I picked up a copy of Stitch ’N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker at the library and have been attempting to re-teach myself how to crochet. I used to know how…kind of. My mother showed me how to do a single-stitch well enough to make a bunch of big fluffy scarves. (I gave my now-MIL one for the first Christmas the DH and I were together and she still wears it. I’m not sure if she really loves it or is just that polite…) Anyhow, this time it wasn’t going so well. First I tried the big fluffy yarn that I had in my stash, but I couldn’t discern the individual stitches and therefore couldn’t move past the initial chain. Then I bought some thinner yarn, but it was cheap crap that untwisted itself. Still couldn’t get past that damn chain! After witnessing a *little* tantrum this weekend, my visiting mother grabbed the hook and yarn away from me and finished the first row for me. From there I just practiced some stitches until I was comfortable with them – single, half-double, double, triple, etc. It worked! After my folks left, I unraveled the whole thing and tried, tried again until I mastered the chain-first row process. Then I moved on to some patterns. I got tired of unraveling each piece, so I just started chaining off each one when I wanted to move on to a new pattern. Clockwise from top left: a slightly mussed-up fishnet pattern, a mesh pattern, a combo of puffy stitches, a shell pattern, and a V pattern. Once I’ve done a few more, I think I’ll be ready to move on to something I might actually be able to wear… Thanks for your patience, Mom!
