Stitchboard Admin message #2
Re: graphghan emergency
May 21, 2016 at 2:45:44 AM  (in response to xpaganwitchx message #1)
 
xpaganwitchx (love your name!),

Welcome! 

No worries!

Your size will depend on your gauge.  With the yarn you're planning on using, it's imperative that you do a gauge swatch.  (I know, nobody likes doing them, but they're a necessary evil, because otherwise, there's no way to know how large anything is going to be!)  You'll then be able to figure our how many stitches and rows per inch you'll have.

Here comes the (not so) fun part.  With the patterns you're looking at, take the number of stitches across and the number of rows.  Let's say your gauge is 4 stitches per inch/5 rows per inch.  And let's say your pattern has 200 stitches across, 300 rows.  Take 200 and divide that by the 4 stitches per inch from your gauge.  That's 50 inches.  Then take the 300 and divide that by the 5 rows per inch from your gauge.  That's 60 inches.  So your finished pattern will be 50 x 60 inches in this example.  Of course, you'll adjust the numbers according to your gauge and your patterns.  But this is the only way to know what size your finished graphghan will be.  This is why a gauge swatch is imperative.

The other thing is that since this is your first graphghan, I always suggest starting smaller.  I know how tempting it is to start with something large, but I always find that starting with something smaller is good practice for something larger.  My favorite example is when I wanted to make one of those gorgeous bead crocheted bangle bracelets.  I'd been crocheting well over 25 years by then, but at that point, I couldn't figure it out.  Holding the beads, placing the beads...it was beyond my skills!

I finally backed way up on my plans, pulled out some inexpensive yarn and pony beads...and then it worked.  I figured out how to hold the yarn, hold the beads, position the beads...which then led me to working with small beads and thread to make a bangle bracelet. 

You don't have to go as tiny as, say, a pincushion...you could perhaps make a pillow top or wall hanging.    This way, you can still make something you'll like (LOL, unlike those bulky pony beads!). 

Hope that helps!

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Stitchboard Admin message #4
Re: graphghan emergency
May 22, 2016 at 4:24:23 AM  (in response to xpaganwitchx message #3)
 
It sounds like you're using the Stitchboard Full Palette.  The best palette for you to use is the Stitchboard Basic Palette.  I know the full palette looks like the better choice, but it's actually not, because there are too many colors, to which you'll never be able to match yarn colors.  Yarn manufacturers, as you've probably noticed, only make a limited number of colors, and they're unlikely to make a lot of colors because they'd wind up with many which would never sell.

There are 35 colors in the Stitchboard Basic Palette, and while the colors may not be the ideal ones, you have a much better chance of matching them to yarns than the Stitchboard Full Palette.

Unfortunately, this also means crochet patterns won't look quite as good, with far fewer colors in the palette.

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BetwixtTheStitch message #5
Re: graphghan emergency
May 22, 2016 at 8:25:47 AM  (in response to xpaganwitchx message #3)
 
xpaganwitchx,

Hello there, and welcome.

I find it's best to limit the number of colors, although sometimes that just looks really bad. The simpler the image, the better, especially if you can choose your own colors (there is a selection for this).

The big problem is that there is no one company that makes all of those colors, and mixing yarns from different companies rarely works out well. So it's an excercise in frustration as well as being a bit overwhelming.

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Tribble79 message #6
Re: graphghan emergency
July 24, 2016 at 7:36:42 PM  (in response to xpaganwitchx message #1)
 
I noticed this with my current afghans I am making. I have cut out a good many and changed to colors that I like. For example the afghan I am making for my son has a shadow and around 3 colors for the shadow. I eliminated two of the colors and am only using one color for the shadow. So when the stich is one of the other colors I simply continue on with the shadow color I am using. Now, hopefully that made sense. LOL...

Stitchboard Admin message #7
Re: graphghan emergency
July 25, 2016 at 3:17:20 AM  (in response to Tribble79 message #6)
 
Tribble (what a great name...oh, the memories!),

Welcome! 

That makes plenty of sense!

For something like a shadow in crochet, I doubt making three colors into one will negatively impact the finished afghan.  It probably looks just fine!    Brilliant! 

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Tribble79 message #8
Re: graphghan emergency
July 29, 2016 at 9:55:03 PM  (in response to Stitchboard Admin message #7)
 
LOL, yep, Tribbles are one of my favorite things! As is Star Trek. I've been a Trekkie/Trekker since  I was a teenager. I had to read the novels as we didn't have TV, once I was able to get my own TV and VCR I watched them ALL!

That was my thoughts on the shadow as well! I couldn't see why it would matter. 

Stitchboard Admin message #9
Re: graphghan emergency
July 30, 2016 at 5:50:15 AM  (in response to Tribble79 message #8)
 
Tribble,

I'm a Trekkie/ Trekker, too!  I've heard there will be a new Star Trek show soon and am so excited.  Love the original series, though my favorite will always be Next Gen, just because I really, really enjoyed the stories.  LOL, though I disliked the last Next Gen movie.  Sigh.  I didn't like what they did to Data and I didn't like how they depicted everyone's future. 

Exactly, the shadow will be just fine.  When thinking about regular shadows, there doesn't seem to be all that much of a variation, so why should there be one in a graphghan project?

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Tribble79 message #10
Re: graphghan emergency
August 6, 2016 at 7:49:26 PM  (in response to xpaganwitchx message #1)
 
I too am excited about the show! I loved all of the shows but my favorite is the original series. That group of charachters the other shows just can't beat. Checkov, Sulu, Scotty, Bones, Spock, Captain Kirk and Uhura.

I loved all the movies! Even the last one which was one of my least favorites. My favorite movies are The Voyage Home and The Undiscovered Contry. I have watched those two soooo many times. 

My least favorite show was Voyager - I just couldn't really like any of the characters. That's not to say I didn't like it, it's just my least favorite.   

Stitchboard Admin message #11
Re: graphghan emergency
August 7, 2016 at 5:13:19 AM  (in response to Tribble79 message #10)
 
Tribble,

I had the biggest crushes on some of the original series characters!  For a while, it was Spock...Checkov...Bones...they were so unique!

The Voyage Home was my favorite original series movie.  Loved the humor in that one!

I never got much into Voyager.  Some of the shows were on at times when I just couldn't watch them.  Even today I haven't seen much Voyager or DS9, and there are probably still some episodes of Next Gen I've never seen, though it's still my fave.

One of my oldest, dearest friends is related to Rom (Max Grodenchik) from DS9.    For a long time she ran his fan club.

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Tribble79 message #12
Re: graphghan emergency
August 7, 2016 at 8:05:36 PM  (in response to xpaganwitchx message #1)
 
Thats awsome about Rom. Those Ferengi....

There are a lot of episodes I havn't seen too. I need to start watching them straight through on netflix. I just seem to have so much other stuff that occupies my time.

Spock is my favorite - I had a huge crush on him. I was very upset when Leonard Nimoy died. He was one of the very few actors I would have liked to meet. The portrayal of him in the new movies I despise, the character just isn't the old Spock that I love. Honestly Spock is the only Vulcan I have really liked with all of the Vulcans we have seen throughout the years. It has to be his half human part that just makes him the bomb

It's been great talking star trek with a trekkie! I don't know many of them. Myself and my husband and a couple of coworkers.       

Stitchboard Admin message #13
Re: graphghan emergency
August 8, 2016 at 4:09:08 AM  (in response to Tribble79 message #12)
 
Tribble,

Ferengi...LOL, hate to love 'em, love to hate 'em! 

It sounds so easy in theory...sit down and watch a whole show, one season at a time, but it really does take time.    I'd like to rewatch TOS, because I found that show in the '70s, in reruns.  Problem was that they cut out parts of the shows.  Someone, and I can't remember who, in light of the new series is supposed to be showing TOS uncut.  That I really want to see!

When I first started watching TNG during its original run (though I'm still only 25, LOL ), my company transitioned me to a night shift, so I ended up missing a lot of the shows...probably saw a handful of them before that happened.    So that was why, even though it was one of my faves, I hardly ever got to see it during its original run.  I worked that shift for 3 years, and after that things got even crazier, so watching the show ended up not happening often and I couldn't follow some of the plots for the ones that required having seen earlier episodes.  I did catch up on some of them later on, and every once in a while will still catch an episode I haven't seen.  I'd really like to someday watch the series over a month or two, a few episodes every night, in order.  Or perhaps start with TOS, then move on to TNG, etc.  LOL, isn't that a dream? 

I completely agree with you about Spock...he was the best!  Hands down my favorite character on that show.    And did you notice...he had the best comedic lines, too. 

I've been enjoying discussing Star Trek with you, too!    My husband is a Trekkie, but not too many of my friends are, sorry to say.  My bestie doesn't get into it at all, and even my dear old friend who is related to Max Grodenchik isn't a big Star Trek or sci-fi fan, unbelievably.

Definitely one thing about Star Trek...they just don't make shows like that anymore.  Even the newer ST shows are very different than TOS and TNG.  Oh, well, at least the old shows are still available to watch, right? 

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