Progress in Reverse

  If you read my last post, then you saw my impulse buy of a (yummy) new yarn. Now, here's the story of the project that caused the shopping trip:

yarn, stash, WIP, work in progress, Red Heart Super Saver, Caron One Pound, crochet, afghan, panels, seamless join, scrapbuster, stashbuster

  It's a panel blanket. I'm using the seamless join method to attach the panels together, and it was going really fast... Really, really fast after a sleepless night spent joining the pieces. But there I was at 3 a.m. with two panels left to go, and I reached the end of my yarn:

yarn, stash, WIP, work in progress, Red Heart Super Saver, Caron One Pound, crochet, afghan, panels, seamless join, scrapbuster, stashbuster

  For the panels, I used a mix of yarns from my stash. The white might be Red Heart Super Saver, but... The more I work with the yarn leftover from making the Eye of the Emerald set, the more I'm sure it's Caron One Pound. The other two yarns are definitely Red Heart Super Saver - One is scrap left from making the Josephina Elephant rug; the other is a whole Jumbo skein bought for a project, but never used.

  And also a leftover from making the elephant rug, almost an entire skein of Red Heart Super Saver in black. It was still so full that I was fighting to pull the tail out when I began. And I weighed it, too: This 7 oz. ball was only missing half an ounce. I was sure that there would be enough to join all the panels!

yarn, stash, WIP, work in progress, Red Heart Super Saver, Caron One Pound, crochet, afghan, panels, seamless join, scrapbuster, stashbuster

  I really like the look of the joining seam I'm making, but it's eating more yarn than the stitch used for the panels. I thought about ripping it back and changing to a lighter stitch, but I didn't want to chance running out again anyway. I like the seam, and I don't want to change it! So, I went yarn shopping...

yarn, stash, WIP, work in progress, Red Heart Super Saver, Caron One Pound, crochet, afghan, panels, seamless join, scrapbuster, stashbuster

  I went yarn shopping to discover that the local Michaels doesn't carry Red Heart Super Saver. UGH! The only other nearby option for getting yarn right now: Wal-mart... NOOOOO! I don't know the reason why in this town, Wal-mart on a Wednesday is a freaking madhouse. It's not much better any other day, but there's no way I'm going there on a Wednesday if I can help it. Since I'm pretty sure I'm already using it in the project anyway, I picked up a skein of Caron One Pound just in case:

yarn, stash, WIP, work in progress, Red Heart Super Saver, Caron One Pound, crochet, afghan, panels, seamless join, scrapbuster, stashbuster

  And wouldn't you know it... Red Heart Super Saver isn't available at the local Wal-mart, either. I'm not sure if somebody just buys it all up, or if the store never stocks it. All I know is that every time I go to buy it, they have empty shelves. So, I'm glad I picked up that skein of One Pound... But now, to progress in reverse:

yarn, stash, WIP, work in progress, Red Heart Super Saver, Caron One Pound, crochet, afghan, panels, seamless join, scrapbuster, stashbuster

  It may seem like undoing to you, but I know I can rip this project out and have it back together before an online order will get here. So in my mind, waiting for a shipment of yarn is anti-progress, and ripping it out is moving forward.

yarn, stash, WIP, work in progress, Red Heart Super Saver, Caron One Pound, crochet, afghan, panels, seamless join, scrapbuster, stashbuster

  After deciding to re-roll the entire skein as a center-pull ball on my fingers, I'm glad to be a heavy metal fan with devil-horn experience. Ouch, that was a lot of yarn to roll that way... And I wasn't even done yet:

yarn, stash, WIP, work in progress, Red Heart Super Saver, Caron One Pound, crochet, afghan, panels, seamless join, scrapbuster, stashbuster

  Soon enough, I had the last of the Super Saver unraveled from the project. I briefly considered redesigning the seam stitch again, but no, I'm keeping it as-is. With that skein of One-Pound, I'll end up having leftovers when I'm done. I like the texture of the fuller stitches combined with the seamless join. It gives the seam a cabled look, and it was working to beef up this somewhat delicate design that's intended for a boy.
 
yarn, stash, WIP, work in progress, Red Heart Super Saver, Caron One Pound, crochet, afghan, panels, seamless join, scrapbuster, stashbuster

  I find it funny that this project forced me to go buy One Pound in black. I just finished the Big Huge Afghan for my dad, which used up the One Pound skeins that were supposed to be for my coffee-themed blanket... But the taupe never fit in with the coffee theme, and I planned to try again with black once the yarn-shopping-ban was lifted... And since the ban never really was lifted (though I've broke the rules a few times), I decided to create the afghan for Dad and make some room in my stash.

yarn, stash, WIP, work in progress, Red Heart Super Saver, Caron One Pound, crochet, afghan, panels, seamless join, scrapbuster, stashbuster

  Now with a new WIP using up more scraps, I'm forced to go buy the yarn that I was waiting to purchase for another project. Ironic? Yes, but I'm taking it as a sign. Work never progressed on the things I was waiting for, but more-spontaneous ideas have started flying off my hook. I found myself once again enjoying finished projects instead of feeling like a failure for the ones that didn't move forward.

  Sometimes when things aren't working, you just have to progress in reverse. Abandon the idea that is holding you back, or at least put it away for another time... Work on something else that gives you a challenge of a different kind... Such as how my latest work in progress is like putting together a puzzle by using up scraps. It's not a plan; just an idea to follow. There's times I like plans. There's other times I'll rip back an entire skein just so I don't have to wait for a shipment of yarn. Do what you have to do to keep the "happy" in...

Happy Crocheting!

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