Hooked to the hook (I mean the crochet hook)

It's not true that people can't learn new stuff after a certain age. Yes, an activity requiring rigorous physical fitness might be difficult for some, but a relaxing hobby should not be tough to pick up. Crocheting is the thing that I learned most recently (this year, March) and have been fascinated on learning it.



My first crochet blanket

I have a hard time remembering what the quality of my life was before we had The Internet, and with it Google, Wikipedia, YouTube and Facebook :) Some ladies, from across the world, whom I would never see in my entire life have taught me how to knit and crochet by posting videos in YouTube. I am so very much grateful to them.

Like every other thing, I started with the simplest stitch, the single crochet and thanks to the mini booklet of Red Heart Super Saver, I could actually create a 36"X36" blanket just with single crochet stitches. It needed a lot of patience. Counting the chain was not easy, neither was the first line hanging from the base chain. I had to hang in there (well, not literally so) and created my first 6"X6" square. At first I was creating separate 6" squares and sewing them up. Then I figured out I could crotchet a strip by changing yarns after the desired length. The good things - you learn how to change colors and you don't risk missing a stitch or crocheting too many. Also, I didn't have to sew every square. There were 6 long strips which were sewn to form the blanket.

When I learned how to knit, my first projects were the inevitable scarf and hat. But now, I have advanced from "beginner" patterns to "easy" or even "intermediate" patterns so once this blanket was done and I got the hang of single crochet, I went ahead to the next lesson - double crochet (well, no points for guessing). There's only a very few things you can do with just single crochet. Also, double crochet stitches are tall, so the projects work up twice faster.

The best thing to do with a double crochet is to make a granny square. There are hundreds of different granny squares to make. You can join small squares to make blankets or make a big square blanket as a whole. I learned to make some newborn or preemie clothes as well. The soft baby yarns are so nice to feel (and pet) and the pastel shades look very cute and pretty.

Granny square blanket

While reading a pattern, I got stuck to see it needs a "hdc" that's a half double crochet, but then decided to learn how to do it and thus remove the obstacle. Now my 3rd project to come is that preemie sweater with a "hdc". Also, like I said there are hundreds of styles in granny squares, there are some with a circle in the middle of a square. In doing that, I found out what the difference is between giving you a fish and teaching you how to fish. Following a ready-to-bake pattern is simple, but that way you would not be able to create your own. If you find out "why" and "what's the difference between" the stitches, you can be as much creative as you want.

Now I need to get to my middle school geometry and figure out how to crochet an isosceles triangle (and not an equilateral one). I think I got the theory right, I'll have to put it to practice. Two more things for me to learn are - creating a bobble for which I'll have to make a treble stitch.

Welcome baby boy!

At the end of the day, you have a creative hobby that is relaxing. You get to learn something great. You can work with colorful yarns (the balls of yarn in my woven basket makes me cheerful and when there are cats who go crazy while chasing those yarns, it is even more joyous). The best thing is, when you create stuff for neonates, you can always feel good that you are welcoming some baby (often needing special care, or from families who cannot afford something nice and fancy) with a warm and colorful gift.

Stay hooked!