The joy of completion

It started two years ago. Yes, around the same time as this blog!

I wanted to try hexagons with all the left over yarn balls stashed away in two drawers. This perfect pattern from Attic 24, combined with some vital know-how of colours and shades ( hue and value, to be precise) from Jared Flood, and my trusty 4.5 mm crochet hook…that was all I needed to start on this project.

I learnt what contrasts look good, and which ones are a total flop. A great trick which I learnt from Jared Flood–take a black and white picture of the colour arrangement and check if you can see the different shades and contrasts. This picture will show you where I got the colours to match and when it became a diffuse disaster.

There was no actual pattern or even an idea of how the hexagons would be joined. As the hexagons were completed, I found my life emerging in the motifs. The colour filled home, the dogs, the forest behind the house, the mountains and the shifting colours of the sky, the people in my life…they are all there, represented by one or more hexagons.

This project lost steam many times. Sweaters, cowls, baby blankets and baby sets all walked into my project bag and threw out the hexagons. I even misplaced the central hexagon piece for 6 months! Many a time, completing this bedspread seemed a hopeless task. Another incomplete project was staring at my face.

And then, my daughter came home. A crochet buff herself, she pushed me to get back to the hexagons. We found the misplaced central piece, she found her trusty 4.5 mm crochet hook and we were back on track. I made the central motif, she completed the outer colour rows. We fought over the colour combinations, argued about the motif placement  and encouraged each other  at the end of each day. Pepper provided much needed canine cuddles and snores–to us and the motifs!

278 motifs completed, and I had had enough. Not a single motif more was emerging from my side..even if the bedspread looked a little small and shrunken piece of crochet craft.

Joining was done by sewing them from the wrong side…there are many options, and I kept wishing I had tried crocheting the motifs together. Now, when the entire bedspread is ready, I am glad I took the time to join them properly and painstakingly with needle and thread!

The 2 row edging was a happy combination of a row of trebles in red, and an inspired set of *One dc, two chain, one dc* in every alternate gap between the trebles. I like the look.

Today, sitting on the bedspread with my laptop, Pepper snoring contentedly beside me, I have a good feeling encompassing me. The good feeling of having tapped into unknown wells of patience and diligence, of having worked in tandem with my daughter, of actually seeing my life come alive in these motifs.

I look forward to pleasant times of pointing out the various beloved souls in my life ( you will have to visit me for that tour), of reading and snoozing below this cover of colour, of watching the dogs sleeping and twitching in their dreams while sprawling on the soft yarn, of feeling grateful for good quality acrylic yarn which emerges clean, shiny and unspoilt after every wash in the machine.

Its time to start planning the next big project with that omnipresent yarn stash of mine!