Saturday, January 29, 2011

Knots and News

First the "news":  Today I spent judging at the Milestones Speech and Debate tournament.  Let me see if I can paint a picture for you.  I walked in and saw lots of smart, geeky and totally cool kids who were being kids. (some were running and playing, some were doing other things.)  I signed in and got an orientation on judging speeches.  Then I got an assignment with judging forms.  I went to the assigned room and suddenly these "kids" did speeches that showed how much smarter they are than average. They had the deportment of adults (better than many I know!) They politely introduced themselves to the judges and thanked each judge for being there.  Then they gave speeches. For some of them, the speaker reached in an envelope and pulled out a topic. After 2 minutes  prep time --yes I said TWO MINUTES - they got up and spoke. They didn't have notes, cue cards just themselves to rely on. There are some smart kids out there and it makes me feel good to know they will probably be leaders in the future.

I was happy to "waste" my Saturday off working to help them.  I gave the best constructive criticisms I could and I was liberal with the (well deserved) praise.

Now the "knots":

I had about an hour break time between sessions at one point.  So I made a little trip to a craft store that was nearby and got some cotton yarn.  I had made my previous dishcloths with acrylic yarn because that was what I had.  I was so happy when I went in and this cotton yarn was on sale at almost half price.
After I got home from judging I sat down to relax and grabbed the yarn and the smaller hook I had bought and made a lot of "knots" which is more commonly called "crochet"
Here is how it turned out:
I put the yarn label in the picture for you to see the brand.  The fine print says that the color is "Tuscany."    I love the warm and cool color mixture that leans toward warm. I got a variegated yarn because I feel that it is more fun AND less straining on the eyes than staring at one color.   I love the way this worked up into a pattern.  Each color is seen distinctly and blended with the others. The dark purple and the aqua seem to almost form chains of color.  It is almost too pretty to be a dishcloth.  But wait - it will make a menial chore more enjoyable. 

Someone asked to see the convergence piecing.  I did  take a picture but it is on a different computer.  I promise to post it later. Maybe I will have the change I have decided to make to it done by then and you can see it both ways.  I really enjoyed Ricky Tims book and method.  I am sure I will do more of the convergence quilting.  

Have a great "rest of the weekend!"

12 comments:

Melissa ;-) said...

Oh, Gene, you are hooked on that crochet! I think it looks like a Bargello quilt!

And I'm glad you had fun as a judge. There are a lot of kids out there with potential if they can only find adults like you to help them harness it!

Barb said...

That is so awesome that you gave up of your time to do the judging....

Love the yarn....you are a pro now!!

Unknown said...

glad you had a good day.....I can only imagine what a great role you'd be...very rough day here on the mountain, praying for a better day tomorrow......

IHaveANotion ~ Kelly Jackson said...

So....you can't even sit still for one hour? Me either....I know the feeling!

Kelly

Regina said...

Love that yarn. It looks great! I'm very jealous of your crochet skills. I've been knitting lately but I must confess that if I make a mistake I have no clue how to fix it so I stick with simple projects like scarves and hats.

ooglebloops said...

I see a coordinating quilt in the future~~~love the colors. I prefer working with wools and cotton- natural yarns instead of polys.

Miss Hillbilly said...

Love those colors of that dish cloth!!
My daughter has a whole huge bin of pretty yarn hanging out in my basement. Maybe I can get her to at least make some of these up!

Anonymous said...

I've never seen this cotton yarn and am envious because I don't think the one I'm using comes in those fabulous colors. I need some new dishcloths, will be watching for it in my area.

Rhonda said...

What a great Saturday.....sometimes we tend to forget what kids are capable of.

Stray Stitches (Linda G) said...

There are some amazing young people out there. It's too bad that the only ones who get the attention are the trouble makers.
I love the new dishcloth and the cotton yarn was perfect for the project.

Jackie's Stitches said...

I've never made a dishcloth and I have no idea why not!

It sounds like a great day with the kids. We always hear so much about teens being irresponsible and disrespectful. Not always true!

Royce said...

One of my quilting buds gave me a crochet dishcloth and they are great. I can see I should be making them while I'm watching TV instead of chomping on candy. Well maybe I can do both.