AZ girl here with a crafty update!

Today I made another crochet hat. To be honest, I wonder what all the worrying was about.  The technique is quite simple and I have produced two very charming beanie hats in less than two days.  I even have an unfinished hat waiting another skein of yarn.          Go Me!!

In all honesty, the best patterns I’d like to recreate come from a very old book, and since I am just learning reading patterns, it can be frustrating to try something over and over and still not get it!  I know my friend would tell me to ditch the patterns and just create, but I am still at the stage where I am putting the stitches in order with how they look.  I have found that reading a pattern helps me ‘see’ the stitch in relation to an area. Then be able to use the same technique in a different way.I only made my first hat after looking at more than three ways to make one….and took bits from each to really make a look that I liked.

Here is a picture of the unfinished piece.  I think I am working in the front stitch only, it is .giving it a really nice ‘spiral’ pattern that accentuates the color variations in the yarn.  I like the effect right now, but there is the possibility of it having a ‘inside out’ look.

I also have a secret.  I don’t know if I like the look of crochet!! There I said it.   I just am not totally convinced that I like how crochet looks!! The single, the double, the triple….well, I may as well just come right out with it, I think it looks unpolished, simplistic and a bit sloppy.   This may come from me really learning to crochet and making three hats in less than three days. I could very well be sick of it– and it isn’t as if I think it is ugly, as you can see from my hat pictures, they are VERY cute. Adorable even, but that was after spending a lot of time looking at patterns and envisioning what I wanted.

I think my problem comes from wanting MORE. More variety to make patterns within my work, more control over stitches.  I love what I have learned from crochet, and will keep on doing it because I like to.  But I think I am going to focus on really working on pieces that I want  and trying to be bold and branch out.

After mulling this over for a night, I decided to look for ‘advanced’ pieces of crochet.  I am focusing on wearable pieces at this time, since I have nowhere to put lacy pieces, or anyone to give that type of work to. Hats, scarves and wrist warmers though–I can do. So back to the original problem: finding functional pieces that are more intricate.

Enter the broomstick stitch…….not too hard, not too complicated, yet gives me a totally different look than I have seen with crochet.  I have spent an hour trying this out and have to say, I love it!    It keeps me focused and I am still trying to figure out how to pay attention long enough to get my ‘swoops’ going in the same direction.

Here is my second attempt at the Broom Stick Stitch, because I don’t have large knitting needles, I was actually using an old sawed off broomstick handle–how retro!!  This is such an interesting stitch, I can’t wait to work with it more!!

I see so much potential with this.  Not only can I work and get better at it, but I can use it for scarves, hats, shawls…..endless possibilities!

next I may have to learn the crochet cable…..I am finding that crochet can be challenging when I want it to be, and that is another reason to love it (even if I don’t love the single crochet stitch!)

I would also like to send out a big THANK YOU to the wonderful Youtube video at the amazing http://www.naztazia.com/ for the instructions on the broomstick stitch!!