Crochet Crossroads

· by · in Miscellaneous. ·

We’ve all been there – Find a gorgeous pattern, dig through your stash for the perfect yarn to use and settle in for some quality crochet time. Then you start having this little uneasy feeling.

Something is off. Is something off?

No it’s fine. I just need to work a few more rows. Right?

I should frog it and start over. No that’s silly, it’ll be fine. But if I go a few more rows and it doesn’t sort itself out I’ll have gone past the point of no return!!

Does that conversation with yourself sound familiar??

My crochet instincts have definitely gone from that “something isn’t quite right” mumbling to the “FROG IT, FROG IT NOW!!!”

I was so excited to find the “perfect” yarn for the Dancing Butterflies Wrap pattern that I started last week. Gorgeous colors – a nice loosely spun yarn to give the wrap an ethereal texture. It is perfect – isn’t it??

dancing butterflies wrap yarn

The way that the colors are working up is NOT working up right. The blues are ending up being on one half of the wrap while the burgundy is on the other side. I had hoped that the colors would meet and mingle and become best friends but they didn’t. This wrap is starting to remind me less of Dancing Butterflies and more like a junior high school dance – the boys on one side of the gymnasium and the girls on the other side.

I’m also not 100% feeling the Caron Cakes for this pattern either. The stripes that it would create just don’t feel right for the nice fan style stitch pattern.

stash surprise

This is why I will never feel guilty about my yarn stash and why I’m happy that I have multiple stash locations. I remembered that in my closet stash I had a bag of yarn that my mother in law had given me. I had forgotten all about that yarn too!!

stash surprise 3

Now this is screaming DANCING BUTTERFLIES at me! And it is a very fluffy yarn that gives a Mohair like finish. The other yarns would be nice for maybe a triangle shawl or a different stitch pattern. This pattern I think will be best with the shorter lengths between color changes.

So here is what I learned today:

  • Don’t ignore your instincts – 99.9% of the time that I start feeling something is off it really is in fact off.
  • Buy lots of yarn and keep it in secret little stashes all around the house – I have given myself a nice little Ooooo and Wheeeeeee feeling twice in one week because I had completely forgotten what was in my stashes. I like to have Ooooo and Wheeeee moments and I want more of them in my life! 😀

Have you ever reached a crochet or knitting crossroad? Do you know right away when to stop and make adjustments or frog? Or do you keep going just a little more hoping against all hope that it sorts itself out?

Now back to those Dancing Butterflies before they flutter away!!!

Thanks for reading!!

~ Tami

44 responses to “Crochet Crossroads”

    • Thanks Teresa!! The message here is “trust your instincts!!!” Which is something that I know you and I have had past struggles with. 🙂 Your photos are sublime so I KNOW that you were so right to trust in yourself and your instincts!!! Oh and of course the message in this post is that ridiculously large and hidden yarn stashes are GOOD!!! 😀

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Tami ~
    Yeah, this wasn’t doing what you wanted it to.
    But there’s something about that teal and gray on the left and the eggplant and white on the right that I like. I think it would work for a different garment or a different shape. Maybe a scarf, so when you wrap it around your neck the different colors can loop together in the front? Or would a double wrapped infinity scarf stack the two on top of each other? That would be pretty.
    Just an idea…
    Jan

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    • Those color combos were just making me drool Jan! I loved them and I’m more than a little disappointed that they weren’t working for this particular pattern. I think that a different stitch might get those lovely lovely colors mingled together better. Plus the texture of this yarn is so delicate. It will be going back to the stash, but I will remember that I have it and be looking for, or designing something worthy of it. 😀

      Liked by 1 person

    • Right!!!! I’m already on my 3rd row with using the new yarn choice on this wrap and I’m so happy I “called it” when I did. I still have moments where I wait a little too long but I’m definitely getting better at noticing and paying attention as soon as I get that “hmmm” feeling. 😀

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  4. I actually like the way the colours were working out! It was kinda lovely and enchanting. But if you aren’t feeling it and it’s not sitting right with you then return to it at another time 😀 do you have a yarn called King Cole riot over your way?

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    • I just looked up King Cole on Amazon and it’s $42 a skein!!! So either that yarn needs to be 4x the size of a Caron Cakes or it needs to be able to crochet itself when I open the package. Love the colors but that’s very expensive for a 30% wool/70% acrylic blend. I wonder if that price includes overseas shipping charges. Anyways – I do love the colors of the yarn I first started using with this wrap – Red Heart Unforgettable. And I really love the feel of it too, but I wanted the blues and the reds to be closer together in the finished piece not separated on either side. I think that if I used a different size hook and maybe a different starting stitch count it would force the colors to be closer to each other. I might pull it all apart and start over but for now I’m going to put it aside. It is kind of a delicate yarn so when I frog it back to the start the yarn may not cooperate. I’m almost thinking granny squares would be nice for that yarn. We’ll see. I want to donate this wrap to KelleysDYI giveaway so I don’t really have time to mess around with it. I’m not used to having any real deadlines for making things so I don’t want to underestimate how long it’s going to take to make it.

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      • Damn it only works out £3.99 for a skein here. That’s really shocking!! It used to be like that for us before Caron cakes came to the UK. Hmmm yeah it is delicate yarn like that but maybe it would work out if you do change up the stitch count etc if it doesn’t work first time doing it then stop before the yarn fucks up. And granny squares will work with anything it’s bomb diggity. It doesn’t look a very big item so can’t imagine taking that long to do and your pretty quick when it comes to getting shit done. Good luck lol

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      • Yeah it must be an international shipping thing. I’ve already finished 3 1/2 rows since I made this post so it should work up pretty quick. As long as I don’t start any new projects I should have plenty of time LOL!!! 😀

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  5. I love your comment about ooooooooh and wheeee moments! I fully approve of your idea to buy and hide yarn so you can have more of them! I once did that with pound coins and a five pound note in purses I didn’t use much and coat pockets!!

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    • I know – and I was really disappointed. I think that if I pulled it apart and made it a few inches longer it could end up with the colors meeting more in the middle. Or maybe a different hook size. I’ve started another one with a variegated yarn that has the color changes more frequent and it’s coming out very nicely so I’ll just continue with that. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Happens to me all the time. Sometimes I go with it and try to make it work and sometimes I’m forced to frog it back. That’s totally how I felt with the mermaid puppet. I didn’t like it until I finished the hair. And then I kinda liked it. But it’s a small project and I could afford to see it through and if their had been no way to fix it, no big deal. Even if it ended up a disaster, some kid at work would like it. 🙂

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    • Whenever things don’t go as planned – which is not unusual since I make up most patterns as I go, I end up just keeping it for myself. Needless to say I have a few lopsided sweaters and kinda weird looking blankets, ponchos and hats LOL!! 😀

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    • I had never heard of it either but the colors are really working well with this pattern. I have no idea where my mother in law got it from. It is Lion Brand but I’ve never seen the Jiffy in any craft stores that I go to. 😀

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  9. I’ve been there and I ignored the feeling… Now I’m regretting it and will take apart and frog that whole crochet mess…

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    • It really is a tough call sometimes. I hate to have to pull apart everything I’ve done so most of the time when I get that feeling and ignore it, I’ll end up just putting the whole unfinished mess onto the very bottom of my wip pile and pretend like it doesn’t exist. LOL 😀

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      • Haha!!! In my case, I leave it there till I don’t have any yarn other than that one to use on another project. I definitely have to frog it though….

        Liked by 1 person

  10. I’m quite familiar with this feeling, and I usually pay attention when I’m crocheting, but I need to learn to listen to it when I knit…I tend to wait too long when I’m knitting before I decide there really is something not quite right.

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    • I’m not a knitter but it seems like it’s a lot more difficult to undo something than it is for crocheting. It’s only been maybe the past year that I’ve really started to pay attention to that feeling. I have a lot of “unusual” looking crocheted things to remind me what will happen if I don’t listen to my instincts LOL! 😀

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  11. I usually frog immediately but sometimes I stupidly go ahead and finish it up. In those cases, I usually regret the decision as soon as the item is done. I think you were smart to go with your instinct and start over with a yarn you’re happier with. I do hope you find something pretty to make with that first yarn though. It is really gorgeous, just not for your butterfly shawl.

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    • I may try this yarn again on this shawl with some minor adjustments to the pattern. I’m thinking if I use a treble stitch instead of the double stitches and make the length a little longer the colors will be spread out a little more evenly and not pooled at the ends. I wish I had this result when I was actually trying to figure out planned color pooling – which is something I’ve completely given up on ever figuring out! 😀

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  12. I feel your pain and it is so frustrating to get the different blends of colors and then they don’t blend in the manner you want. I’ve definitely been there more than once. What I have taken up doing is rolling all my yarn into balls then I see as I am winding them how long the colors take to change from one to the next before I begin work. It’s saved me from a few frustrating pattern attempts.
    I love the Caron Cakes but they don’t work well for many patterns because they are so specific to the color changes that they frequently don’t match my pattern at all.
    Of the color choices shown I actually love the last one the most, I would have begun with that one because it does scream dancing butterflies to me with the spring vibrant colors whereas the first color said winter and second color said sunrise and I immediately thought of summer tank top. I can’t wait to see the picture.

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    • Great minds think alike Lyn – I went back and balled up the Unforgettable yarn to see if I can figure out a way to make this work before I saw your comment. 🙂 I started another wrap using the the Jiffy yarn that my MIL gave me and it is very butterflyish! I agree with you on the Caron Cakes – it is lovely yarn but it’s usefulness is very limited. I guess I should be very happy and grateful at the moment if choosing yarn color is the biggest problem I’m having in my life right now. 😀

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  13. I love that you have multiple yarn stash places, so funny! Although I really like the original yarn you were using for the shawl, I think the yarn you are going to use does scream butterflies 🦋. Can’t wait to see how it turns out!

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    • It was like a wonderful Easter egg hunt here Brenna! I felt like I was 5 years old again!! 😀 I had completely forgotten about the yarn MIL gave me. I found it in a closet next to another bag of yarn. I’ve already started the wrap with the new yarn and it is really working well. The first yarn I tried is really bugging me though and I’m also trying to change up the stitches to make it work. I know I should just let it go and move on but I just can’t LOL! 😀

      Liked by 1 person

  14. Tami, I am SO guilty of the sin of just going on, but if I stop and think about it, or (amazingly) if I come back to a puzzle or project, I seem to have so much more perspective. But it’s hard to convince my gung-ho self of that in the middle. However, those non-stripes – or mega-stripes – of your first try do look non-optimal. Good for you for persevering! I heard a saying today: “pick something you like, and stick with it.” Good for you!

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    • Hi Theresa!! I have a few of your posts stacked up waiting for me. I’m saving them until I have time to take my time reading them. After a brief blog vacation it’s been a challenge to get caught up with everything. So about the wrap – please let Erica know that I am enjoying the hell out of her pattern. I love the easy repeat pattern – great for watching tv while I work on it. After the disappointing color pooling on the first go I have started another with the bright pink/yellow/blue yarn and it’s coming along great. I have not given up hope yet on working out a way to control those wayward colors from my first attempt and with some stitch tweaking I may have figured out a solution! 😀

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  15. Next time someone mentions my overgrown stash pile, I shall just say Tami told me to buy lots of yarn so I did 😉
    How funny that it worked out in two separate sides like that. I bet if you’d wanted it to do that it wouldn’t have!

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  17. I ignored my instincts last week and ending up frogging almost a whole Caron Cake – lesson learned! I wanted to turn a Willow block into a giant granny wrap around cushion cover. I think it would have turned out fine had the colour change not by some unfortunate miracle made exactly the whole willow – obviously had I wanted it to do that I am quite sure it wouldn’t have done! It just didn’t look right….but I ignored the niggle repeatedly – and then just hated it when I placed it on a cushion insert! Frog frog frog 🙂 Which is also related to your writing about variegated yarns….ah always something new to learn, right 🙂 Oh and you are totally right about it being important to buy lots and lots of yarn and hide it all over your house!! 😀

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    • Oh no! I’ve been sitting on 3 Caron Cakes for months waiting for some inspiration on what to do with them. I really love the colors but it is tricky yarn to find projects for. I have gotten a lot better at listening to that “crochet” inner voice but there’s been a lot of lopsided sweaters, weird looking shawls and crooked afghans along the way. 😀 Sometimes I think how nice it would be to have lovely shelves or something so I can have all of my yarn out where I can see it but it really is a lot of fun to re-discover all of these secret little stashes!!! Plus if it were all out in the open I may have to confront my yarn addiction. LOL 😀

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  19. You definitely made the right decision there, funny how we instinctively know … guess it’s down to crochet experience too. I have a lovely stash but am struggling to find a pattern to do. I would love to do an open work 3/4 sleeve sweater or cardy with my stash but have been searching for ages for the right pattern, so can’t even get off the starting blocks at the mo..any tips for a place to get great patterns?

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    • I’m getting better at trusting my instincts when things start to go off – in this situation I was so glad I did. It came out so much better after I reworked it.
      Whenever I’m looking for project ideas or options I go straight to youtube. I just type what I’m interested in making in the search bar and go through the results to see if I can find any inspiration there. I just did a post the other day for a sweater that I designed using a method I learned on youtube. It’s a top-down sweater that the starting rows set the shaping of the yoke that also automatically sets the armholes in the right place. I did a short/cap sleeved sweater but you can make the sleeves any way you like. Using this base method you can use any stitches that you want. My next project is going to be making a sweater using the same stitch pattern that I did for the wrap that I was making in this post. I have some gorgeous teal/purple/blue yarn that I’m going to use on it ❤ ❤ – I'm very excited to get started but there are 2 more things I want to finish first. Let me know if you need any help finding my sweater post or if you need the link to the youtube video I used. 😀

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