I’ve definitely been obsessed with yarns lately. I blame the local major craft store for having delicious, delicious sales. Now that we’re moving into summer, the popularity of knitting and such will probably dwindle, plus, we’ll be getting in all the new season stock from the Northern Hemisphere eventually. Whatever the case, I saw all those wonderful, super soft colours and fluffy yarns and had to get them!
Speaking of obsessions, I am of the absolute firm belief that you can never have to many blankets. Bedspreads, knee blankets or snuggly rugs; if it is warm and soft, you should probably have it, or gift it to someone else. Indeed, since I carry rugs in my car (just in case!), I’ve even given one to a homeless man.
Of course, put these two things together, and I am crocheting a whole lot of blankets. A couple of smaller ones for family with babies, and a couple of larger ones to give as Christmas gifts, even though giving a rug as a present in the middle of summer would likely strike someone as especially odd.
The first of the larger blankets is made from “random” coloured squares sewn together. As much as I am loving the results already, this is pretty complicated and takes a lot of attention. I wrote out the pattern to follow (random is never as random as you think), and have to tick each segment off as I’m done. It’s going to look super awesome when it’s finished, but I will also be kind of relieved when I don’t have to think so hard about it.
The second larger blanket will just be a standard repeating pattern in the squares, though I am actually intending on rectangles. We’ll see how that goes. In general, stitching the same pattern for each segment will make that one a lot simpler to work on. I’m also looking forward to that one in a ridiculous way; I have some gorgeous fawn and rainbow coloured yarns to use, and cannot WAIT to see the result!
And yes, I’m crocheting more than I’m writing, but you can be assured that I’m getting words out every day! It might not quite qualify as my marathon just yet, but I’m pleased with the progress nevertheless.
~A
The Fane 
Awww! You have such a generous heart! Making the little beanie for me and blankets and gifts for the rest of your family and friends!
I love making gifts, though! It keeps me busy, I get to make fun things, and justify buying awesome yarns. ❤
~A
I’m a freelance writer who also crochets far more than I put words to paper. Don’t get me wrong; writing is a relaxing way to spend the day. My day job, however, has me spending time on writing training curriculum, grants, newsletters, and instructional emails. When I get home, I don’t have much energy left for new words. I can always find time to crochet, though. I have an online store, but honestly, I don’t sell as much as I give away. I’m a sucker for any occasion that needs a crocheted gift. I also think I give vast amounts of my work away to charities who are raising money for events or who need hats for sweet toddlers at the homeless shelter or scarves/hats for the homeless. Go with your instincts – write when you can and crochet when it feels right. You can’t go wrong!
I honestly feel like crafts, and especially crochet and knitting, leaves my imagination free to contemplate the stories I want to work on. There’s a lot to be said for the unconscious work of the mind! Crochet has a different type of fun, plus it’s kind of immediately rewarding, and very relaxing and stress-free (until you spot a missed stitch XD). I’d love to get more involved in giving my projects to charity. That would be all kinds of awesome to me. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
~A
Ashlee, why don’t you sell your crocheting at your online store? Too time consuming to be worth it? Just curious, because I want to see pictures! I’m not very familiar with the craft, and I can’t quite picture the types of yarn you describe, although they sound very pretty. Letting you into the yarn section sounds like letting me into the scrapbook section. =D And I love that you have that to be passionate about: if crocheting brings you peace and inspiration, consider it part of your writing, not a drain on writing. It’s always good to do things that bring you joy.
I don’t really consider my crochet “professional quality” (which might just be some weird notion I have), and for the amount it costs in wools and how long it takes, I’d end up feeling uncomfortable charging a reasonable amount for the work. 🙂 But you never know, I might set something up one day. I’ll still take some photos of my recent pieces and show them off when they’re finished!
That’s a really great way of looking at it; and I get to think a lot when I’m crocheting, which is always a key aspect to writing!
~A
I’m jealous of your crocheting! I always think I’d like to knit or crochet. I’ve done it before, but I just can’t stick to it, lol.
You might be starting on projects that are just too big for your attention span; that’s what’s happened to me in the past! Even if it’s physically small, but you have to do a lot of work, it can end up being a huge chore to complete (for example, when I crocheted a REALLY nice fingerless glove, but only ever finished one of the pair…). Simple things that are awesome fun to make are little tote bags out of a single rectangle piece that you just stitch up the sides. Then again, I love little bags. 😀
~A
lol, oh I don’t even get to the project phase! My mom showed me how to knit when I was a kid, and I learned crocheting at an after school program. That’s the last time I actually did anything.
It just always seems like a nice idea. It’s sort sort of like how coffee smells good to me, but I don’t like the flavor. I’m just too lazy to start, lol.