Even though the first time I blogged about this afghan (in detail) was earlier this morning (thanks to that accidental "save" instead of "publish" click), I'm back with an update. (Maybe I should do all my blogging this way. Makes me look a lot faster than I actually am.)
I've been working on the hexagon afghan (which I'm called the Flower Garden Hexagon Afghan, because all those colorful hexagons remind me of, well, a flower garden) for a week or two, now, since starting it over again. I'm not making lightning-speed progress, but it's growing a little at a time-- usually by at least two or three hexagons every day or two.
Here's my progress so far, looking a little blurry because there wasn't quite enough light (and I didn't want to use the flash):
And another couple views, for good measure. . .
And then just one more in direct light from a window (thus the shadowy bars across it). . .
Just don't look on the back side yet. ;o) I took a break several hexagons ago to tidy up the back, but sooner or later I'll have to give it some more attention. I try to crochet over as many tails as possible to cut down on the weaving portion of the work, but there are places where I just don't like the way crocheting over the tails looks. Mainly it's the tail left after the final round of each hexagon-- and sometimes the ends from the previous round. If I don't like the way they're lying-- if I feel that too much of the "wrong" color is showing through to the front, I'd rather take a minute or two to weave them in by hand. I don't really mind weaving in ends, so long as I can quickly and easily find a place to put them. It's easier to focus on other things during end-weaving than during crocheting, so it makes a good TV project for evenings.
So, there it is. I have crocheted 24 hexagons thus far using the join-as-you-go method. It's not flawless, but I'm trying not to be too much of a perfectionist over it. After all, I'm doing this for fun, and homemade things can bear a little imperfection.
One more thing!
Because the motifs are hexagons, they won't line up straight on a rectangular blanket. You can either leave the sides jagged or fill in the gaps with crochet to straighten them up. I suppose you could fill the gaps with anything, but the most natural choice (in my opinion, at least) is a half-hexagon. Fortunately, someone's thought about that, come up with a pattern, and even shared it on her blog: Mariella's "half hexies". (See? This is the benefit of choosing a popular pattern and waiting a couple years after all the cool kids have used it. By that time, they've worked out all the kinks-- smoothed out any wrinkles, as it were.)
I haven't tried the half-hex pattern yet, but unless I have trouble getting it to work for me, I'm planning to use it. Straight, even edges seem easier to add a border to, for one thing, and I know I want a border of some kind, even if it's something very simple.
Well, that's (more than) enough of an update for now!
I've been working on the hexagon afghan (which I'm called the Flower Garden Hexagon Afghan, because all those colorful hexagons remind me of, well, a flower garden) for a week or two, now, since starting it over again. I'm not making lightning-speed progress, but it's growing a little at a time-- usually by at least two or three hexagons every day or two.
Here's my progress so far, looking a little blurry because there wasn't quite enough light (and I didn't want to use the flash):
And another couple views, for good measure. . .
And then just one more in direct light from a window (thus the shadowy bars across it). . .
Just don't look on the back side yet. ;o) I took a break several hexagons ago to tidy up the back, but sooner or later I'll have to give it some more attention. I try to crochet over as many tails as possible to cut down on the weaving portion of the work, but there are places where I just don't like the way crocheting over the tails looks. Mainly it's the tail left after the final round of each hexagon-- and sometimes the ends from the previous round. If I don't like the way they're lying-- if I feel that too much of the "wrong" color is showing through to the front, I'd rather take a minute or two to weave them in by hand. I don't really mind weaving in ends, so long as I can quickly and easily find a place to put them. It's easier to focus on other things during end-weaving than during crocheting, so it makes a good TV project for evenings.
So, there it is. I have crocheted 24 hexagons thus far using the join-as-you-go method. It's not flawless, but I'm trying not to be too much of a perfectionist over it. After all, I'm doing this for fun, and homemade things can bear a little imperfection.
One more thing!
Because the motifs are hexagons, they won't line up straight on a rectangular blanket. You can either leave the sides jagged or fill in the gaps with crochet to straighten them up. I suppose you could fill the gaps with anything, but the most natural choice (in my opinion, at least) is a half-hexagon. Fortunately, someone's thought about that, come up with a pattern, and even shared it on her blog: Mariella's "half hexies". (See? This is the benefit of choosing a popular pattern and waiting a couple years after all the cool kids have used it. By that time, they've worked out all the kinks-- smoothed out any wrinkles, as it were.)
I haven't tried the half-hex pattern yet, but unless I have trouble getting it to work for me, I'm planning to use it. Straight, even edges seem easier to add a border to, for one thing, and I know I want a border of some kind, even if it's something very simple.
Well, that's (more than) enough of an update for now!