I'm sure that anyone who works with textiles will understand the magpie tendency to hoard masses of fabrics, threads, yarns, buttons, books etc... not to mention the numerous half finished items. Some recents events have prompted me into thinking I really should have a massive clear out and whilst going through my yarn stash I found the beginnings of this blanket.
I have no idea when I started it (I've just looked back on my blog... almost 5 years ago!), nor what I have done with the pattern but I do recall it was started to use up all those odd balls of coloured yarn that were knocking about.(and if you follow the link you'll see my recollection is rather faulty... I actually bought new yarn!)
I think I quite like the chaotic mismatch of colours but they disturb me too. I decided I should finish it but found I was agonising over which colours I should put together... which of course doesn't really matter as it is totally random.
Although I recall reading that even in a randon scheme such as this there need to be some linking component and for my hexagons it is the orange centres to each patch.
I know what will happen though... all the little odd balls that are left will get used up and I'll still need to buy more to finish it!
And as I was adding hexagons to my blanket I got thinking about another blanket I wanted to try...
The "Starburst" blanket from Jane Brocket's knitting book... except for a while I've fancied making it on a black back ground which reminds me of the bright colours of fireworks against the dark sky.
Of course it did involve buying more yarn so instead of clearing out I've gained more adding to my "Stuffocation" but I did limit myself to only eight colours plus the black.
And of course this means I can instill order to my colour choices and the mathematician in me has worked out there are 336 different permutations of my eight colours using three for each square as opposed to only 56 combinations. (A permutation is where the order of the choices matters as opposed to a combination where the order is irrelevant). The squares above are the six permutations for the pink, turquoise and mauve yarn...
And I can't tell you how excited that makes me being able to work out which colours I should use next and in which order... and wondering if I'll be able to make all 336 different squares!
Sad I know! But it does make me wonder why I crave such order when my textile stash remains in such chaos. I'll tidy up and sort out when I've finished this blanket... promise!
How about you... order or chaos?
Order and chaos for me too. Apparently it is a sign of a productive mind :) I wish I could remember where I read that. The mess is getting to me in our house and so I need to do something with it and I guess since the dark nights have drawn in and so there is plenty of hours left before bed, I had better get on with doing something. Not sure what though or where to start, but I do like a bit of order from time to time.
ReplyDeleteOoo, I love order - everything neat and tidy! My daughters call me 'neat freak!
ReplyDeleteWe are all the same, we just love another project. In my head I cope better with the colour linking the work being on the outer ring as opposed to the centre. But once the hexagons are stitched together, I know they will look fantastic. A hexagon quilt is on my list of projects 'to do'.
ReplyDeleteMostly chaos for me, but I do like order. Maybe organised chaos?! Love both those blankets - just the thing to snuggle under on chilly evenings. My aunt was a great crocheter and made me a similar one which my children loved when they were small. They called it 'the poorly blanket' as I used it to tuck them up on the sofa if they were ill.
ReplyDeleteMy natural order is chaos, but I have made myself give everything a home, even if it is in the 'no home' pile, so I can tidy up when it all gets too much!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous crochet, both the hexagons and the starbursts.
ReplyDeleteI often try really hard to be random with blankets like this but inevitably start to create order at some point, as I fuss over which colours look best to each other!
It must be the season for crochet, I'm hooked (!) on it and Emma Pebble seems to be too :)
I'm now feeling sufficiently guilty to go and get my unfinished granny stripe blanket down off the wardrobe.
xxx
Definitely order!
ReplyDeleteOrder I think but there may be a little bit of chaos from time it time.
ReplyDeleteI have a mathematical head too and everything has to be logical and I believe if you think like that, you can't do random!!! I too would have had to work out how many different ways there were to construct the squares!
I love the black though it really makes the colours pop!
V xxx
Gina, all these colors and the discovery of an uncompleted project ...well, this looks like familiar territory to my eyes.
ReplyDeleteSad? Never!
There is just something about playing with yarn and colors, using either a crochet hook, or knitting needles, or even... a loom, that will offer us continuing joy. There are endless possibilities.
Order or chaos...who cares when beauty is the sub text?
xo
Mostly order I should say, but certainly chaos when I'm working on something, but have to clear up after every session these days, no room for mess :-(
ReplyDeleteI love the fearless psychedelic colours of these hexagons, a real wake up job on a an Autumn morning..... Magic.
You lost me a little with the permutations, but it is going to look fantastic.
ReplyDeleteOh I work in chaos but like order when it is all finished - I love them all - time for a cuppa and some cake perhaps to think about it!!
ReplyDeleteIs it really chaos Gina? I bet you know roughly where everything is when you need it and I'm sure the original piece will be completed beautifully.
ReplyDeleteI'm used to a little chaos around me, (until I pop and have to do something about it, very rarely), but I do like doing anything in a methodical manor. Even placing pumpkin wedges on a baking sheet has to be done just so so they all fit properly!!
ReplyDeleteOrder in chaos makes it all work for me.
The colours are stunning. I thought we had all learnt are lesson about buying too much, but obviously not when ever I see goodies I have to buy them. Food and textitiles,
ReplyDeleteAnnya
That is so my story.Always some yarn left over from a project so buy some more to finish it etc, etc and so it goes on.I am making a hexagon blanket at the moment and can't decide whether to have order or chaos.(see my blog).I love the Jane Brocket blanket and have made several.Blanket making is soooo addictive!
ReplyDeleteYou made me smile when you said you only bought eight balls.... especially after starting the post with all the rationale for clearing out the stash and finishing things off! What are you like!!??... Mind you, knowing the chaotic way I work and my inability to discard even the slightest scrap of paper perhaps the phrase 'people in glass houses etc etc ' should be whispered in my ear.
ReplyDeleteYou made me smile when you said you only bought eight balls.... especially after starting the post with all the rationale for clearing out the stash and finishing things off! What are you like!!??... Mind you, knowing the chaotic way I work and my inability to discard even the slightest scrap of paper perhaps the phrase 'people in glass houses etc etc ' should be whispered in my ear.
ReplyDeleteYou are too funny -- started out trying to clean stuff up and now you have another project! Sounds familiar LOL. I've been trying to finish UFOs this year -- I'm making progress but I need to clean stuff out and just get rid of the ones I no longer like -- and that's a tall order!
ReplyDeleteToo funny and always good to know you're not alone. Organized chaos for me. It's so hard to toss or move on supplies when you can see their potential. It seems the more you know how to create the harder it gets to part with the possibilities of supplies that come your way.
ReplyDeleteI love the hexagons best.
Gorgeous crochet - I'm afraid I'm a chaos type, as my desk at work would also confirm. My line manager is a neat freak and I think she despairs of me :)
ReplyDeleteTwiggy x
Love the colours and that you've used maths in your work!! We all know how easy it is to get diverted when we're having a clear out!! I prefer order to chaos, just need more hours in a day.
ReplyDeleteFirst things first, Gina: this blanket is going to be stunning. I am in awe of your colour combinations here. Wow!
ReplyDeleteI smiled when I read your post; which fabric and yarn hoarder would not? You cannot fight it, I think, this need to buy more yarn to use the yarn you already have languishing on the groaning shelves. I'm REALLY endeavouring to use up my obscene stash (of fabric too) but find myself, like you, needing to purchase more yarns to finish each project. It makes me laugh really. I think I would describe the state of my shelves as organised chaos...on a good day :-)
Stéphanie
ps I've linked to your blog in my Celia Hart fabric post.
Chaos for me I'm afraid. I have a blitz now and then, especially when I can't find anything! Your blankets are simply gorgeous - I love the last one on the black background! Very striking. xCathy
ReplyDeleteOrdered chaos! I know where everything is or should be, but nobody else has a hope especially if something hasn't been put back, which unfortunately is nearly all the time. I live surrounded by heaps that I haven't had time to put away. And there is one heaping place in the living room where I know the contents don't actually have a place of their own, which probably means I need to move some other stuff around first to make a place...but I also know that would involve doing something drastic like sorting the massive, underused photo albums to clear a space on a shelf. But that's a really boring job, so the heap lives on. I like "stuffocation", hits the nail on the head! I also think you're onto something with your mathematical crochet colour obsession - hold that thought.
ReplyDeleteI think you will have a glorious stained glass window of a blanket when you're done, and I for one will think it delightful :)
ReplyDeleteI would love to be organised but chaos rules here far too often. I had to giggle at you starting a blanket with the idea of using up stashed yarns - it never works out, the call of new yarn is just too strong to resist! They are both beautiful blankets though so buying more yarn is perfectly justified :)
ReplyDelete