Before I ramble on, let me clarify my intention for today’s blogpost. Today marks an end of my latest change, today I share again, today I bring celebration of ending a learning phase and beginning a shiny new working phase in my professional development.
As such, it is suitable to talk about a kaleidoscope of knotty transformation…
i feel
I used to really dislike weaving in the ends and would dread finishing a crochet project for this reason. Well. I loved finishing the yarn, I loved the last race to the finish line for the project on my hook to be done, then I would get the dreaded Sunday night feeling. Back to school. Back to reality, those were my least favourite times of the week, actually – Sunday evenings. Even afternoons. The minute Sunday lunch was over, I would be restless and grumpy and there was no rational talking to me.
In my crochet bubble, the fun and joy of finishing a project would come with the dread of weaving the ends in…
I would even – trying to grade this awful time in a project resulting in aching back and annyoance at the ends coming back out from what I thought was a perfect place to hide them, URGH! I have seen enough social media posts by others to know that this is a common issue connected to a crochet project/ squares of multiple colours…
AND
They are so pretty!
So I tried everything to manage this awful part, from stopping my projects at regular intervals to weave in the ends regularly so that I was not left with mountainous task at the end, through choosing yarns that change colour to avoid changing actual yarn, to using the magic knot so that I can avoid weaving the ends in at the end….
UNTIL
I got so desperate as none of the above were coming with fruitful results, I asked my cousin who I had spied made quite a few grannies, and had never seemingly complained about the wretched weaving the ends in…
She was super helpful and send me some ideas, showed me how she does it and suggested some improvements to my technique I would never have come up with off my own accord. There was no chance. So I learned, I watched, I listened, and then it all changed. I vaguely remember already telling you this, there may be a previous blog post somewhere here, and if you remember reading it, please do let me know and I can link to it.
I’d like to take it a step further and incorporate a bit of crochet as a transferable skill, offering a broader perspective on life in general, if you please.
I now absolutely LOVE weaving the ends in. It is a ritual and now I found a way that works and keeps them in long-term, I left ALL the ends to the end to Weave In! WHAT?! YES, I DID! On the latest STAR beauty HERE.
I have now totally changed my mind. I now feel, weaving the ends in is where the MAGIC happens. It is where an object is truly born. It stops being a crochet project in my hands/ on my hook, if you will, and it becomes an item/ a gift that is ready to take on a life of its own accord. It becomes complete – finishing touches change it from play into a soft furnishing item. I mentioned recently I love seeing my creations washed and hanging on a line, seeing them having the life they were intended to have. Same but different by the use and love that has been given to them by me first, and then by the recipient.
In that act of weaving in the ends, the item becomes itself, ready to be itself without me.
Little like the magic of bringing up the next generation. They are a part of you for a time, you shape their actions and teach them whatever you are able to teach them, you look after them, and they are gone.. Maybe? I cannot really say, I only have experience creating the woolly kind of gifts. Still, it made me think of this and link it to the cycle of life, on this day, Mother’s Day. Creating life and celebrating this creation is a magic day.
So when I was looking for a “k” title word for this post, kaleidoscope came into mind for different reasons. There again, are posts about the significances of the kaleidoscope in my life, and one came up recently, connected to my most recent career development:
Occupations are like a Kaleidoscope, you have all the same skills and ingredients and bits of glass and colour, yet each time you turn the kaleidoscope, the image is different and unique, and so it is with our occupations, each time we do something, even though we may have done it many times before, each new time is unique, because our skills and feelings in the moment may be slightly changed.
- Dr. Ruth Zemke
It is a multilayer title, and it also suggests that self-reflection and creativity are our basic needs, underlying many human actions and day-to-day existence. I wanted to double-check if the word fitted, and so I asked AI to help me find other words for creativity, starting with a ‘k’. Other than misspelling creativity with a ‘k’, which I have seen done and did not want to do, it suggested ‘kaleidoscope’, so I went ahead and asked:
Q: Tell me more about the meaning of kaleidoscope.
A: A kaleidoscope is basically a tube with mirrors and bits of coloured glass or plastic inside. When you look through and turn it, the mirrors create shifting patterns that are mesmerizing. The word “kaleidoscope” metaphorically represents a constantly changing pattern or scene, often used to describe diverse and colourful situations or collections. Fascinating, right?
Q: That’s brilliant. Connect Kaleidoscope to magic.
A: A kaleidoscope feels like magic because of its ability to transform simple elements into captivating patterns, much like how magic turns the ordinary into the extraordinary. It plays tricks on our perception, creating beauty from chaos and reminding us of the wonder in unexpected places. It’s a pocket-sized portal to a magical world of endless possibilities.
So there you have it, dear reader, exactly what I was looking for. The title of this blog post is so apt, I could not have written it better if I forced it… So I am bringing to you today, a blanket made with the kaleidoscope granny square stitch, combined with the diamond stitch at the core of the blanket, both video pattern links HERE.
As we learn, we develop, we get better. I will end with the starting pictures, as they are relevant for a ‘watch this space’ moment. I never before made sample colour swatches… Too restricting, and what if I change my mind and get bored…
As I was hyper-focusing on the deep obsessions of making star blankets by Betty McKnit, 6-day STAR, 6-day SUPERSTAR and 6-day SUPERNOVA shaded variety of wool available at Wool Warehouse HERE.
Betty McKnit’s Facebook community of 6-day star crocheters helped me move along and develop further.
I watched the YouTube tutorials HERE and thought, This makes sense, I can give this a go!
AND
I get to keep a reminder of each gifted blanket, which appealed to my sentimental nature… I am now definitely converted to be more prepared, plan more, read and learn, consider, before embarking on the next new thing, the next challenge, the next turn of my journey. So my crochet and other work is changed by what I have learned and what I have considered along the way.
Billion stitches hold billion knots, billion thoughts and billion little unknotted challenges.
And for that, I am very Grateful!
