All the Cool Kids are Doing It

You know what's hot in the Knitting World? Crochet! Some of my favorite bloggers have dived into Crochet realm, everywhere I turn someone's got something fabulous on the hook. I too have been thinking a lot about crochet lately. You notice the word thinking, and not doing? That's because most of my crochet projects remain WIPs or worse. The crochet baby blanket that I really want to make but haven't quite started yet; Boteh, that I haven't quite made much progress on (and have now frogged completely in favor of a more solid color);

Flowers in the Rain scarf, which I still love every time I look at it;

and my crochet Motif Afghan, that I started so long ago that I can't find a picture, and was once so excited about but haven't quite finished yet. I don't know why I have such a block with it.

Actually, I do.

It's a Love/Hate relationship between crochet and I. Some of it is about the yarns I have chosen, like the icky acrylic from way back in the day, or the cotton. Oh the cotton. I love my huge stash of Heela cotton but it is definitely hard on the hands. But, no that's not the real reason. The truth is, no matter how much I try to relax and enjoy the process, my fingers tend to grip the hook, like they are holding on for dear life. And worse, the hook always manages to jab into my hand. I just can't seem to relax and enjoy it.

Still, I keep going back to it. Eventually. Because I love the free form of it. I love the shapes, the curves, the texture. I'm happy with the toys I've made my niece and nephews.

Golden Snitch

Miss Kitty

Little Lamby

I'm even happier with the jewelry I made once upon a time.

Yes, before I became an obsessed knitter, I was quite into making jewelry. And one of my favorite pieces to make was a crocheted bracelet. In fact, that's how I learned to crochet. With fine gauge sterling silver, semi precious stones and crystals.

This is the only piece I have with me now. It's made of Rutilated Quartz and four different shades of brown Swarovski Crystals.

From the underside you can see the fine netting of silver

And here is a closer view.

It was a little potchky to make, pre-threading all the beads onto the silver, making sure the silver didn't snap or I'd have to restart the whole thing. But once finished, the bracelets proved to be quite resilient and I still get compliments when I wear the one I have.

Will I ever get back to crochet? Probably. Especially if I let myself be influenced by others. Just look at some recent posts by Grumperina, Turtlegirl, or my favorite full time crocheter, Laughing Purple Goldfish Designs.