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| My mood blanket as of today, February 3rd 2014 |
3rd February
Crocheting seems to have taken over my life at the moment, I think about it all the time and really something has to stop as the house is looking like a bomb site, but oh, I find it relaxing and exciting and I have found new friends through this past time.
In the world of social media and those that are interested in crochet will know of a woman called Stacey Wentford-Hall. She came up with an idea that it would be fun to create a blanket based on her moods of everyday and that each days mood would be represented by a specific colour. She just so happened to mention it on the world wide web, thinking one or two others may fancy joining her in crocheting a 'granny square' a day, but that was not to be. Some three thousand or so from all around the world responded and every day, somewhere someone is crocheting their mood or square and many share their efforts on line. Already friendships across the Internet are forming and some who live close enough to each other have met up, but the majority sign in daily to the group, to look, to be inspired by, to be part of a community, to ask advice, to show their efforts and to be part of something that grows day by day...it is so addictive.
Below is a link to an interview with Stacey a few days ago with the magazine, Inside Crochet:
http://www.insidecrochet.co.uk/blog/crochet-mood-blanket-2014/
On the facebook page that I have joined Stacy clearly states the simple rules:
"So, really the only rule is that you crochet/knit a block or stripe everyday (or once a week if that suits you better) in
...2014 using a colour that you feel reflects your mood.
The colour choices are totally up to you! I think it's important that you use colours that you like so that it doesn't get boring. Plus you'll want a blanket you'd like to keep after all that hard work!! I'm personally using stylecraft! The amount of rounds is up to you! I think I'm going to do 4 rounds as I think I'll find that manageable! Most people doing the 365 are doing 4/5, the 52 people are doing more so they get a big blanket too."
It so happens that not everyone is crocheting squares and not everyone can bring themselves to have such random colours as their moods suggest, but it does not seem to matter, everyone is encouraged and efforts are celebrated. Below are a few of the blankets crocheted to date, kindly allowed to be shown here on the blog:
Marie Lidberg January moods 2014
My mood blanket, well as I am not a large project girl, I was somewhat daunted and watched the group grow before I was able to feel that perhaps I too could begin. I am one of the group who could not bring myself to be totally random in colour choice, so instead ordered yarn in colours that I felt represented the weather and my mood at the time. The colours are muted, but varied, old fashioned pinks, mixed with warm beige, alongside petrol blue and vibrant violet, steely grey and dusky pale pinks to calm and warm me. I am happy with my colours and each day that I pick up the blanket I take the colour that speaks to me most. Starting a week or so late, I am still short of about 6 or 7 rows to be completely up with the rest of the group, but I imagine that this is the way it will be, sometimes behind and sometimes ahead. There are those who are keeping a mood diary and noting how they feel and the colours that sing to them on those days, just in case they do not manage any hooking time, what a great idea.
As you can see from the photographs, my blanket is based on a stripe rather than a granny square and I have taken my inspiration from two main sources, I urge you to click on the links below and see just how beautiful these blankets can be. I am not following either but dipping in and out and using them as my inspiration. Already I call my blanket, the blanket of learning, as I am trying out so many new stitches, that not only had I not tried before, but had not even known about. My Catherine wheel stitch was a disaster, but rather than 'frogging' it (ripping it up and starting again, called frogging as it sounds like: rip it, rip it, rip it!) I have left it in and hope to have another attempt on a day when my mood is such that I feel I can conquer the world!
http://notyouraveragecrochet.com/as-we-go-stripey-blanket/
http://littlewoollie.blogspot.ca/p/mixed-stitch-stripey-blanket-crochet.html?m=1
The blankets will grow and grow each month, telling their own tales about their creator and by December will be so large it will be a wonder if we will manage to lift them and cart them around with us as we crochet!
Already there is discussion about joining as you go, sorting out the endless thread ends and what to do with all the spare short useless threads that are left after finishing off. Much discussion takes place between these women from all around the world. Through these moods, many have shared snippets of their lives, good news received, awful weather conditions around the world, an illness taking a turn for the worse, family death and a baby born; we share as much or as little as we wish. There are those who are in the foreground of the group and comment almost daily, there are many who commment only occassionaly and I am sure there are hundreds who are silent and are enjoying the group enourmously too. No matter how these individuals interact with the Crochet Mood Blanket 2014, hopefully everyone is having a 'yarn' of a time, I know I am. Although I do wonder who of the thousands of us will last till December...
♥Enjoy the snippets of blue sky we have and hold on for the Spring, I am looking for signs of it whenever I can ~ look I even managed to crochet outside for a little while♥
