Sunday, August 14, 2011

Réalta: Pinks and Purples

I'm not very good at Ebaying. I'm too timid for auctions (unlike my mother, whose arrival at charity auctions is met with a collective rubbing of hands. We have a shed full of motley furniture and a jumble of housewares brought back from her auctioneering. Sometimes she takes my sister Emily with her. Representatives of the local Lions Club and the St. Vincent de Paul throw their hats in the air when the pair of them saunter in, purse strings flapping and nostrils flaring at the scent of a bargain. Did I mention that Emily also has a shed crammed to bursting with a hodge podge of orphan items? Apparently the women in my family don't come with baggage, they have sheds.)

In any case, when I do win something, I usually surprise myself. I made a token bid on a kilo of grey wool and then, to my shock, won it (I must add that no one bid against me, just in case you had visions of me pounding the keyboard shouting, "It's mine! Mine!") In any case, I had to promptly get rid of it because it simply wouldn't do, having batch of idle skeins hanging around, bullying all the oddbods and scrappy balls of yarn that normally fill my basket. Goodness knows, a gang like that might even organise an uprising: we might wake up one morning and find ourselves knitted into our bed. Uh-huh. It could happen.

So I made another Réalta. Every time I make this afghan, I get annoyed with myself before I even start sewing it together: the colours look horrible together. Why on earth - no, how on earth did I make 42 octagons without noticing the fundamental ugliness of the colour combination? Then I sew it all up ... and realise that it's actually okay. Sometimes even quite nice. Magic, I tell you, it's magic!


17 comments:

Gracey is not my name.... said...

I love the grey...it sets off the other colors well...I have not ever finished a motif afghan...so kudos to you!

anon said...

It actually is quite lovely, and I'm not a fan of grey. But - the ends! the ends! How do you stay sane with all those ends to weave in?

hooksandyarns said...

It's very pretty - the colors look great together. :)

Annie Cholewa said...

Magic indeed ! If only I could crochet ...

I have to agree re. the feral yarn ... it just kinda sneaks up on you and Bam! Who knows what could happen!

Wool Diaries said...

I love the magic! It's beautiful, so subtle.

Well done on winning the aution! I still have to brave ebay.

Sharon Marie said...

Very nice. The colors look great together.

Anonymous said...

I'm still chuckling at the description of your sister and mother having sheds full of auction winnings. If I ever started going to them I fear I would be the same way. Nostrils flaring and all!

Allyson said...

Lovely!

I've been lookiing at this pattern on Ravelry :)

Crafting Friends Designs said...

I like it, and I'm not usually a huge fan of afghans like this. Well done! (And can I just add that I tend to chuckle when I read your posts. You would be a fun person to be around often)

Elisabetta said...

It's really really beautiful! I absolutely love all these shades of purple, and the gray gives a perfect background... If only I could to something similar!
I abandoned crochet years ago (I only knew the basic stitch) and embraced knitting, but all your wonderful creations make want to learn crochet again! I am just a bit scared by combining all the pieces together... :)

Donna Lee said...

I hate the suspense of ebay and then after all my angst, I might not win and someone else will take home my treasure. My daughter handles all the bidding and bargaining for me.

The afghan looks beautiful. The colors are glorious!

Finny said...

I LOVE these colors! I also LOVE the "Fall Colors" Realta you made! I just bought this pattern from you this week and am anxious to make a few of them. I plan to make one for my daughter, and I intend to use up old yarn. For my mom, I would like to make one similar to your fall colors afghan. BUT my big stumbling block is putting the colors together! I read your tutorial, and found that helpful, but I am still just way too intimidated to come up with my own color scheme. My mom's living room is a pretty green and has a beige couch, so I can really do alot with that...
Thanks for sharing your beautiful work!

OneofHisflock said...

Love it, love it, L-O-V-E it....the colours are fab :-)

JP Norton said...

Hello Gingerbread Lady. One of my friends posted a link to your "Colour Workshop - Realta" on facebook and in particular, the beautiful rainbow coloured octagon afghan caught our eyes. It's a work of art! Would you please give the pattern for the octagon "squares"? Thanks so much. You can reach me at 1974commando850@gmail.com.

JP Norton said...

Hi again, I just checked my email and it's working fine. Weird. At any rate, thanks for the info about purchasing the pattern. Cheers!

Lois M said...

I've been working Realta and can't seem to figure out your instructions for "partial DC." Mainly"insert hook in first st." What first stitch?

The Gingerbread Lady said...

Hi Lois, I'm guessing you bought the pattern on Ravelry - can you contact me there?