Rainbow Whatsit

Well I still don't have the baby afghan in the mail nor have I washed it as Ed wants to wait until Friday to mail it and I don't want to bring it back into this room to pick up dust and fuzzies from the blankets and Merlin etc. I want to pack it right into its mailer box as soon as it is dry. So washing it will wait until tomorrow. But other than washing it there is no more to do with it. So I went ahead and started another project.

Yes, though I have twenty some unfinished projects waiting in the wings for the afghan to be finished, I have gone and started another one.

Sigh.

I saw this picture in an ad online on one of the crochet sites I visited and I couldn't get it off my mind. I love rainbows. There was no pattern related to the photo so no clue as to what materials or pattern or product. Is it a blanket? A top? A tea towel? A table runner? A book cover? Who knows.

Is it thread or yarn and what size. Judging by the size of the crochet hook in scale with those thumbs it has to be lace weight yarn or size 10 crochet thread or smaller. I am fairly sure though that it is the fillet stitch.

Whatever the truth of it, I decided it didn't matter as long as I could make a rainbow out of my thread collection. I am missing some of the colors featured in this one so I had to make it up with what I have and to make sure I got the stripes in the right order I first researched the artist's color wheel.

Learning to do fillet was on my agenda and before I could trust myself to follow one of the intricate grid patterns I needed to get my tension etc under control so it made sense to do a largish project to practice. well largish in relation to bookmarks but smallish in relation to a table cloth, afghan or bedspread. I decided something like a place mat/vase mat or a notebook cover or netbook carry pouch.

So I began with a chain about a foot long. Using size 10 cotton crochet thread I make two rows with each color. I'm using sixteen different colors. I already have 24 stripes. Meaning I'm halfway through the second iteration of the pattern.

I have changed my mind about what I'm making though. It's a bit more complicated than a place mat or even a netbook carry pouch. I'm not going to say what in this post though. Instead, starting tomorrow I will post pictures of the progress of the project every few days until it is finished.

I had planned to post the first picture tonight but I didn't get it done before Ed came to bed so instead I took a screenshot of my WhizFolder note ap showing the screenshot I snagged of the picture that inspired it.

I've done 48 rows in three days and I estimate I'm going to have to at least double that and maybe plus half again after that. But I can't keep up the pace of half an iteration per day as my right arm from wrist to elbow is starting to feel like an impacted wisdom tooth.

To encourage a slow down of the pace I'm going to also start organizing a to do list of all the unfinished projects first craft, then writing and reading and research. I'l start sharing that list and targeting projects for finishing and then share my progress.

I like the feeling of accomplishment I got from finishing that afghan so I want to repeat it again and again. I also miss the many things I love to do as much as I love crochet that I gave up in order to finish that afghan. Especially reading. I have not read more than a few paragraphs a day in the last three months save for the day of the read-a-thon April 9 & 10. That must change.