There may have been crochet

We’ve had a mid-term break here; four days off school frustratingly arranged either side of a weekend. We went to stay with Granny and Granddad – 18 hours driving there and back. It’s a good job they’re worth the trip.

I did pack knitting of course. Two projects, just in case. Don’t judge me for this, but I didn’t do any. I may have picked up a few dropped stitches on the littl’uns’ knitting (their Granny had bought them some funky multi-coloured yarn) but I don’t think that counts. Granny and Little littl’un made a pair of trousers for her Mousey (stuffed, not real) but she has taken them to school for ‘news’ so I can’t even show you them.

I haven’t been entirely abstaining from yarn; there has been a small amount of crochet. I bought myself Erika Knight’s Crochet Workshop for Christmas with the intention of teaching myself to crochet this year. I know I have been able to crochet in the past; there was a memorable 70s theme student party for which a friend and I made granny squares (I’m not sure what purpose they were intended to serve; they may have been purely decorative). I think my friend taught me how to make them but I haven’t picked up a hook since.

I know I made Granny squares; here is the evidence. The icky colour choices were for the purposes of looking more authentically seventies.

I have a couple of crochet garments and I regularly covet projects made by the talented Lucy at Attic 24, so in my mind that is perfect justification for (re-)learning to crochet myself. Crochet workshop says that it is:

the perfect book for the beginner. Under Erika Knight’s guidance even those who have never picked up a crochet hook before will soon be making gorgeous projects and all the while learning new techniques and adding to their skills. Each of the 20 projects in the book will teach you a new stitch, technique or trick, and will build on and consolidate crochet techniques already learnt in the preceding projects, until you have mastered a wide repertoire of skills and completed an enviable collection of gorgeous crocheted items.

Sounds good to me.

I have been a very diligent student and started at the beginning of the book. I’ve practiced the basic stitches and things like working in-the-round and into-spaces. There are twenty projects in the book and I can see myself trying most of them (one exception being the dog/cat bed; my dog is rather large and I’m not sure he’d be the most grateful recipient). There’s also an asymmetric cardigan which isn’t the kind of thing I’d normally wear, but I do like the flower motifs it’s constructed from and I have made a few of them. They’re mildly addictive.

Erika Knight’s Crochet Workshop and flower motifs crocheted from it.

I’m not sure what I’m going to do with them. Maybe a scarf …. maybe a table runner …

Any suggestions?