Something Different and Useful

Since the ripple afghan re-do is going rather slowly for me, I put the ripply skills to good use and made this dishcloth last night.

These tickle my fancy for all the right reasons: they used up bits of thrift-store crocheting cotton that no-one wanted; they are quick; they are useful; they are environmentally friendly; they are pretty; they are cheap.

Four re-usable, washable, pretty dishcloths for 50 cents and a few hours work. What could be wrong with that?

(two strands of contrasting thread/4.25 mm hook/soft waves pattern/39 chain beginning /1 row in dc, 2 rows in sc rep until roughly square /sc edging)

Frogged, it's all frogged

Well, this is what it used to look like:
But now it's all gone. All gone.

I found that the queen size width was too much for my large loose stitch compounded by the "textured" effect caused by picking up only the back half of the stitch on every second row. Love the look, but the structure was too weak and stretchy.

So tonight I spent HOURS (I could not believe how long it took!) pulling it all apart. I'll try a smaller ghan with a smaller hook and a tighter stitch. I'm gonna forget the textured stripe too.

Hopefully it'll work out this time.

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. :)

Finished One and Starting Another

I finished my first ripple and I've started a second. I have mixed feelings about the color in the first, which I wanted to use in my bedroom. I count this afghan as a learning experience.
Here are the specifics for it:

Susan B's Easy Ripple Afghan pattern
Caron Simply Soft yarn
Size I needle
Picked up one yarn in stitches so it would create the line (hope that makes sense)
Edged all the way around with one row double crochet
40x54

For this second one I am using the same pattern with these specifics:

Same pattern
Same yarn, more colors ( hope to buy a few more than what is pictured)
Using smaller hook--H
Catching both yarns for each stitch for a tighter weave.

Jane of Yarnstorm ripple is my inspiration for this one. The picture of hers is on the right. Thank you, Jane! I love your multicolors. I'm studying your picture to see what I need to add.

I shared more on my thoughts about these on my own blog today. I also shared a granny afghan that my mother made that is ever so precious to me. I would love for all you crocheters to see it.

I love, love, love seeing each and every one of your works of art, fellow ripplers!

Warmly,
Lallee

Old ripple turned new

I thought I would update with 1 project I have started from the frogged ripple sent to me by Maven. I was looking online at the many patterns on my favorite site. CPC *crochet pattern central* And saw their "food" section. So I was looking at all the patterns and saw this, Wake up and smell the yarn pattern. And thought it was too cute to pass up. And plus I had this wonderful darn brown yarn from Maven. Also the 2 "art deco" yarns *as my husband calls them... silly man* So the 2 multi yarns were used to make 'cups' and then each got some stuffing and then a 'coffee' top. So far we have a black and mocha with cream. The black coffee is currently getting a cup of cream to be added to the side.

So it made me wonder... what other projects have you all made from frogged ripples *or other UFO's*

Maven's Frog ripple

I don't think Maven ever took a picture of her ripple. So I thought I should before I get too far into the frogging process. **please excuse the blankets on top of the ripple.. my daughter thought she should add something to the picture**

I've also figured out that some yans can not or should not be frogged. Some are just impossible to frog in one piece. What has been everyone else's experience with frogging yarns and which ones are not the best for froggin?

I'm New Too!

Hmmmm. I have no idea what just happened to my post. It came up all funky and numbers and ampersands and stuff. That'll teach me to go foolin with the html code.

Anyway, what I said was, Hi, I'm new, I'm naughtydebbers' sister, I'm jealous cuz she's here and I'm not, yada yada yada.

Cut to the chase, here's the pseudo-ripple I finished most recently:
And here's the Salvation Army Store mystery yarn special I started yesterday.

I'm just happy to be here.

Hello Ripplers

I am thrilled to be a part of this rippling phenomenon! Thank you for including me! I began my ripple lap afghan last weekend. This year is the first time I have crocheted in years and I feel like I have discovered an old friend. I live in a small town with limited shopping so I resorted to getting my yarn at Wal-mart. I had zero stash. I was too impatient to wait for better shopping. Due to color choices I chose colors that would go in my bedroom. After the afghan was started I wasn't liking just how pastel and baby blanket looking it was. I added the two blues and the warm green. That helped some. I like the colors in person better than in the pictures.

I am using Susan B's Easy Ripple Afghan pattern. I have found it very easy, which is good for a rusty crocheter. I do have to do some frogging every now and then. Note to self~don't trust your counting when you are too tired. All my yarn except for 2 skeins are the Caron Simply Soft. I am surprised at how nice it feels for the price. When this afghan is finished I'm going to have to do another one with some bright colors. I am loving some of the ones I've seen others of you doing. Please come visit me at Lallee's Cottage sometime.

Warmest regards,
Lallee