Hooked

Hi.

Ok, so part of the introduction I wrote here had its thunder stolen by my last post, and well, I hate to be redundant, so I'll just dive right in since you know all the background... Aite, so on the very first day of step 1 of this entire process, I uncovered an interesting bundle of goods.

Now, I'm not sure if I explained how I got into crocheting in the first place, but in case I have not, a quick recap:

As a young girl I had interest in the needle arts, but was soon disheartened after the tribulations of a first attempt to learn the craft of knitting (the number of stitches kept increasing, the yarn I was using got knotted in the skein and I couldn't work further, plus a whole load of other things). But that desire to learn had not quite died in my soul.

Running late to a homework session, I came upon my partner packing away a skein of yarn and a work in progress. In that instant, I could see my desire being fulfilled, and dove head into the world of crocheting. And lo and behold, to aid me in that journey, the woman who gave me life, gave me the tools of this practical and artistic trade: a how to crochet beginners kit, complete with needles and accessories, and a skein of worsted weighted yarn.

Ok, flashback complete. Anyway, back to the present.

So as I am pulling out all the things that were stuffed onto these shelves, I pull out a few skeins of yarn. I just assumed there were part of the several items my mother used in her various craft projects over the years, and keep the skeins aside to add to my own collection. But then, I stumbled across something else.

I lifted out a clear plastic cover (like the ones that bed sheet sets come in) filled with 6-8 skeins of yarn. Upon this discovery, I look to my mom and give her the What?!? face. 'Cuz I mean, who gets this much yarn? And then, she pulls out this starter kit, on how to teach yourself how to knit. Apparently, just as she had plans to try and learn crocheting in the past (and because she didn't end up using it, I was given the entire set), even before then she had wanted to learn how to knit.

Now of course, we were mid-cleaning, but as I set that kit aside, that gnawing recollection of that failed attempt to knit came up fresh in my mind. And here, I finally had the chance to redeem myself for that previous shame. [I don't like looking at things that I have failed at - so they tend to disappear...]

Late that evening when the fuss died down, and with a little help from youtube, I learned the basics: casting, purling, and knitting. But of course, I couldn't just stop there. I had to test my new found skills. So I did as any craft nut does these days, I google-ed knitting stitches/patterns. And I found myself a challenge called the entrelac.

So after mastering the tutorial pattern, I there and then decided that I would take on the full fledged pattern to make a shawl - and I already had the person in mind that I would give it to. Once that plan was shared and approved by my mother (though frankly she wasn't very excited - I guess that comes with knowing me and how I have more than one project constantly in progress), the very next day I purchased the materials and dove right into it. And really, I'm making good progress (despite my mother's early on prediction that this would take me a year to finish), and my mom's finally getting excited about it.

I feel really great about this. It's a little sick that think I can do a pretty passable job on this project - but I have a feeling you'll be able to see my improvement through the progression of the work. I even have encouraged my mother to re-attempt knitting, with my help (there is something about seeing someone do it and mimicking them that works so much better than a book when you start out).

But frankly, I still identify myself as a crocheter. For me, there is a greater ability to experiment and simply make things on the spot - without more than just the basics for a style of stitch. With knitting, I get a little bored, and well I don't think I have enough drive to deviate from patterns. I'm not sure if this is because I don't have enough knowledge about knitting or because I just don't feel like doing it. I know at this stage I was already crocheting hats with just simple stitches.

I don't doubt the applications of knitting. In fact, I'm sure in the future I will use knitting for some larger projects. And there a few yarns out there are really can only be used for knitting (trust me, I've tried and failed at crocheting with them). But the thing is, I know for certain that I will be using crochet to pretty up and fix them. Because I think learning how to knit was to overcome the original failure I experienced, whereas crocheting just synced with the way I think and design. [Soooo I can crochet and knit now... cheers for old biddy syndrome :P]