blog hop - the answers

As I mentioned before, I volunteered to take part in a blog hop. I got invited by Julie from little woollie and to take part I have to answer four questions regarding my creativity and my creative thinking. So here we go.

Question 1:
What am I working on?

Right now I'm working on two different projects. The first one is the cushion cover that I'm making for a friend. She chose the colors and the design. It's really nice to work under the instructions of someone else for a change. I probably wouldn't have chosen the beige yarn to surround the green grannys. But I really like it. I guess I will work with similar color combinations again in the future. 

The second project I am working on is a blanket. A big blanket. A very big blanket. For my man. See, he loves Super Mario. And I stumbled upon a Super Mario blanket one day on the internet and immediately thought: "That's perfect for my man!" So I bought some yarn and started it. I crochet five round solid granny squares. 14 squares per row and the finished blanket will be 18 rows long. It's a long term project. At first, I only worked on it, when my man wasn't at home, because I thought, I might give him the blanket as a surprise gift on christmas. But then I realised that it will never be finished this way. I'm on row five right now, but as the commissioned work got in the way it is currently put on hold. 

The Mario blanket

Question 2:
How does my work differ from others of its genre?

That's a tough one. To be honest - I really don't know how my work differs. Up until now, I only know how to crochet. I am not able to sew my own clothes (yet) and I could probably manage to knit a simple scarf - but that's about it. So I would say, that my work differs inasmuch as I am still in the learning phase of crafting. I experiment with different color combinations, different techniques, different yarns and materials. I definitely want to work on my knitting skills (they are practically non-existant, so there is still a lot to learn) and I want to improve my sewing. So I plan my work around the things that I am able to do and not the things I would like to produce. Hopefully, this will change in a few weeks, months, years. But I guess, crafting is always a learning process. There are always new things that you can do, which you have never done before.

Question 3:
Why do I create what I do?

I love making things myself. I love the fact, that I can create a blanket, or a bag, or something decorative out of a ball of yarn and a crochet hook. And I love having unique things, things, that no one else but me has. It really brings a personal touch to your home. It's something special. And it really helps me relax and calm. For example: I came home from work one day last week and I had a really stressful and exhausting day. I was angry. I was grumpy. I was far from being relaxed. So I flunked myself on the couch, grabbed my yarn and hook and started to work on the back side of my granny cushion. And it worked. I produced all the nine squares that I need for the back side and by the time my man came home I was relaxed and happy. 

a scarf I made for my brother - he requested it and never wore it as he claimed it was too big. 

two of my blankets

a bag in the making. turned out it was way too big to wear it to work (that's what I made it for). Now it holds some of my yarn.

And the third reason is to have an outlet for my creativity. I always did something creative. I wrote stories, I did some origami, I painted...but nothing really satifisfied me until I started to crochet again. That's the craft I got stuck at. And I love it.

Question 3:
How does my creating process work?

Oh boy, what a question. Believe me, if you would have knowledge about the ongoings in my head, I would be very happy. Truth is - there is no real process. I see something and then I think "I could make that too." Sometimes I really sit down to do it - sometimes I don't. Last year in autumn I thought about making a nice blanket, just for myself. So I looked around on the internet and searched some blogs for inspiration. And somehow I always got drawn to a ripple blanket. A nice, big, colorful ripple blanket. Something rainbowy and bright. I found a tutorial, I chose the yarn on the interent and just had to wait for my next salary to order the yarn and start the work. I made color charts and graphics to see which color combination would look best for me. And then I rememberd that I saw the larksfoot blanket over at the lovely blog of Mel. (She has the link for the tutorial in her post). So I canceled my yarn order, chose some blues, whites and greys and finally made a completely different blanket than the one I have planned for days and weeks. 

the finished larksfoot blanket. And a picture of my part-time dog Hugo.

That's how my creating process work. It doesn't. There are spontanious decisions, I often let my gut decide. And if you want to know: There's still no ripple blanket in my home. It's still on my to do list and I still have all the yarn that I want to use on my yarn-buying-wish-list. But then I started my Mario blanket. So believe me. You don't want to know how my mind works. It's really confusing.




I'm tagging Helen over at woollybluebells
and Mary at little sweet home in heart