Sunday, February 6, 2011

Super Bowl Knitting: The Go Go Granny/Knitting It Old School




It's just hours away from the Super Bowl, but really, all I can think about what's for dinner, what's on Turner Classics and I really can't bring myself to go outside again for just about anything. I'm terribly content simply to hibernate at least until the sun comes out again perhaps tomorrow. Not that the lack of sunshine has kept me from happily creating. I've been working on two projects: the Crazy Lace Cropped Cardi using Tahki Dream yarn and then making still more granny squares for the Go-Go Granny Tunic from Knitting It Old School. I just don't know how to keep making all the granny squares fresh. I've stitched up 32 squares (16 for each sleeve) and I've still got to make many, many more squares for the front and the back. This will entail buying more yarn, unfortunately. I've been using Takhi Cotton Classic, but I'm contemplating ordering the equivalent Knit Picks yarn so that I can pick up speed (I'm homebound most evenings while my broken ankle heals) and save money at the same time. With more cotton in hands, and a slew of Turner movies, who knows? I could have this tunic done within the month. In the meantime, I've had some really deep thoughts about the wisdom of crocheting cotton, particularly during Chicago's biggest, baddest snowstorm last week.
  1. Crocheting anything cotton during the bleakest winter day is the ultimate optimism. Forget the groundhog, crochet cotton in plain view definitely means spring is around the corner. 
  2. Cotton crochet squares is extremely creative. It involves mixing colors much as one would blend spices in a cake recipe. You might not need a cardinal red like paprika in your concoction, but nutmeg (brown) is likely to be more appropriate with a unpredictable shake or two of lavender sugar (lilac).
  3. Matching squares is a lot like match-making. Moving squares around for the smoothest, least jarring look is better than a game of concentration. And the results last far longer than a game.
  4. What a better way to think about spring than to actually make something to wear to the beach, baseball game or barbecue? And since a crochet tunic takes a long time, the anticipation is high and drawn out. What will the tunic look like in the end? How will I wear it?
  5. Nothing elicit more smiles and stories than a crochet tunic. It's just very difficult to talk about what's happening in the Middle East, or how the squirrels raided the garbage cans and left a huge mess when you're looking at a granny-square tunic. Try it sometime and let me know how it goes.
  6. Accidents happen (and I know after my bone-breaker). That's why they're called accidents. But I should make completely out-of-place square. One that's eye-riveting, and makes any observant graphic designers say, "That's square doesn't work with the rest of the color scheme. At all." Of course, they'd approach me and say, "About that square...did you mean for that to happen?" Duh.
  7. Crochet is easiest to do with feet and head propped up on pillows. Can't do that with knitting, which really demands a more upright position.
  8. There isn't much more say about crochet and cotton, but that more knitters should do it even if the cost of cotton is rising.
  9. What I am going to use for summer and spring garments if cotton gets so expensive that wool will seem comparatively cheap?
  10. Crochet cotton will always be a part of my life no matter the price.

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