Issue 29, in search (no longer!) of wonky spiral test crocheters

many thanks to all who joined the testing group

hey everybody,

I’m still working on the purple and green shawl, making steady if not speedy progress. I made a (soft) commitment to work on it more or less every day for as long as I could, and it helped keep me on track. My magpie brain often has a hard time resisting the pull of shiny new ideas, and being able to stick with this project fairly consistently for a few weeks felt good. You can see the new additions at the top of this photo:

This project is clearly at the stage (and size) where it’s hard to leave the house with it. Working on it requires space to spread out. But we’ve been in and out of town the past few weeks, so it’s sprawled out in my studio waiting patiently for attention after the holidays. For this busy season, I’m working on a portable project.

Nothing is set in stone yet, but there’s a good chance this project will be nothing but spirals. So far, they are all irregular in a low key kind of way; they’re meant to look like hand-drawn spirals, imperfect and individual. Each one is made with Blue Sky’s Woolstok worsted yarn in charcoal. For the embellishments, I’m using the full range of Woolstok colors, conveniently available in a 27 color mini skein bundle.

I love looking at this mini skein bundle so much that I stuck it in a mug and left it out just like this on my work table for two whole years. I’m enjoying actually crocheting with it, but dang. It will be missed.

past projects

I enjoy having a “tv project” to work on at the end of the day. I usually like it to be someone else’s pattern with just enough interest to keep me engaged, but simple enough to keep with while the television is on. Having a pattern like that to follow is perfect for after dinner when I don’t have the mental energy to make decisions in my own designs and freeform projects.

If you’re looking for a tv project, you might enjoy my Tesserae Scarf design, a cozy scarf that’s perfect for wearing underneath a coat on cold days.

in search of testers

edited on December 7th at 4:30: the testing group is full, and much larger than 5-10 crocheters. Thank you so much for such enthusiastic responses! LD

I’ve started writing a new freeform-ish guide about improvising wonky spirals that is based on some of the spirals I made last year in my 100 Day Project. The guide will focus on approaching spirals in a freeform kind of way, but it will start with a skill building stitch-by-stitch pattern for a wonky spiral.

Readers, would any of you be willing to test the stitch-by-stitch pattern? The pattern makes sense to me, but I’d like to make sure it makes sense to other crocheters, too, so I’m looking for testers. If you are a crocheter who can make a granny square or a regular spiral from written instructions, I believe you will be able to follow this pattern. It calls for 4-5 colors of worsted weight yarn, but any yarn weight can be used, just make sure all the yarns are the same weight as each other.

this sample uses five colors of Rowan Handknit Cotton

I’ve never put out a testing call before, so I don’t know how many people might be interested. I realize it could be none! But, I’m hoping to end up with 5 or more testers who are willing to do the following:

• make a wonky spiral or two from my pattern sometime during the first 3 weeks of January

• give feedback on your experience following the pattern

• send me one or two nice photos for use in a newsletter or on Ravelry, maybe both

In return for participating, testers will receive my sincere appreciation and gratitude, help with the pattern if they need it, and a copy of the complete guide when it is ready (plus any extra material that might be added to the guide post-publication). If this sounds like something you’d like to do, or if you have questions about participating, please send me an email.

a few things you might like

What I’ve been listening to: Mozart requiem and the Jon Batiste Beethoven Blues recording mentioned in the last newsletter.

What I’m watching: the new Matlock series. The first episode starts a little slow, but hang in there for the twist at the end.

What I’m reading: Theft By Finding, by David Sedaris.

What I’m playing: mandolin. I am not proficient! But it’s tuned like a violin, so I know where all the notes are. I used to tell my violin students to leave their instruments out of the case when they were at home so that it would be super easy to just pick it up and practice. Taking my own advice, I put the mandolin on a stand right next to my work table where it’s very convenient and accessible.

That’s it for today, thanks for reading!

Lisa