Crochet Today
By Shaila Thomas
Agatha Adventures
Agatha, a witch from the Wild, Wild, West, lives in solitude with her cats Daisy and Mitsy (Mit-see), and spends her days absorbed in yarning hobbies. She runs a small craft business that hasn’t gotten an order since 2012 - perks of living in the Wild Wild West. One “customer” said her ideas were wicked, but Agatha wonders why they never bought anything. This year however, she hopes to make a name for her business and establish herself as the renowned craftswomen of the West.
Halloween came early in Agatha’s household which spurred a new product idea. Agatha’s cats have always been her greatest inspiration; they’ve stuck with her through the hard times and were the reason she started her yarning hobbies. Her cats shed too much but Agatha hated to see their purrcious material go to waste, so she spun the shedding, and made her very own – or Daisy and Mitsy’s very own – ball of yarn. Unfortunately, listing her yarn as “made from cats'' resulted in many hostile comments. This month Agatha decided to make another product dedicated to her cats – this time she would use real yarn.
Product idea: Cats. Similar to a photograph of a celebrity or a painting of a beloved monarch, Agatha would crochet her a picture of her cats.
Supplies: For this she needed yarn (preferable cotton for a versatile and high quality feeling - crocheted picture can be used as a washcloth-if made from cotton yarn-, placemat or coaster -depending on its size, etc.), a corresponding crochet hook, and her inspiration.
Execution: Each pixel represents a stitch. Agatha starts at one corner and follows the line until the end, then moves to the next row – starting on the opposite corner – and follows that line until the end (←, ^, → ). Agatha will follow this pattern until she finishes her dedicated work of art. When the color changes in the pattern, Agatha will change her yarn color as well, creating an admirable, versatile piece of tapestry. “Counting is crucial,” she remarked, “no counting, no picture.”
The Inspiration
The Product
Will Agatha receive any orders for her art? Will she progress in her aspirations?
Find out next month…