Crochet Journey

I had to chuckle on reading a comment from a lady who had just received two very nice, and pricey, crochet hooks for a birthday present, and both hooks were the same size!  She was very appreciative, but asked her husband about the two sizes being identical.  "Don't you need two of those things?" he asked, thinking instead of knitting. Or the people whose spouses ask, "What is it you do again?  Knitting?  Crochet, you say?  What's the difference?" Crochet and knitting are both methods of looping fibers to make fabric.  Knitting consists of multiple loops on needles, loops that build on each other and are dependent upon each other, while crochet consists of only one loop on one hook at a time; each stitch is complete and independent of the others (in traditional crochet; there are other crochet techniques where that's not the case, but that's for another discussion).  Knitting can be done by hand or machine; there is no machine that can produce ...

There are some "un-fun" aspects to crochet, such as weaving in ends, running out of yarn in the middle of a row and having to add a new ball, and blocking.  Blocking is the process of pinning a crocheted item, or portions of an item, such as sweater parts, to specific dimensions and applying heat or moisture, or sometimes both, to provide a professional finish with straight edges and sharp corners; it improves the look of any crocheted piece. But is it always necessary to block?  Blocking a large, unwieldy afghan isn't necessary, but for almost everything else, if you care about the finished product, yes, I believe it is.  I have to say in my earlier years of crochet experience I rarely blocked anything, but these days I block every item I make. Why?  Take a look:  Here are two identical double-crocheted squares, using Lion Brand Pound of Love acrylic yarn.  The square on the left has not been blocked, and the right one was pinned and steam blocked...

Today we began to build on the fitting techniques introduced in December when making pet sweaters!  We have chosen an adult/child-sized sweater to take these fitting skills to the next level, and we will be working on these through the remainder of February, ending with an introduction to garment finishing techniques. When thinking of a handmade sweater, one most often thinks of knitting, but there are many terrific patterns out there for crocheted sweaters, both fun and fast to make!  This project was a special request of one of my students, who is very interested in making an actual article of clothing for herself.  After swatching to be absolutely sure of correct gauge, we dove in and made a start during today's class.  Sweaters of grays, pinks, blues and greens began to emerge, and everyone was pleased with their progress. Yarn is Simply Soft in Kelly Green by Caron, wooden hook is Streamline by Furls Crochet. This is what we do in our Crochet Journey class...

It's the first Monday in February, which means it's time for another Square of the Month!  This square is number six in our series of twelve sqaures for assembly in September.  This is the Shell Network stitch, an easygoing openwork shell that works great for scarves, shawls, cowls, and squares!  It's based on a multiple of 8 stitches plus 6, and has better stretch and drape than the basic all-over shell stitch pattern. We're alternating solid squares with openwork squares to make sure the September afghan has enough body and stitch strength.  Yarn is KnitPicks Brava Worsted in Almond, hook is Cherry Streamline Swirl by Furls.  This stitch is a particular favorite of mine because it's relatively easy to do, it always looks great and is very versatile.  Here's the stitch in a much lighter weight yarn that I used last year for this shawl/scarf with rows of treble crochet interspersed for interest.  In this case, the yarn is Red Heart "It's a Wra...