One of the more challenging of my late 2013 projects was a second ombre needlepoint iphone case. I posted about my first ombré phone case last August, and that post still receives traffic. I took this as a sign of interest, and so, in making a second one, I planned to take photos of the process and try a proper tutorial. (Insert a foreboding snicker here.) As it turns out, I was filled with hubris.
I started with this photo of beautiful new yarns, and planned to follow the same pattern as in my first phone case. I took notes on how to prepare the canvas and how I counted out the stitches for the bands of color.
Quickly, my plan and the project fell apart. These colors looked too cold and hard in the wide bands of color I’d used on my last ombré case. So I ripped them out and tried again. My next attempt was not much better. So I ripped it out again. In fact, I lost track of how many times I started over and thankfully I stopped trying to take photos of the progress too. I probably threw up my hands once or twice, but in the end I found a way to finish it.
I’m happy with the way it turned out, but also chastened and reminded of the tenacity, flexibility, and, of course, creativity, required to make something satisfying. There’s are reason its called the creative process.
Bottle Branch 
That critical eye that makes you rip it out until every color is in the right place and every stitch is even is called craftsmanship. Not everyone has it, but you clearly do, both in the things you make and the way you write 🙂
Love, Mom
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Thanks, Mom! you know where I got it from 🙂
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Beautiful problem solving, Zibby. I’m playing with similar color challenges in a sweater I’m knitting. It’s the soup of sweaters, using all the leftovers from other projects, and as with all stash projects, you’ve just got to get the color balance right. Thanks for sharing your creativity!
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Well hello there Grace! Thank you and thanks for visiting. Good luck with your sweater and hope to see you in June?!
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Definitely worth the effort – looks gorgeous!
Thank you so much for the encouragement with my last canvas – it’s worked! 🙂
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Thanks, Anny and I’m so glad to hear that blocking worked out!
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Tenacity, flexibility and creativity paid off beautifully:-) I love those subtle colour shifts.
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Thanks so much, Catherine. I know you know something aobut the process aprt of the creative process 😉
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