I spent my weekend doing all the things I love best. Knitting, spinning, cooking, and . . . crocheting! Yes, it’s true, I now love crocheting. It still feels awkward but it’s getting easier and I’m  – dare I say it aloud – starting to understand it.  I even went to so far as to actually make and finish a potholder.

The pattern is Maggie’s Kitchen and the yarn is some Knitpicks CotLin that I had lying around.  I found the yarn to be rather split-y and I didn’t love working with it but the colors are nice and I didn’t want to use yarn I really loved in case it wound up a disaster.

It’s not bad for my first effort and the back was definitely faster to crochet than the front. I know there are mistakes but I found that crocheting, unlike knitting, is easier to read. I was able to see where I was in the pattern, I was able to count my stitches, and I found the learning curve to just be faster than when I learned to knit. I’m not sure if this is because of my existing knitting skills or if it’s because crocheting is easier to learn but I’m happy that the process is moving along.

I must admit that the edging is my favorite part. I used version 3 from the pattern and it was fun and came out just the way I expected. Hooray for that!

I’m certainly not ready for any potholder swap but I do think I’ve earned the right to crochet with the good stuff.

Next up – Maryse’s Modern Vintage Potholder!

You may recall that over 2 years ago my buddy Maryse came over and taught me to crochet. I made a couple of squares and it was fun.

And then I sort of forgot about crocheting.

Okay, I didn’t really forget but I didn’t know how to crochet the stuff I wanted to crochet.

I would see beautiful crocheted potholders and want to make them but I just didn’t practice and couldn’t figure out how to crochet in a circle and well . . . I gave up.

But I’m not quitter so on Friday (and Saturday because it took a while to sink in) I gave crochet another shot. I used a couple of good books and the internet and I crocheted a square.

It’s not bad.

And it definitely ignited the crochet spark again. I’m not ready for that potholder swap just yet but there’s always next year.

You may have heard this already but last Saturday my friend Maryse came over and taught me to crochet. I was so happy when she offered and even though it took a while for us to coordinate a date, it was well worth the wait.

I’ve tried to learn crochet before and just never been able to get the hang of it. Either I was in a completely different frame of mind or Maryse is a really good teacher. I’m thinking that it was Maryse. This is my first swatch:

You can see single, double and triple crochets there. It took a while to remember the stitches and it didn’t feel natural at all but I kept at it. Maryse made me. And when she left she told me I had to practice, practice, practice.

So I did. This is my first crochet dish cloth. I think it’s pretty okay.

And this is my second crochet dish cloth. I think it’s maybe even a little better than the first one.

At this point it’s not faster than knitting for me but I can see how it would be. And while the movements still don’t feel natural they are at least starting to feel familiar. This is a skill I’ve wanted to learn for a long time and I feel good about getting through my first pieces.

Thanks, Maryse! I couldn’t have done this without you!