Crochet FO!

Considering how easy-peasy this one was, I should hardly boast that I finished something – but it’s been a long time since any wool turned into anything wearable around these parts.

It’s the One Skein Scarf from Happy Hooker, and I could not be happier with it. It worked up super fast and didn’t take too much concentration, and it’s pretty and feminine and I can’t wait to wear it! How long until it cools down, I wonder??

Next up in the crochet lineup: granny squares.

 

Metal or plastic?

You know that question they ask at the supermarket checkout – paper or plastic? It’s always so much harder to answer than it should be, right? Well, now I’m facing an easier choice – metal or plastic?

I’m talking about crochet hooks. I absolutely hate metal knitting needles, so I thought I’d feel the same about metal crochet hooks. I started teaching myself with one, but in some unexpected free time yesterday I found myself at the crafts store, where I picked up these.

They look so cute and happy! So fun and candy-like! But. But – I’m finding them quite unpleasant to work with. Too much friction – they stick to my (non-acrylic) yarn.

So what do you use? Metal? Plastic? Bamboo? Enlighten me, fellow crocheters.

 

(Re)learning.

Teaching myself to crochet
Originally uploaded by chez shoes.

I’ve been threatening to do this for a while now – re-learn how to crochet. This weekend, I finally found the time, and is it ever addictive!

When I was around 6 or 7, I lived with a sort of unofficial foster family. The mom, Karen, was everything my mom was not – she cooked, she sewed, she knit, she crocheted, and yes, she birthed multiple babies because she actually wanted to.

Karen had a daughter, Pamela, the same age as me, and she taught both of us a number of crafts. Pamela excelled at everything, whereas I was a complete and total klutz. When I sewed, I constantly stabbed my finger. When I knit, tears came to my eyes. But for some reason, crochet clicked. Somewhere in San Francisco, probably in a landfill, the results of those years with Karen probably exists to this day – countless crocheted potholders and granny squares and Barbie clothes. I doubt that acrylic yarn is biodegradable.

Anyway. That was many years ago, but when I picked up Kids Crochet at the library and started to go through the motions, the basics came back to me. The resulting first project will be, of course, a scarf, in some tweedy Cascade something-or-other from my stash. I’m enjoying the speed of crochet, and am excited to (re)learn more!