Day 24: Have you ever made your own pattern or dyed your own yarn? How did it turn out?
I've "kind of" done both, I guess.
The pattern was a crochet pattern. (I'm nowhere near advanced enough in knitting to make my own pattern for that craft. Unless knitting a square in garter stitch with no specific directions counts as making a pattern. In that case, my very first project was "my own pattern"! (g))
The only time I did more than just modify a pattern (or complete wing it without writing anything down) was when I (fairly recently) tried to come up with my own motif. The resultant pattern (Prairie Star Motif) is nothing special. I'm sure it's been done before, but I did come up with it on my own. It was fun to try-- and I'd like to give it another try, sometime-- but I don't think I'm a natural pattern designer. I enjoy just following patterns more than worrying over how to make one of my own, even though I love the idea of designing a pattern of my own... It's a lot of work, though!
I've also only dyed yarn once. Multiple balls/colors, but all in one afternoon. I'd definitely like to try that again. In fact, I have the yarn and food coloring. I just have to decide how I want to dye it. I may wait until I have some idea of what I want to make. I've only used one ball of the my hand-dyed yarn, so far, and knitting something from at least one more ball might be a good idea... Give myself a better idea of how it looks knitted or crocheted up... It was lots of fun, though, and I'm frequently tempted to just go dye some of it and figure out later what to make with it.
It's funny how a hobby progresses. When I started crocheting, I never thought I'd want to make a whole afghan-- just something small, like a scarf. Now I love making afghans. Back then, I never would have expected I'd someday be really interested in dyeing my own yarn, and yet here I am. Of course, I also didn't think I'd care to learn to knit... If I'm not careful, I'll end up spinning my own yarn, next. ;o) Maybe raising a flock of alpacas in the backyard... (g) (Only, I doubt alpacas would like our hot, humid summers. And to be honest, I'm not sure I want to be responsible for caring for largish animals. Medium-sized dogs are big enough. Plus, have you ever looked at the prices of alpacas? Crazy. It's definitely an investment...)
I've "kind of" done both, I guess.
The pattern was a crochet pattern. (I'm nowhere near advanced enough in knitting to make my own pattern for that craft. Unless knitting a square in garter stitch with no specific directions counts as making a pattern. In that case, my very first project was "my own pattern"! (g))
The only time I did more than just modify a pattern (or complete wing it without writing anything down) was when I (fairly recently) tried to come up with my own motif. The resultant pattern (Prairie Star Motif) is nothing special. I'm sure it's been done before, but I did come up with it on my own. It was fun to try-- and I'd like to give it another try, sometime-- but I don't think I'm a natural pattern designer. I enjoy just following patterns more than worrying over how to make one of my own, even though I love the idea of designing a pattern of my own... It's a lot of work, though!
I've also only dyed yarn once. Multiple balls/colors, but all in one afternoon. I'd definitely like to try that again. In fact, I have the yarn and food coloring. I just have to decide how I want to dye it. I may wait until I have some idea of what I want to make. I've only used one ball of the my hand-dyed yarn, so far, and knitting something from at least one more ball might be a good idea... Give myself a better idea of how it looks knitted or crocheted up... It was lots of fun, though, and I'm frequently tempted to just go dye some of it and figure out later what to make with it.
It's funny how a hobby progresses. When I started crocheting, I never thought I'd want to make a whole afghan-- just something small, like a scarf. Now I love making afghans. Back then, I never would have expected I'd someday be really interested in dyeing my own yarn, and yet here I am. Of course, I also didn't think I'd care to learn to knit... If I'm not careful, I'll end up spinning my own yarn, next. ;o) Maybe raising a flock of alpacas in the backyard... (g) (Only, I doubt alpacas would like our hot, humid summers. And to be honest, I'm not sure I want to be responsible for caring for largish animals. Medium-sized dogs are big enough. Plus, have you ever looked at the prices of alpacas? Crazy. It's definitely an investment...)