7.3.12

rock urchin.

Nope, I have absolutely not been able to put down the crochet hook, and last night, I started making these rock urchins.  The sudden urge came yesterday morning when I thought of crocheted stones, don't know why, but I immediately went through my stash of yarn.   I found the only ball of thin thread, and it was in natural!  It was meant to be, I was really excited!  All I needed were rocks, and for these, I drove to a nearby shopping center and picked up these five rocks from a rock bed.  Shhh.

I did spend much of yesterday afternoon looking at a lot of these online just to get a better sense of different types of motifs.  I also reviewed a few crochet doily instructions because this project is all about covering rocks with doilies.  I ended up following a few steps of simple crochet patterns from Ravelry and used a method from the Purl bee to secure the motifs to the stones.  The most time consuming were the big eye (top, center) and leaf patterns, as I had to work these through without a pattern.  I simply had images to stare at so there was much unraveling.  As for the star motif, I used a general holiday ornament pattern.  Overall, this was definitely a wonderful and motivating project.  I especially enjoyed it since it offered instances of small victories.