box too many times to count… so lately the chart is just a suggestion, and I work with whatever feels right.

IMG_1228

Now I have two stitch holders full of circles to join/make into hexies, and a pile of extras — because every other row is a short one (not reflected in my chart of squares). So there will be one non-charted row, and at least a few more after that. At least.

READING:

I guess it's been a while since I wrote an Unraveled post! I have finished An American Quilt: Unfolding A Story of Family & Slavery (pages) and Sinéad O'Connor's memoir, Rememberings (audio). The quilt story was… missing something; it wasn't quite as dynamic and engaging as I'd hoped. I really enjoyed listening to Sinéad read her book, but I'm sure it's not for everyone. I was eye witness to the event that changed her life and it was interesting to hear the back story…

I just finished listening to Unsettled Ground this morning! It's a full month until the book club discussion (unheard of!), and I'm looking forward to that. On my nightstand is The Lager Queen of Minnesota: A Novel, which I am enjoying.

 

Crochet! · Unraveled Wednesday / Knit & Read

Unraveled Wednesday: Hexies All The Time

I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers today to share what I'm knitting crocheting and reading!

CROCHETING:

The last time I shared an "official" Unraveled Wednesday blanket update, I was seven rows in, and now I'm three hexies away from finishing Row #11!

IMG_9472

I am still gobsmacked that it's working so well. I love it more and more! There are some very weird color combos in a few of those hexagons… there are also many that are perfection, and often I'm surprised. Details & more pics on my Ravelry project page if you're curious.

READING:

I will likely finish listening to Futureproof: 9 Rules for Humans in the Age of Automation by Kevin Roose today. It's not my usual type of book, but it's interesting and enlightening, even for someone at little risk of losing her job to a computer. AI (Artificial Intelligence) touches our lives every single day in a myriad of ways and, while "controlling" may be too harsh, it (algorithms, data, analysis) definitely influences us in ways we might not even realize.

Perhaps then I will get back to & finish The Midnight Library, I know I'm not the only one who found it a bit of a slog through the middle.

Though I should probably start reading Shuggie Bain!  

And An American Quilt: Unfolding A Story of Family & Slavery is still on my nightstand. I used to read a little every night, but lately I've been prioritizing sleep (sort of, because I'm still a night owl and stay up too late) over reading.

 

Crochet!

Tuesday

Annie & I took another online cooking class on Saturday. This time it was "Online Thai Tonight," by Sur La Table. I learned about their cooking classes from Kym, who went on an exploration after reading about our Pisco Sour adventure, and the class that we took from the New Orleans School of Cooking. I love the way this community works!

IMG_9020

One of our recipes was for Fresh Rolls with Poached Shrimp (or Spring Rolls, as we call them) and Coconut-Peanut Dipping Sauce (a lot of Peanut Sauce). These were actually Sunday lunch, made fresh for me by Kate. In class, we also made Stir-Fried Wide Rice Noodles with Beef. We enjoyed it so much, and the food was so good, that we've signed up for Chef BB's "Authentic Fried Chicken & Sides" later in the month. Both of us were drawn in when Chef said that it was her class for Women's History Month… and that this was her women's history! 

Yesterday, for International Women's Day, I accompanied my eldest to Milwaukee where she needed to get her biometrics done in order to complete & send in her visa app for moving to the UK — specifically, Scotland — so that she can continue to carve out & pursue the life & career that she desires. You may recall that this move was on the table a while back, then off, then a bunch of other things were proposed/considered, and it swung back around to Scotland again. It's where she really wants to be, and she* came up with a more economical way to do it (housing-wise, mostly) (one of the biggest barriers), at least initially. It looks like she'll be heading over in 6-8 weeks on a 3-year visa.

I thought a lot about my "international" women — Ann in Peru (formerly of Spain & Brazil), Maddy in Australia, Kate soon to be in Scotland, Ali here in Wisconsin — celebrating all that they've already achieved for themselves, and the new pursuits that they explore… and how they all continue to inspire.

_ _ _ _ _

In other not-so-new news, I continue to crochet.

IMG_9033

Oh boy. While waiting in the car for Kate yesterday, I worked on joining a hexagon to the blanket and ended up having to fudge — too many stitches were left after working all the repeats. Y'know, crochet is not my "natural" craft… I'm feeling more comfortable with it, but it still feels quite awkward, and I certainly can't "read" it like I can knitting. Anyway, it dawned on me after I cut my yarn, that perhaps my count was off — which would surprise me because I feel like I'm counting all.the.time — but, sure enough, there were 13 repeats in that particular motif instead of 12.

Aaannnnndddd… turns out, that was not an isolated incident. Haha!

IMG_9032

Also, continuing with the random/unplanned design of this project, I am joining the fifth row from left-to-right instead of right-to-left as I've done all the others — and as I intended to do and THOUGHT that I was doing (though I knew there was something "different").

Guess what? I'm not re-doing any of it. I love this darn thing, warts and all.

 

Crochet!

Hexies are not squares

The random layout generated at Granny Square Colors is in squares and I'm doing hexagons!

IMG_8896

I didn't consider what difference the shape would make until I started joining the second row last night… THE SECOND ROW!!  I'm so happy. It'll be a simple adjustment (knit fewer hexies or add another row… TBD!).

Meanwhile, it's sunny with a high of 41°F today, snow is melting, birds are chirping, and I can't help but feel a little hopeful.

 

Alabama Chanin · Crochet! · Weekending

Weekending

I did a fair bit of stitching on my Alabama Chanin Car Jacket over the weekend. Prompted by the photo I posted a couple of weeks ago of the wrong side of the back piece I’m working on, I went on a hunt to find the last one I’d taken…

Wow.

I hardly worked on that project at all in 2020! Not only were we slammed with the overall weirdness of Covid, but Ali had just moved into a new house at the end of 2019, learned that she was pregnant, and had a business to keep afloat (an endeavour that wasn’t mine, but I did numerous things to help). Kate & I bought Ducky and that renovation kept me busy. I had an epic baby blanket to knit! And other stuff.

Anyway, it looks like the last snap of the back I took was at Kym’s in October 2019 when I drove to Michigan for our Mini AC Weekend!

Close-up view of a stitched back piece of an Alabama Chanin Car Jacket, featuring various embroidery designs on a dark green fabric, surrounded by sewing supplies.

I like to photo the back because the stitches are so much more obvious. Here’s the same thing as of yesterday afternoon:

IMG_8878

And here’s the front:

A piece of fabric with various stitched patterns, including circles and leaf designs, laid flat on a concrete surface.
Hand-stitched fabric piece featuring an array of circular motifs and decorative embroidery on a dark background.

The top image is from April 7th, and the bottom is yesterday.

I couldn’t resist putting it together with a sleeve:

A partially completed Alabama Chanin Car Jacket laid on a brick surface, showcasing intricate stitching and a variety of fabric circles in shades of blue, black, and purple.

The end is really nowhere in sight — there is so much left to do — but this is really motivating! This piece is more than 2/3 done — I’ve finished stitching the two top sections, and have a good start on the bottom. I’m confident that the other pieces will go a little bit quicker and I’m excited to baste the layers together for the other back piece… SOON!!

I also started making my crocheted circles into hexagons and joining them together.

IMG_8862
IMG_8862

I’m working from the bottom, so that’s the bottom row — just over half the width (it’ll be 15 hexies wide x 21 hexies tall) (I think). I made progress since taking that photo, and have only two more hexies to work before starting the next row. I’ve been working the circles in order and slipping them onto stitch holders, but I could only find two, so you can see the third row stacking up in the top photo. I need a little more order, organization & control than that, so was happy for the weekend and time to work out the JAYGO method again. I’m super clumsy and some of this pretty sketchy, but oh… it makes me so happy. The colors & combos are wild, technically they shouldn’t all work together, and yet… 😍.