The next thing

Leslie Stahlhut

Today was day 2 of my practice mindful crochet. It was cloudy and rainy throughout most of the day, so I was not tempted to go outdoors. Instead, I stayed inside where it was dry, and I concentrated my efforts on two of three UFOs (Unfinished Objects) I am working on before going onto the next thing.

The first project that got my attention is a rug for my oldest son.

I had it nearly completed, but there were still a number of ends to be woven in, and one area where further joining was needed:

The belated birthday rug at the bottom of a staircase with ends still to be woven in before I start on the next thing
The belated birthday rug at the bottom of a staircase with ends still to be woven in before I start on the next thing

I got out my favorite jumbo size bent-tipped aluminum Clover tapestry needle, put my HÜGlight around my neck and turned on all four LEDs, and set to the task at hand. It was going well, but it was, at times, frustrating to try to get the four-strand chunky/bulky weight yarn through the eye of the jumbo needle.

At some point, when I was attempting to weave in a particularly recalcitrant and short end, I had a vague recollection of having purchased some other, larger yarn needle. I went into the room that is part guestroom, part headquarters for my crochet empire, rummaged through my crochet tools, and came across an unopened package of a Clover super jumbo tapestry needle set.

Made from plastic, I soon learned that the super jumbo tapestry needles have the same magic engineering of the aluminum jumbo tapestry needles, and in no time at all, the ends were woven in.

The only thing standing between me and this project being finished was the weather.

The rug needs to be blocked, and for that to work out well, I need to wait for drier weather so that rug doesn’t get moldy or sour before it dries.

From the belated rug, I moved to the cat runner.

I had already pieced together the first four of 16 rows, which left me with 90 ends to weave in:

The back of the permutation crochet cat runner with myriad ends to be woven in before going onto the next thing
The back of the permutation crochet cat runner with myriad ends to be woven in before going onto the next thing

I had made measurable progress when my youngest son was at his most recent choir practice, but that still left me with plenty to do. I grabbed the Clover jumbo tapestry needle that I had set aside in favor of the Clover super jumbo tapestry needle and got to work.

I have 13 ends left to weave in before I move onto the next quadrant of the cat runner.

The progress I have made got me thinking about which of my myriad unfinished objects I will tackle next, and while I haven’t made a firm decision, the Fat Bag is definitely a top contender:

crochet purse crochet fat bag
Body of the crochet fat bag