The Making of a Contest Entry

I am so excited to have started working on my entry for the 2010 CGOA design competition.  I decided on the category, theme, and shape, and then headed to the yarn shop and let the yarns speak to me.  I chose one, multi-colored yarn, that had all the colors I was looking for.  Then, I looked for some solids to go with that one.  Since the piece doesn't require a written pattern and will be freeformish, I went down all the aisles that might have some sort of crochetable material and collected a few things that were in my color scheme. After that,  I went home and went through my stash to find anything that went with the yarns, etc that I had purchased.  Now, I have a basket of yarns to choose from.  I picked out a lovely stitch pattern from my new Japanese stitch dictionary, and have done a few sections.  Even though I have the shape figured out, this piece will evolve as I work on it.  It will not be made up of crocheted scrumbles like my previous contest entries have been, but it will have a freeform feel to it and be embellished in my signature style with embroidery accents. It is so freeing not to have to worry about working in a currently available yarn, or  writing the pattern as I go.  I have a great vision for this design and I almost don't want to sleep so I can keep working on it and see it come to fruition!