Monday, April 04, 2011

A-Z: Crocheting

Thanks for all the comments and follows so far! I'm slowly working my way through the list. I've only visited about 50 sites so far, so I have a lot of catching up to do. Please be patient.

Anyway, today's topic is crochet. My mother used to crochet when I was a girl. She tried to teach me, but since I'm left-handed and my mom's right-handed, we couldn't figure out how to do it. In my twenties, I taught myself how to crochet from books. Ironically, since all of the patterns are written for right-handers, I figured it would be easier to crochet right-handed. Over the years, I've made sweaters, baby presents, slippers, and more. I even made the ring-bearer's pillow for my wedding. That was the first time I used crochet thread (which is much thinner than regular yarn), so it was a challenging project; I had to redo parts of it. Here are some other things I've made:


This is my first afghan.















This is the layette set I made for Alex. I think he wore it once for pictures, but he only fit into it for a very short time.










Currently, I'm making a steam engine for Alex. It's out of crochet thread. I'm crocheting each piece separately, and they'll be assembled around a canvas frame that'll be stuffed with fiberfill. I hope he likes his "yarn train" when it's done. Unfortunately, some of the thread was the wrong gauge, but I didn't realize that until I was nearly done with the first piece, so I had to start over. I currently have all the parts for the frame crocheted (though I still have to sew them to the canvas frame), along with the smokebox; now I'm working on the boiler. I'll post a picture of the engine when it's finally done.

Does anyone else out there crochet?

18 comments:

Trisha said...

I'm boggled by the number of blogs to visit. I've been clicking on blogs at random so far. Trying to choose maybe one in every 10 on the list to begin with ;)

mooderino said...

I have a feeling if I took this up I'd make a lot of scarves, whether I intended it or not.

Mood

Rachael Harrie said...

Wow, such gorgeous pieces! Sounds simple, but I bet you had a hard time teaching yourself to crochet right-handed!!!

I used to do tapestry, though I don't have any time these days with writing (and blogging of course!) coming much further high up on the "I'd rather do..." list :)

Hugs,

Rach

S.A. Larsenッ said...

Beautiful! I wish I could crochet. My mom used to, before she got Multiple Sclerosis. It's an amazing art.

sema said...

Beautiful work.
I used to crochet long back and this post is inspiring me to start again.I have done a lot of doilies.

sema
Expressive Impressive
Your New follower visiting from A to Z challenge

Jeremy [Retro] said...

the cat eats the couch, and is full of cheese...
jeremy [iZombie]

explanation:
http://izombielover.blogspot.com/2011/04/c-is-for-comments-and-crazy-charlie.html

Jessica Bell said...

I wish I had the patience to do stuff like that!

Laura M. Campbell said...

I do not crochet, but I do sew. I've made a patch work purse, an apron, pajamas and a t-shirt. The school/store I was taking lessons from didn't work out, so I'm stuck in the middle of a beautiful dark pink linen dress. The patterns are difficult, so I need guidance. Unfortunately, there isn't much around me except a JoAnn's. I guess I'm just going to have to give it a shot myself. Good luck with the challenge.

Deirdra A. Eden said...

I love your site and as I browsed your blog I decided to award you the Best of Sci/Fi Award and Fantastic Fantasy Award.
Go to http://astorybookworld.blogspot.com/p/awards.html and pick up your award.
~Deirdra

Rosalind Adam said...

You're crocheting a steam engine? That's amazing. Great to get to know you through the A to Z.

FilmMattic said...

Admittedly, I'm not too familiar with crocheting, but the above works are fantastic!

Nice blog!

Anonymous said...

Lovely work! Thanks for sharing pics!

Elizabeth Twist said...

A crocheted steam engine sounds amazing! I can't wait to see the pictures.

Robyn Campbell said...

I have a learn to knit book that I want to read. Does that count?

Honestly, I would love to crochet like you can. Problem is, I have no one to teach me. :(

The steam engine sounds awesome. Can't wait to see the picture.

Liz A. said...

Crochet? Well, kind of. I'm a knitter who crochets when the right project comes around.

The "yarn train" sounds cool. Where did you get the pattern?

Are you on Ravelry?

Sandra Ulbrich Almazan said...

Liz, I found the pattern at e-PatternsCentral.com. I had to pay to get access (it was in a back issue of Crochet World), but the price was for the entire magazine. I can make my son a blanket with a steam engine on it when I finish this project.

Anonymous said...

Very skilled. I've been knitting today, trying to finish up a baby blanket.

Deniz Bevan said...

Gorgeous stuff! I had to learn to knit right-handed because my mother and grandmother are, and now I'm glad because it's so much easier to follow patterns.
But somehow I've picked up crochet left handed, and now I can't get beyond a simple chain cos I can't find anyone to show me how...

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