Crossing to the darkside

I took an intro to crochet class at KDO this year. I learned to crochet before I learned to knit, incidentally.  I took a few free classes at my library, but i often left class with a giant headache. I didn't understand how to make the stitches, I was working with icky acrylic yarn with a metal hook, and I felt defeated. A month later I took knitting classes, and the rest is history. 

There were about a dozen of us in the class. The majority of the students wanted to learn crochet in an effort to embellish their knits. My reason?  To learn granny squares, so I could use up stash. And to understand crochet stitches.

Our teacher was very informative, showed us up close how to make the stitches. She gave us time to practice on our homework squares. I learned a lot in those three hours, but the class really could have been an all day class.  

Since then I've been working on blanket squares for Schuyler's blanket project, and I started a shrug:

This is just one of the blanket squares I made. I completed squares of single and double crochet, and hope to make triple and half double crochet squares. Then...fancy pattern crochet squares!  

I know there are as many crochet snobs as knit snobs, but I've never found either craft to be superior to the other. I crank out more squares crocheting than I ever did knitting (and I am a slow crocheter!)  I crochet seams together becos it seems easier than whip stitching or mattress stitching them together.  Crochet also consumes more fiber than knitting, so I hope to stash down as I make the charity squares. 

Being a pretty staunch knitter, crocheting makes me feel deviant. I hope that changes soon,  I like having new crafting skills!

i gotz nuttin'

i'm sad to report that i have no FOs to show off for the month of march.  my knitting mojo is at an all-time low.  heh, i have no gumption for anything - sewing, crafting, anything.  i've been reading a lot - i suppose to quiet the chatter in my head - and i can tell i'm working off some depression by the number of solitaire games i play on my phone.

i have a couple inches of my march socks.  i think i'll take them on vacation later this spring becos i like knitting socks in the car, and we'll be doing a lot of driving.

i have about half of my weasleys' pants hat half completed.  it feels like a slog.  i should take that on vacation too.  honestly, how hard is it to knit 3 more inches of hat plus decreases.  not rocket science.

my FLS lays in abandon.  so much for "completing it in time for vacation".  yeah right.

my bourbon street shawl is also on ice.  i just haven't had time to work on it in relative peace and quiet.

i haven't sewed anything in ages.  the duffle bags i want to sew are in a holding pattern until i get more webbing for the handles.  i need to go to the fabric store for that.

even my cooking skills are shot.  i made a lot of crock pot soups and a roast becos i can't be bothered to make anything on the stove top.

i have this small pathetic piece of CROCHET (of all things!) to show for as a nearly FO:

i'm attempting to crochet a dish scrubby.  i got some new mesh scrubbies but they were in sad shape; i thought that i'd try to crochet one.  i thought how hard can it be to crochet a scrubby in single crochet?  apparently in my case, very.

that's a size N hook (one pattern i looked at called for a size H - that's small!)  i tried to crochet in the round but couldn't figure out how to make the magic circle, so i decided to my a square pad instead.  it wasn't too bad, until i tried to crochet under the legs of the stitches.  i had to use a smaller hook to pull the mesh through the loops.  at this point i might as well knit a scrubby!

oh well.  tomorrow's a new month.  maybe my knitting mojo will be better!

crochet in the movies...and tv!

today i digress from my usual knits on tv - these are crocheted items that tickled my fancy.



one thing clarissa didn't explain...where did she get this fetching granny square sweater?  i vaguely remember these sweaters making an appearance in the 90s, altho i never wore one (couldn't find one in my size, probably.  i was a big girl back then too).  i can practically see the acrylic fumes from this beauty.



i want this blanket:


image coutrtesy of popcultureonline.net

this is the best picture i could find online.  it was a beautiful crocheted patchwork blanket in cheerful colors.

there was also a gorgeous owl pillow on the sofa (i think it was knitted, with loopy shaggy stitches) and darned if i can't find a picture of it either.  i dug around on etsy and ravelry too.  sigh  maybe i should try to design my own shaggy owl pillow?

see?  there was a good reason for seeing the smurfs movie!

it's gonna get us

please note, yoko is crocheting.  how brilliant.

i crocheted a flower and i liked it!

i cheated again.  this time on my knitting.

i crossed over to the dark side and crocheted.





i had to.  my new shawl called for a crocheted edge, and as much as it pained me, i did it.  like katy perry would say (if she was a knitter), i crocheted and i liked it.









petunia's strawberry beret called for a crocheted flower, and that was my first crochet project in years.  i had to crochet a circle, dc and tc!  i had to google "how to double/triple crochet" and for some insane reason, it made sense.  and now i'm not afraid of crocheting anymore!




i learned to crochet before i learned to knit, actually.  our town library had crochet lessons several winters ago.  i tried so hard, but i would leave the classes with a migraine.  that's not a good sign!  


maybe it was the hooks.  no matter what i did, i couldn't pull the yarn through my loops, and the only way i could was with my mom's old wooden (i think homemade) hook.  perhaps it was the yarn (shitty acrylic, donated to the library).  a lot was technique.  can you believe it took me an entire class to make a slipknot?  i couldn't figure out how many stitches to make to turn.  it felt so complicated.


here are some examples of my crochet from that time:







this was "single crochet" with mint green baby yarn.  it took bloody forever to crochet.  it's a very odd scarf - very wide, and not very long.  it's like it doesn't know what it is - it's either an short obese scarf...or a short anorexic shawl.  







this scarf was supposed to have rows of single, double, half double and triple crochet.  it was supposed to be a practice piece.  all i know is, i didn't know what the hell i was doing, but it made a nifty skinny scarf.  the yarn, incidentally, is red heart acrylic shit in fiesta.  dear Bob, what was i thinking?  oh, that i didn't know yarn shops actually existed and the only place to find yarn was wally world and (at the time) the rag bag.  




a month after i took those classes, i learned how to knit.  and i never turned back.




people often talk about "knitting snobs" who refuse to learn to crochet.  there are some "crochet snobs" out there who don't like knitting.  i think both crafts can and should interact with each other.  i crochet (slipstitch) edges together sometimes instead of sewing them together.  there are times i wish i could crochet a pretty edging around my knitting.  there are some very pretty crochet stitches that aren't easy to recreate knitwise.

so yeah, knitting rules...but it is fun to walk on the wild crochet side sometimes!