gaseous giant

This month, i am introducing the finished science fiction inspired nebula inspired star dust blanket.

I love sci-fi. Is it because of its creativity? Its endless possibilities for imagination to flow not just for the writer but for us readers? Either, or both, the why does not matter as much as that science fiction feeds something about my own imagination and creativity. Unknown worlds of the future, abilities for human beings to develop in ways that are currently only possible in another person’s mind, there is something about science fiction that really inspires me.

Whether in terms of humanity, or technology, that which is possible/ can be imagined seems enticing… Hoping that it one day, may come true. After all, some books considered science fiction in the past have become reality since they have been written… At least that is how i remember being taught about some of Jules Verne’s novels…

We have recently watched (binge watched) some old Star Trek series (Voyager, whether you asked or didn’t), and as the fictional characters fly through space they come in contact with all sorts of space phenomena, usually displayed in striking colours and swirling imagery on our screen. This reaffirmed the purpose and the shape/ form of this blanket, as i was knotting each stitch next to the following one, and creating this beauteous giant whilst being immersed in the stories of a crew lost in space, trying to find their way home.

The crochet blanket itself does not fit in our house all stretched out, as you can tell from the photos below… Watch this space for another Crochet on the Beach, or Crochet in the Woods trip, which is in the planning, after the first successful attempt last year. You can read more about last year’s trip HERE.

The initial impulse for my colour choices was motivated somewhat subtler by the universe and it’s infinite possibilities. I got the idea at Edinburgh festival last year, when i attended Planet 9; a performance by Rose McGowan who i know from her previous roles as Paige Matthews in Charmed, a season i unashamedly admit is one of my favourite fictional worlds to disappear into. And whose book Brave i have then only just finished reading.

Rose put on an absorbing, restful performance of mixed media which immersed us into an environment of contemplation, or it did me, at least, as we listened to her sing and tell us some of her life story.

I loved it!

I am privileged to have been able to attend, and the colours she projected around the room for some parts of the show: brown, orange and blue hues with white flecks, strong colours interspersed by shining stars; these had fired me up to make a blanket in exactly those strong and dark, contrasting yet complementing colours…

So a little while later, after some pondering and checking my stashes for what i had and what i had to get, the first stitches were made towards what you will see in the gallery at the end of this post, or may recognise from INSTAGRAM stories from some weeks ago, when i posted the finished/ near finished blanket.

I used leftovers to start off with, those that were acceptable for the colour theme, working it in my own version of the traditional granny square, with a more dense centre. The crochet pattern is available from my Ravelry pattern store HERE.

I wanted to figure out how to make the irregular appearance of white/ black stars amongst the colours, and along the way i decided to make the stars using one of my favourite stitches- the popcorn stitch.

But i was not convinced about the regularity of the square shape and the spacing of the stitches in granny square style of working to convey the images i had looked at and was envisaging as galaxy star nebulas. So along the way, i changed from the square to rectangle, and from granny squares to plain trebles worked in line/s.

In the process of trialing these, i realised I could not actually crochet in a line… I kept losing/ adding unsolicited stitches for ages until I figured out which ones to skip so that I neither double nor half my crochet stitches in the next row. I did not know how to work crochet stitches in a straight line to keep the same number of stitches initially, but i am proud to announce i think i do now..

This is an achievement worth noting and a personal crochet stitch victory!

This blanket, considering the stitches used, is a sort of a reverse of the Chevron Blanket Star into circle showcased HERE and then again in the Crochet on the Beach HERE.

Because the random star effect required this, i was forced to face my crochet stitch fears.. Those more challenging stitch choices, which i have not yet mastered and have subsequently abandoned in the above referenced blanket (in favour of the easier automated granny square stitch), but conquered in the one below.

And for the ability to finally face these fears,

i am grateful.

There is a lot more to a long term project than the stitches used in creating the effects… I have read somewhere a long time ago something along the lines of:

“You know you have a problem when you have watched a film and don’t know what any of the characters look like.”

– Unknown

And this is very true for my process also. But, whether i watched it with my eyes or only with my ears, what i watch/ listen to when creating becomes somewhat intertwined into the project. It almost becomes part of the memory of making a piece, part of the time of my life that i dedicated to each project, which i am reminded of, as i look at the finished piece.

Almost as if the memories of what i listened to and watched have also been knotted into each piece. Not always, because my memory is not that detailed, but generally, there is a sense of a time which is associated to the surroundings which accompanied me whilst making each project. And i feel like i want to articulate the ones associated with the galaxy giant crochet blanket.

The things that stand out for this one, because some of them have had an impact on other parts of my life, like my subsequent re-connecting of a friendship, because of a recommendation for a good binge watch from long ago, as well as discoveries of a new online wool supplier; as actions lead to thoughts and then new thoughts and ideas lead to further actions, i have knotted into my star world nebula crochet blanket: Jane the Virgin, Henge, Chilled jazz online playlists, Rocky Horror picture show and midnight wool shopping online HERE…  

Aaaaw the memories!

Enough chatting! Without further ado, i am introducing to You:

The gaseous crochet star giant nebula blanket:

Thank You for reading!

BACK TO BLOG

Bookmark the permalink.

2 Responses to gaseous giant

  1. e says:

    so amazing. both – the blanket and the blog♥️

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.