Skip to main content

Fail -- And Then Not

As I mentioned yesterday I thought I'd give this Blooming Flower Blanket by Liz Salazar for Premier Yarns a go with my Premier Puzzle yarn and some Amigo Chunky from Hobbii.

The pattern is another one that was oddly written, in that the maker has to keep precise count of each round of stitches, but the repeats have sorta-kinda place references rather than the exact stitch count number. "Dc to the center of the petal" rather than the exact number of double crochets. This makes you have to guess or (like me) fix the pattern in your head by creating your own count.

I had to frog and restitch one row three times to figure out the place reference/exact count problem, which did not make me happy. Altogether I frogged five or six rows in addition to that one that was particular troublesome, which killed my momentum.

This is how much I got done in one night after wrestling with this pattern. The stitch counts on the solid blue row are wrong again. I was trying to be a good sport and really give it a solid try, but my enthusiasm is at zero. I decided to frog the whole thing and use another pattern.

The next night when I sat down to frog what I'd done I thought better of it. I hate being defeated, even by an oddly written pattern. So I pushed on, frogged and redid the last row, and then worked on while trying to follow the three-row repeat at the end of the pattern.

This is how much I got done that night. One section is definitely off-center because of the problems I had with the stitch count, but I'm gradually correcting that one row at a time. It won't be perfect, but I am making this one for me, so I can live with the flaws.

How much I had done last night, which was the third night. The nice thing about bulky yarn is how fast it works up. I should finish this throw today or tomorrow.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Eight Plus Numbers

When I was looking up the retail on the small lot of yarn plus a tapestry kit I got a lot of surprises. This Red Heart Roll with It Sparkle skein in "Diamonds" was actually a cake that sells $10.99 on Yarnspirations. The lot included two Red Heart Super Saver Jumbo skeins, which retail for $8.99 each, and stuck in the center of the buff color I found a 5.5 mm crochet hook. This is a skein of 100% Icelandic wool, which can be really expensive. It's marked with a price tag of $7.00, and I found it selling for $8.00 online. The needlepoint kit is the biggest surprise of all. It makes a pillow, and hails from the UK, where it sells for £45.00 ($60.76 US). Since it's flamingos I definitely have to finish it if I can. Altogether my eight plus lot retails for $125.04; I paid $21.30 total for the lot with the buy-it-now option and one penny shipping. I indeed got a very nice bargain.

On the Beach

Last week my guy and I went to walk Daytona Beach, which was mostly (and eerily) deserted. This is what our beaches used to look like when I was a kid. It was a beautiful day, cold and breezy but calm. It feels like 2026 is getting off to the right start.

Halfway Month Blues

Last week I realized on the 14th that two weeks of 2026 flew right by me, and right now I'm writing during the third week. I wanted to be finished with more projects by now, but life and work have to come first. I think this might be when most crocheters start a new shiny project to boost their spirits. Not me. I kept working away at my first project for the year, and here's why: I don't like being surrounded by unfinished things. I also tend to get fatigued and abandon projects more easily if I've left them by the wayside to do something else. Finally, the payoff of the finished project gives me a much better spirit boost than messing around with several projects at the same time. I have a couple of strategies for sticking to working on one project at a time, which I can use to keep myself focused on reaching the finish line. Planning my next project is probably what I do most often by pulling the yarn from my stash, getting out the printed pattern for the...