Crochet!

I learned how to knit from my maternal grandmother (and great-grandmother), but never learned how to crochet. My paternal grandmother did amazing crochet, including lace and really delicate Christmas tree ornaments. Somehow, though, I didn't learn from her. I remember making a crochet bookworm in Girl Guides years ago, but those skills seem to have disappeared.

So, on a whim, and slightly bored of sewing (shocking, I know!), I decided to teach myself how to crochet. I took 2 books out of the library, including this one:

Once I'd made about 4 granny squares and worked out my mistakes, I thought I'd jump right into a beanie. Not that anyone in Singapore needs a hat, but I figured the kids would get use out of them on our Christmas holidays in London this year.

This was the basic beanie pattern and I added 2 flowers from another pattern. I used some leftover Rowan Handknit Cotton, which I realised later was actually thicker than a double-knit (somewhere between DK and Aran weight), so the weave of the hat is fairly dense. It still fits A well, and looks pretty cute. And I was pleased with my first crochet project! 

Then of course E wanted a hat, so he picked the owl, but wanted it in 'realistic owl colours, please.' An excuse to order LOTS of DK weight cotton from LoveKnitting...

You'll notice the owl on the cover of the book is sleeping, but E insisted that this owl needed to be awake, so I used 2 black buttons instead. 

And any experienced crocheters will notice that I didn't do half treble stitch quite right and only picked up the stitches through the front loop, but hey - it looks okay, it fits, and E was delighted. 

I'm hooked on crochet - it's fast, it's fun, and easy to take around in taxis and while I'm waiting at gymnastics classes! I have a request for 3 more owl hats, and am making my niece and nephew a hat each for Christmas. As usual, I've taken on too much to do before December 25th, but I'm certainly enjoying the process!!