Under Color Crochet

So fun! I always love crocheting with bulky weight yarn. It works up fast and easy. It makes me feel productive. Even when all I'm doing is jus'chillin'😎 and hanging out doin' my fave hobby.🤩 Each one of these pieces is actually just half a scarf, which makes for a cute quartet of colors. A slightly different pattern for each one, all the same shape, and varying lengths. They're sisters in a set of a sunrise color scheme, and I absolutely adore the look and feel of the whole project.   This bulky weight, ribbed texture yarn is now discontinued. Darn! I bought four skeins of it last year, with exactly this kind of project in mind. I imagined a slightly different piece in each color, but all with the same general theme. Line them up, and see how it looks. Now I wish I had purchased more! I wasn't sure if I'd like working with that ribbed texture, so I thought I'd just whip out mini-scarves, in different stitches, and see what happens. Of course it all tu...

  I had so much fun making this piece, I just kept on making it. So cheery and fun. No plan, other than trying to use up as many colorful leftovers as I could. Another texture added, good. Different color this time, perfect. 😎 Candy colored color combinations, plus ruffle, plus fringe, with a touch of chenille smoothness, and a smidgen of  bouclé fluffiness. Too wild'n'wacky? Not if you're a hippie! And certainly not if you're a color-luvin' crochet-playin' funster like me. 🤩 My brother, Frank, had the idea to call this piece "Hippie Candycorn," and I loved it immediately. But there are a few more colors present than just the classic candycorn yellow, orange, and white. With multiple shades of pink, and a few other tones of peaches and cream, this piece doesn't quite get the "corn" bit. Still lovin' the "candy" part, though. And, of course, diggin' the "hippie" thing! Thanks, Frank. 😍 Love, love, love that  ...

  What colorful fun! The super bulky weight yarns of this piece worked up so fast and easy, I had time for an afternoon margarita. I was exploring ideas for a circular pattern, because I have a few other fun things in mind for upcoming projects. Before I knew it, this poncho just kind of started creating itself.  The body of this poncho was made with five cakes of "Thick and Quick" in the color scheme of Pinwheel. Plus, there are two cakes of "Mandala Fluffy" in the trim. So, with seven cakes in this piece, it is comfortably heavy. This poncho might look sunny and bright, but it is perfect for cold weather.  One fluffy trim is the color scheme of Mermaid and the other is Jellyfish. Love all those clever names! Love fluffy trim for the top and bottom of any piece! And here, those clashing colors are especially perfect, because this poncho is meant for a party. Maybe a costume party. 😎 I used a size N crochet hook for both main body and trim. That worked perfect to s...

  I love leftovers, and I never throw away any of the bits and pieces that remain after a project is completed. Each little ball is a memento of the peace and joy that I felt while I was creating something colorful. In my enthusiasm for adding fringe, I often cut too much, and then I can't bare to discard even those stringy bits. They make their own colorful contribution to a fun pile of leftovers. I realize that all these odds and ends add up to an equation that proves the inefficiency of my planning for projects. And, well, hmph. I am not ashamed. I'm delighted with the mathematical certainty that a pile of leftovers equals a colorful sculpture in a genre all its own.    Over the summer, I created so many crochet projects, the leftovers filled up the tray. It became a bit too wobbly to stack any more bits on there, so I had to start a new system. I thought about dumping the whole colorful mess into a crafty bucket... but then I decided not to, because I want to continue...

This beautiful beast was inspired by Inara, my brother’s niece by marriage. She calls me “Aunt Becky,” even though I'm not actually her aunt in any legal or blood way. Oh, how I love the sound of her sweet voice saying a label that I’ve hardly earned. Extended family is so special, it’s hard to describe, and harder still to explain to people who don’t have as much as we do. Frank’s in-laws became part of my extended family, along with our 22 first cousins (some of whom are almost like siblings to us), and their 45 kids (many of whom are like nieces and nephews to us), all of which I delight in using to confuse my students. Frank’s wife, Kelly, died in 2012, which for some would mean the end of in-law relationships. Instead, a beautiful thing happened, a new closeness. Shortly after Kelly’s funeral, Frank told me that his sister-in-law, Rebekah, had said to him, “You are still uncle to our kids, you will always be their uncle.” Also, Frank later told me that he has become better fri...