Stitch-Stirrers: Tools of the Trade

The latest prompt from Stitch-Stirrers:

Hooks, yarn needles, and stitch markers are all common tools of the trade, but are there any other things you use with your crochet that might not be so common?

Ha. Hahahahahahahaa.

Sure, I have crochet tools. I just rarely have any idea where they are. I'm notorious for saying in a really pitiful voice, "Does anyone have any scissors I can borrow? And a tape measure?" The only reason I manage to keep track of my hooks is I carry them all in my purse. Which can get me some pretty funny looks.

But what's really entertaining is when I start improvising. Like the time a few months ago when I was at a Stitch 'n Bitch at a bar and grill and I cut through a piece of yarn with a butter knife. Don't try this at home, kids.

Stitch-Stirrers: Favorite Thing About Crochet

And to think that before I started trying to learn to knit, I was going to pass on this prompt because I couldn't think of anything that wasn't cheesy and boring.

What is your favorite thing about crochet?

My favorite thing about crochet is that I get to use a hook to grab that yarn and pull it through, as opposed to a couple of slippery sticks that I'm supposed to grab yarn and transport it with, but instead the yarn slides off and so do a couple of stitches and then I stab myself in the fingertips with the double points and MAN does that hurt.

*huff, huff, huff*

No, of course I'm not cranky. Whyever do you ask?

Valentine Wristwarmer #1

Here's my poor, tortured wristwarmer:

Those loopy things? Those are supposed to be cabled X's... you know, XXX for kisses. Since I was making this as a valentine and all, per Stich-Stirrers' challenge. They look pretty darn lopsided in the picture.

Also, the picture mercifully doesn't show it, but the thumbhole is way too big. As in, half my palm was uncovered. Gotta fix that next time.

T-minus 45 minutes and I think I give up.

The current challenge over at Stitch Stirrers is "Crochet Your Valentine." When I read it, I thought "what a great idea!" I'd had a project in mind for the Mad Husband for some time and figured it would make the perfect Valentine's Day present.

I just frogged the whole thing.

I'm not sure what keeps going wrong with this one, though I'm starting to suspect it's the short deadline. First I forgot to take it to knit night, then I kept missing up my stitch count, then I found out I don't know nearly as much about crocheted cables as I thought I did, plus the yarn is fuzzy so fibers started sticking together, and I think that's the part that made me decide to let 'er rip and come back to it later with fresh eyes because honestly, that yarn is too nice (and too expensive) to screw around with.

It's times like this when I really wish I knew more local crocheters that I could turn to and ask what I'm doing wrong. My knitting friends and I can coo over each other's projects and discuss yarn and snark on bad patterns and all that, but while they can turn to each other for stitch advice, I'm on my own. While in some ways I think it's been good for me to have to figure things out myself, I can't help but think I could really use some help right now. I visited a really awesome crochet meetup recently so I think that will change soon, but it's not much help tonight.

If I can get this concept out of my head and onto my hook, I think it'll be my best piece of crochet so far. The problem is getting it out, but I guess there's only one way to learn that. In the meantime, I've still got a Valentine to take care of. I wonder where I can get a copy of Ocean's Thirteen at this hour?

Stitch-Stirrers: Crochet Resources

From this week's prompt at Stitch-Stirrers:

If someone new to crochet who had never really picked up a hook or someone who wanted to advance their skills were to ask you for some good materials for learning, what’s the best resource(s) you've found on the subject of crochet, on-line or otherwise that you would suggest?

I kinda hate to give such a cliche answer, especially with the whole Son of Stitch 'n Bitch debacle still fresh in my mind, but I really have to give it to The Happy Hooker: Stitch 'n Bitch Crochet by Deb Stoller. The how-to-crochet instructions and illustrations are simply the best I've seen anywhere, and I had been looking for instructions I could grasp for years. Maybe it's the bright colors, or maybe Stoller's just speaking my language. Concepts that I just couldn't make sense of when they were accompanied by grainy pictures in my grandmother's tattered crochet booklets suddenly made sense. The book also provides fun patterns that were good choices for my first garments (though check the errata).

As for other resources I'd recommend as absolutely essential (at least for myself), I have trouble resisting any stitch guide, but my favorite is The Crochet Stitch Bible by Betty Barnden. And I know I say it all the time, but for stitchers, Ravelry is the best thing since... ummm. Maybe ever. It's that good.

Stirrin' some stitches

Over at the Crochet Liberation Front (don't all my posts start that way?), Tracie of Shade Tree Crochet talked me into joining Stitch Stirrers. I'd heard mentions of Stitch Stirrers but wasn't sure what it was; Tracie describes it as "a blog of prompts and other fun stuff for crocheters." I joined up last week, and today was rewarded with Mission 2008, which is for everyone to crochet a really nice afghan of our own design by December and then share or submit the pattern.

Pretty awesome idea, huh?

It's a good thing I have almost a year, though. Because I have no freakin' clue what to do.

The last afghan I did (aside from some baby blankets, which I'm not going to count because they were just rows and rows of hdc) was back in September. I was on a deadline for it (it was a retirement gift), and I blame the deadline for the fact that by the end, I was about to puke every time I looked at it. Which is too bad, because there's a neat story behind how that one came about: My grandmother had passed away last April, and since I'm the only other crocheter in the family, I inherited all her crochet things. (Her stash was actually very small, as was my other grandmother's too, but that's for another time.) One of those things was a booklet from Wal-Mart with instructions for a sampler afghan. At first I didn't think I'd have a use for it since I wasn't really interested in the sampler, but then I got to looking at the stitch patterns for the different blocks and realized I could repurpose those for other stuff. One, the Snapdragon Stitch, became that afghan.

But that wasn't designing -- it was using someone else's stitch pattern back and forth and back and forth and back and forth. It seems like by now all the basic stitch patterns must have been invented (though they probably haven't; crocheters are endlessly inventive). Maybe I should try something with color -- I've done next to no colorwork. Oooooh, this means I'll get to get some more yarn, right?

For now I'll just keep this mystery afghan in the back of my mind. I'm sure something will hit me eventually. And if not, well, I've still got Granny's booklet.