Unfinished Objects and Work in Progress

Hello there, how are you all? Doing well I hope and finding lots of inspiration to get you hooking.

Today I want to talk about unfinished projects, some people call them UFOs (unfinished objects) or WIPs (Work in Progress). I have had a few of these unfinished items on the go for a while now and though I'm itching to start a few new projects, I felt I really couldn't justify it until I had cleared the decks and finished some existing ones.  There is nothing like a pile of colourful new yarn to spur me on (bought last weekend, a holiday and time in a yarn shop, bliss).

First up is my blue stripey bolster cushion in Robin DK acrylic in shades Madonna, Royal Blue, Pale Blue and Cream.

I posted about this bolster cushion a little while ago as it really needed some colourful crochet to liven it up. As you can see it really does need something to brighten it up as it came with this plain cotton cover.

It lives in a blue and white room so I chose complementary colours from Robin and played about with some stitch patterns before deciding to do plain stripes. It was a nice, easy rhythm to crochet, especially doing a little each Sunday night to relax while watching the Mr Selfridge and Indian Summer TV programmes. I actually finished and blocked the individual pieces for this cushion weeks ago, around the same time the programmes finished, however I do tend to procrastinate when it comes to making up. There they have sat ever since, patiently waiting for me to pick them up again and finish the project, so finally I did.

I'm really pleased with this, it adds colour and texture to the room while not making it too busy or fussy with the other patterns in there (blue toile de jouy and a little gingham). It is worked in trebles, two rows in each colour for the stripes and needs a good, even tension to keep the edges straight on the main piece. The stripes give lots of practice joining different yarns and the end pieces are worked in the round so it would be a good project for someone fairly new to crochet to practise their skills. It could easily be used for a square or rectangular cushion too by omitting the round end pieces. On my cushion I have used only one row of trebles in each colour for the end pieces as I like the effect of the narrower stripes on each end. I worked the main piece to finish with two cream sections overlapping, avoiding the need for buttons or studs as closures and simply made a small seam at either end allowing enough space to slip the cushion inside.
 

I'm so happy with this, I often use the spare room myself for reading and sometimes day-dreaming too, I can see myself relaxing with this cushion often and am very pleased I won't have uncomfortable buttons digging into me while I read.


My second unfinished project hasn't been around quite as long as the cushion cover. It's a small cowl, made using Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in Dusky Mauve. My Mum chose this yarn from the  Karelia House stand, where I bought my merino lace, when we visited the Hobbycraft event back in March. She chose it specifically for me to make a small cowl. I'd made one for my sister last year which Mum liked so much she wanted one for herself. My sister's was made using Sirdar Hush, which although lovely, I didn't think would be soft enough for Mum so having suggested something softer, she opted for the Baby Cashmerino.

 I had used trestle stitch for the cowl in Sirdar Hush but being a completely different type and weight of yarn it wasn't suitable for the Cashmerino. This yarn was a dream to work with and felt wonderful being a mix of extra fine merino, acrylic and a whole 12% cashmere. I tried out lots (and lots!) of different stitch patterns using a 4mm hook which was really enjoyable with this yarn and eventually narrowed it down to these.

 Lacy Scallops

Crossed Stitches

 Puff Stitch

In the end I decided to go with lacy clusters using puff stitch, the colour is not as pink as it looks in the photo, unfortunately the light kept changing while I was working so the true colour is closer to the second photo of crossed stitches.

I really like this yarn in puff stitch, more importantly, so does my Mum. It does use an awful lot of yarn though, I got through a whole two balls of Cashmerino just making this one small cowl, it is a lot heavier than my sister's which is very lacy. I worked this cowl in the round and edged it with tiny shells, meaning the only making up I had to do was weaving in six yarn ends. This was so soft and warm I was reluctant to hand it over so I took a quick photo and gave it to Mum before I became too tempted to keep it.

 I like this type of project, you can guess why it was finished before the cushion cover. I plan to write up the patterns for both the cowl and cushion cover soon.


My third WIP is a tunic style top but as it is a winter top I've decided to leave it for now. Having created some space in my work basket I can turn my thoughts to my lovely bright new yarn and the merino lace I bought back in March. I already have several ideas of what I'd like to do with it, would you like a sneak preview of the colours I'll be using? You would? Ok then, here they are.

Do you like them? Can you guess where I'm going with these?

Have you got any UFO or WIP projects? What inspires you to pick them up and finish them? I'd love to know.

Have a lovely weekend folks.

H x