Red Cedar
More apocalypse, less angst
The latest stitchery.
It’s been awhile since I posted any craftiness on this blog – but not for a lack of things made – more from a lack of inspiration to write about them. At the moment I am in the middle of a project to make all new place mats and napkins for our new dining room table (which has to be done for a dinner party on Saturday), in addition to still being mid-quilting on a double-size quilt for the spare bedroom.
One of the things I have been lamenting recently is the lack of a craft in my life that is easy to travel with. Cross stitch is one possibility, but lately I’ve found that it’s too much of a hassle with rules on many forms of transportation which disallow scissors. Not to mention that my eyesight isn’t as good as it used to be and I require a lot of light to find the little holes in the fabric (or I have to wear reading glasses which makes me look like a granny even though I’m not forty yet!)…..
Flashback to a couple of weeks ago when I was hanging around the house one evening and decided to pick up a crochet hook from the sewing box and some scrap yarn I had leftover from another project. I’ve always wanted to learn, you see, but never was able to figure out crochet (or knitting) from book diagrams no matter how hard I tried. But I decided that I would go for it again, and did some Internet searches to turn up not only written instruction but several very helpful videos.
I started out with crocheting a few wonky washcloths while visiting with B’s family over Easter weekend, but once we got home I went straight to Baaad Annas (my neighbourhood yarn shop ) where I picked out a few balls of wool and cotton to practice some more ambitious projects on. The photo above is a neck scarf made using a lazy split v-stitch pattern from mercerized Egyptian cotton. Far from perfect, I am totally in love with it and have worn it the last two days. Here is the close-up shot of my finished scarf.
From there, I picked up a ball of raw, undyed wool and am working on another scarf – this one for winter – for which I plan to make matching wrist warmers.
I’ve been oddly obsessed with crochet since I started. Literally, I have been carrying a project around in my bag since I first realized I could do this and am totally focused on getting better at it every day. I’m not sure why this craft-form particularly except that I find it absorbing, and it gives me something to do during all my otherwise idle time (riding the bus, waiting for appointments, watching movies).
After my current project I think I’m ready to move onto granny square washcloths – just in time for Mother’s Day (which we’re celebrating late because I’ll be in Victoria near the end of May). And after that? I’m eager for all projects – large and small.
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Red Cedar 
I know exactly what you mean with learning crochet (or whatever) with books vs. video. It seems like you have to already know a lot about crochet or knitting or sewing before you can learn new techniques from books. It’s NOT a good way to start from scratch. Videos are so much better.
Have I mentioned TJW’s YouTube crochet tutorials to you yet? http://www.youtube.com/user/tjw1963#g/a she often does kinda frumpy doily type stuff, but she’s put out SO MANY videos, that there are a few gems in there. They’re great for learning new crochet stitches & getting ideas for new textures to try.