Love for my Roommates

Here are the scarves I crocheted for my roommates over this past Winter Break. I had done so much work related to art and sculpture the past quarter that I just wanted to get back to doing more practical projects. Oh, and of course, I wanted to give my roommates some gifts to celebrate the holidays!


This particular scarf uses the same pattern I had in the scarves I previously posted, but adds some fringe and a few inches of length. I love using this stitch because it's quick and easy and at the same time has such beautiful results! I'm glad Jane chose a beautiful shade of dark brown. Unfortunately, the pictures don't do justice to the richness of the color.


Next, Lindsey's scarf uses the puff stitch, which creates thickness, warmth, and texture in a scarf that otherwise would have been too thin to provide any protection from the cold (I know, I know, where's the need for a scarf in sunny San Diego? Well, it gets windy sometimes...). I used three colors which I alternated and varied so that each block of color would be shorter in length as they got closer to the ends of the scarf. I tried to take into account the different autumn and summer colors that Lindsey tends to wear in her everyday wardrobe, complimenting it with a little bit of brightness in the Salmon-like color.


Finally, for Karishma's incredibly long scarf, I utilized her favorite color and made up a pattern inspired by one of Natalie's scarves. Natalie's had 2 rows of simple flowers set on a background of crocheted mesh and outlined with 2 more rows of double crochet (in other words, a thick solid band). I simplified Karishma's scarf by using one row of similarly made flowers, keeping the mesh background, and outlining it with a thin band instead. I think the result is a scarf that looks pretty different, but at the same time retains the qualities of something that looks delicately made.

Writing this blog post felt as if I were writing descriptions for products for a catalog, but I really didn't know any other way to do it, so thanks for being interested if you were! It's been a while and I'm slow with posting, so I might make another post on some other projects I worked on during the break. Stay tuned, 9 followers! Hahaha

Happy New Year,
Dada

Yarn Self-Portrait

This project reflects an exploration of the idea of representation. While painting is a laborious approach to depicting a subject, crocheting offers an even more complex opportunity to create an image based on a subject. In that the traditional sense of crocheting has to do with creating a shape or form stitch by stitch, this piece utilizes self-representation through thoughtful and meaningful stitches that have been carefully planned to possess the color changes of the human face. The use of texture and some volume furthermore enhances the material quality of yarn, juxtaposing such qualities with photography, painting, and other forms of representation.

The process of creating this piece began with a photo of myself that I redrew onto a large sheet of paper. I then tracked tonal variations by coloring different blocks which corresponded to the lights and darks in the picture (I matched these with the limited colors I had in yarn). After crocheting as close to the "plan" as possible and finishing every color block, I ended up with an unsatisfactory project. I knew that with yarn there would be limits, but I was incredibly unhappy with the results as I was aiming for much more realism. After a couple of days, I ended up going back and crocheting free-handedly over the eyebrows, nose, lips, and hair to create more volume and 3-dimentionality. I also smoothed some areas where colors changed too dramatically from light to dark.

So where does this piece stand now for me? I'm not even sure anymore. I've worked on it for so long and have gone over it too many times. I know I may not ever be happy, but I feel like I can always do so much more. For now, it's "finished," but chances are, I'll go back over it once again. We'll see in weeks or months to come.