Earlier this Spring, I had the idea of decorating our reception venue with lots of handmade flowers. I had originally wanted to make big flowers to festoon the doors and windows. Like an excessive number of huuuuge flowers, or a crochet-flower photo backdrop. I even bought a 25 mm crochet hook and mega-bulky yarn to make this floral dream come true.
The big flowers weren’t a success: they came out too floppy to hang. Also, I never got comfortable working with that huge hook (and the levels of wrist and arm torque it calls for!).
I went back to my worsted weight yarn and chose 2 floral patterns. For a month or so, my hooks seldom left my side. Train rides, car rides, waiting rooms, and the post dinner lull — it all became prime crochet time. Each flower was done in 20 minutes or so, and the crochet patterns became second nature, which surprised me. I always used to marvel at how crocheters could memorize their complex patterns. It was all a mess of loops, to me, before I started the craft myself. I like to think back to a story my mother would tell of my legendary crocheting great-aunt who could make a peacock-patterned curtain panel over afternoon TV. She was an inveterate cigar-smoker and, as the story goes, could smoke, watch and crochet simultaneously (she smoked out of the side of her mouth, and rarely looked down at the work). I wish I had her levels of multi-tasking ability!
Perhaps more than any other project, this one taught me the motivating power of working on small, quickly finished things in succession: after one flower is done, the mind says “again,” and the works seems to complete itself.
I strung all the little flowers onto 6 garlands, and added some quickly made tassels to the mix. I was happy with how they came out. After the party, the garlands sat in a box for a month, getting their petals bent out of shape. I felt sorry for this. So, I recently took them out and gave them their very own wall. They are keeping our space festive.
Has anyone had success with the huge 50 US/25.00 mm crochet hook? Or making decor or garments with mega bulky yarn? I would love to hear about it in the comments!
Happy mid-September Saturday!
