Rip, Rip, Ripple

And, so, I frogged it. It's interesting--I've put together quite a few afghans, and had no trouble with the color. But, I think the main difference was that I started from scratch, in the yarn store, saying "I need 3 colors." Starting from stash, and wanting as many colors as I could find? Well, I went a bit wacko, and it showed.

Here is my newly-frogged ripple. The yarn balls on the left are the two colors that really killed it. They are going totally away. They were too muted/frosty, for what should really be a mix of spring/warm/clear tones. I didn't like the Caron Light Country Blue from the moment I got it home, but my Random Color Picker insisted, so I went for it. The peach I will discuss below. On the right are (some of) the colors that will go back, in a slightly different order, plus the skein of lt. coral that will replace the peach:

Here is what I am still mulling. I went earlier today and found this light coral yarn. It is very similar in shade to the other yarn (which is a higher grade acrylic--Unger Utopia--that I borrowed from another project). However, when I lay the coral on top of the afghan-in-progress, it sparkles. The peach yarn just sits there, looking boring.

The light is a bit different in these photos, but you can still see how the Utopia looks in the granny square--nice contrast, and it appears as a dark orangy peach. I guess if I've learned anything from this process it's that the more color you work with, the trickier it becomes to keep the project, as a whole, in focus. You can very easily end up with a glaring mistake that doesn't show up until it becomes part of that whole. So, then, you rip, rip, rip-it. :)

Ripple Helpers

Crossposted to my own blog since I haven't posted there in a week. :)

This morning I tried to take a picture of the progress I've made on my ripple. Unfortunately, my two "helpers" wanted in on the action. My 4yo is my Official Random Yarn Picker. He is extremely adamant when he chooses, and he's made a fuss a few times when he thought that I wasn't going to use the "right" yarn next ("Mom, WHERE is the magenta?!?! Why isn't it here?!?!")


The other "helper" is my cat, who eats yarn for dinner. She is very intriqued by the huge pile here that I am needing for this project, and by the sorting and digging that has gone on in my stash as I gather what I need.

As for the ripple itself, I had slowed down partly due to the above-mentioned 4yo's birthday, and partly because I was very dismayed by the section with the dk blue, lt blue, and peach. It was looking very lively up until then, but my "Flower Power" ripple wilted on me. The bright green and magenta have revived it, though, and I've decided that, despite the demands of my Official Random Yarn Picker, I need to ensure that there are no more than two pale colors in any 5-segment section (in between the recurring 2 rows of "Flower Power" variagated), and that each section includes mostly brights and darks, like the first one.

Thread Ripples (And Update)

I started wondering yesterday afternoon what rippled thread crochet would look like. So, I sat down during Amazing Race last night, and voila! I have a rippled bookmark. I'm trying to decide whether it needs a touch of narrow ribbon through the center two DC rows. This is #10 thread with a size 4 hook.




I've also made some progress with my ripple. It's amazing to watch it grow, and see how it changes as I add a new color. I chose the colors based on a strand of the Flower Power and, of course, that even looked different once it was crocheted in the pattern. But, it all seems to be flowing together now.

A Connecticut Yankee in the Ripple Queen's Court

I am Judy, one of the slew of newbies who joined today. I had been holding off joining until after we got back from Spring Break. Friday night I raided the basement, where I have a voluminous supply of cheap yarn leftover from various projects. I collected, sorted, and came up with this rainbow of colors. The variegated MC yarn is Bernat Nice N' Soft "Flower Power." The remainder is a collection of various worsted-weight acrylics, mostly Red Heart, TMA, and Caron. I did "have" to buy a couple more colors, but, otherwise, I'm using stash. My three year old is acting as my Random Color Selector, and he's been having fun lining up the yarn on the living room floor. I'm using a "J" hook, and the "Ocean Waves" pattern from "7-Day Afghans" by Jean Leinhauser & Rita Weiss.

While I'm a blogger newbie, I've rippled before. This is the afghan on my living room sofa (note that the picture has been compromised by a napping cat).

I was also already working on another ripple, from Carole Prior's "A Year of Baby Afghans." I quite often use worsted-weight baby afghan patterns in adult colors to gift as laphans. This one is for my sister, out of yarn she threw at me after an attempt to knit a sweater out of it. I'm having trouble with the exposure--the colors are dark teal and burgundy.