Wednesday, December 26, 2012

The Grand Finale

Phew, I'm finished just in time! The end of the year 2012 also marks the end of my Challenge: For the last twelve months I've been working my way through Edie Eckman's book "Beyond the Square" and completed all of the 144 motifs. Earlier today I've posted my last motif, one of my favorites:

Motif # 17, a circle

Along the way, I've made beautiful circles, interesting hexagons, relaxing triangles, unique squares and other unusual motifs.

Motif # 1, a circle
Motif # 51, a hexagon
Motif # 62, a triangle
Motif # 114, a square
Motif # 143, an unusual shape

Is it strange to say it was an exciting adventure? Probably, because any Surfer or Bungee Jumper might have another definition of excitement and adventure :) For me, however, it's been a pleasure to meet the well known stitches and arrange them in a new way, or to try new and sometimes challenging stitches, like the folding single crochet stitches as in motif # 23.

Motif # 23, a circle
An easier stitch was the Leaning Tower Stitch, but it was so much fun to do and I love the three dimensional effect it adds to the traditional granny, as in motif # 109.

Motif # 109, a square

144 motifs, that means:


For more beautiful motifs please check out our Shared Gallery once again, where the other participants have linked their versions. And that brings me to the thank-you-part of this post:

A big thanks goes to all the other girls who have joined me on my journey through this book, although we took different routes, we've often met on some crossroads along the way. It would have been quite boring to go this way alone!

I also have to thank the readers of my blog who frequently came to visit and always found something nice to say about the motifs I've been posting all year - it would have been quite boring without you, too!

And of course, I want to thank the author of the book, Edie Eckman: thank you for writing this book, for watching my progress from afar, and for the free copy of "Connect the Shapes - Crochet Motifs" that arrived at my house a week before Christmas - what a wonderful present, thank you so much!

Flipping through Edie's new book almost made me want to start the next Challenge for 2013, but for now I'll have to take a little break from the motifs. Still, I couldn't resist trying one special motif that caught my eye the first time I've opened the book. It's a hexagon-motif from the "swirls"-section of the book, I've added some picot-3's to the corners to give it a more Christmassy look:

Motif # 69, a swirls-hexagon, from "Connect the Shapes"

Now that's it. I kinda miss this Challenge already... What about you, girls? What's your summary at the end of this year? Have you reached your personal goal? Do you want to continue the Challenge for a while in 2013? Our actual gallery was supposed to close by the end of the year, but I can add a few more weeks/months, even another year, if you want me to - just give me a quick feedback, okay?


Thanks for your visit today, I'll be back soon for a general 2012-review. See you then!







Links: 
Shared Gallery: link up your motifs!

14 comments:

  1. Wow Barbara! I m bowled over.. Awesome dedication you have n love every motif you have hooked. Wish there were more hours in a day or less chores at home so that I could be more active in this. Great job n pat yourself on he back from my side!

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  2. Well done for your Grand Finale of "Beyond the Square" Motifs! I loved your colour combinations. Do you have a project for all those motifs?

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  3. Hi Barbara,What a fantastic way to end the year! Lovely collection of motifs, gorgeous colors, great work. I enjoyed watching your progress as much as you enjoyed making them. Looking forward to lots of new projects from you in the coming year.
    A very happy New Year to you and your loved ones.
    Love and hugs

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  4. Wow this is so impressive! Happy Christmas and new year too. Xx

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  5. Just Incredible!!! Beautiful colors, great definition, splendid job! I have the book you mentioned having just received, but I will wait to see what you show me from that one, before I tackle it on my own!

    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours, Love, Darlene.

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  6. Hi, Barbara! I can simply bow and applause your patience and dedication.Great you managed to finish this challenge on time!Love the colors and shapes!
    Have a Happy New Year ahead, full of such beautiful challenges like this one:)

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  7. Congratulations!!! Such a wonderful collection with beautiful colors. I stopped at 80 (there were some I wasnt inspired to tackle, but maybe I´ll try later). It is really impressive that you made them all ;-)
    ♥ Ana BC

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  8. Congratulations on finishing your project in time! You have a beautiful steady stitch. X Jenn

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  9. Suuuper, Barbara, ganz herzlichen Glückwunsch zu, ja wie sag ich das jetzt... zur Komplettierung, hihi :-). Hammer, daß Du wirklich alle Motive durch hast. Sie schauen traumhaft aus! Das neue Buch hab ich auch seit ein paar Wochen, es ist toll und Du hast Recht, auch sehr verlockend ;-). Für diese Challenge hier würde ich mich freuen, wenn Du die Galerie noch eine Weile offen lassen würdest. Ich hab noch ein paar Motive zum Hochladen, und hatte eigentlich vor, wenigstens noch ein paar zu machen. Also falls ich nicht die Einzige bin, wär's schön wenn man noch einstellen könnte ;-).

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  10. Wow, I'm so impressed! I wanted to join in but just made a few during the year. I've had a hard time sticking to any one year long project, but I always enjoyed watching your progress, even when I didn't stop by to comment. Thanks for putting all the work into this post - I am looking forward to coming back to it again and again to see how you made the different motifs.

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  11. Congratulations on completing the challenge, Barbara! It was so much fun seeing all your motifs and even making a few along with you as well :)

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  12. Liebe Barbara,
    ich bin schwer beeindruckt von Deinen 144 Motiven, sie sind wunderschön!!!

    Herzlichen Dank an Dich, dass ich bei dieser großen Herausforderung dabei sein durfte, wenn ich sie auch nicht alle -wie von mir vorgenommen- gehäkelt habe.

    Ich wünsche Dir für 2013 alles Gute, viele neue kreative Ideen und freue mich auf ein ganz spannendes Häkeljahr.

    herzlichst Traudi aus dem Drosselgarten

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  13. Thank you for sharing! All of the motifs you and the other crocheters have made are amazing! Did you use the same yarn for all of them? Which yarn(s) is (are) your favorites? I am going to start my own challenge soon...I just got Edie's books this week!

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    1. Thank you for your nice comment! Yes, I've used the same yarn for all my motifs, it's Catania by Schachenmayer, a beautiful cotton yarn. Good luck with your Challenge, I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did!

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