Crocheted Stuff

Currently I find myself designing from scratch or adjusting patterns for each person that I am creating said project.

A good example is the dressy shawl that I created as an Easter present for my sister Abby when she and her family visited up here in New England. Before giving it to her, I had shown it to a co-worker, and he immediately commissioned one for him to give to his wife as a Mother’s Day present. When Abby came back home to Virginia Beach, our Ma saw the shawl and fell in love with it. Thus calling me and requesting that I make her one. Well, to make a long story short, with each recipient, I customized the shawl on how it would fit and what type of fashion sense each person has. So far these shawls are for:
Abby (my little sister, Easter present)
Alyssa (Jon’s wife, his Mother’s Day present)
Ma (my mother, commissioned for a dinner)
Mom (Rich’s mother, Mother’s Day present)
Aunt Mary (Mom’s sister, birthday present)
TBD (Sample I am using for my crochet class)

Sometimes I see yarn all around me that begs to be made up. The problem is that my hands have no idea what the yarns want to be made into. An good example is when I designed another shawl that was inspired by the discontinued Classic Elite Follies I bought months ago from the Sale Room at RA Yarns. The mocha yarn is a blend of alpaca, wool, and rayon. By itself it knitted up coarsely like soft rope, yet when I crocheted it with Marks & Kattens Korall (cotton, acrylic, and polyester yarn) in sand, the results were a spectacularly simple yet stylish shawl that I absolutely love wearing with everything. Like the dressy shawl mentioned earlier, I adjusted this surprise birthday gift to compliment the friend Rich and I made when we adopted Zydeco from Sweet Binks Rabbit Rescue. Whether when Pam went out to town either in jeans or suited up, this present would look great on her. She is an inch or two taller than I am, but is a very slim ladies size 6 at most. I thought that Filatura di Crosa’s grey Zara would combine fabulously with the silvery Korall yarn that I pictured for her, and it did. Best of all, she loved it! The next best part? I have enough of both grey and silver yarns to make another one for myself. And I did!