I’m really rocking a crochet vibe lately. As I mentioned in a recent post, I picked up my knitting needles again recently, and then re-learned crochet – I find it faster and easier to do, and therefore much more satisfying.

I started out with little things just to get into the swing of it – I made two peggy square snuggle rugs, some dish cloths, baby booties, and a hat. Now I’m working on Nana blankets for Arlia, Wyatt and Jaxon.

Arlia is getting this one – in purple rather than pink (pattern here).

Then Wyatt and Jaxon will get this one in a colour of their choosing (pattern here).

Once I’ve finished those, I am keen to tackle some clothing – I’ve picked out this cocoon cardie to make for me and Megan (pattern here). It looks so snugly for winter.

In between, just as a break from the larger project, I want to make more baby things. I have some lovely baby wool that I want to make something with, and am going to make some vests, cardies, hats and booties to give to Pregnancy Help for them to pass on to parents in need.

I reckon that should keep me busy for the winter.

I recently took up knitting again after a long (20-year) hiatus, but have found it hard on my hands/wrists/shoulders/neck to manage the two needles, so took the bold step of (re)learning to crochet. My Nana taught me both as a kid, but I never really took to the crochet – it seemed overly complicated to me at the time. Then, joining a craft group and watching the ease by which crocheted items slipped off the end of the hook, I was inspired to give it a try.

Much to my delight, crochet is speedy, versatile and so easy! And portable too – I can tuck my project into a small bag and get some crafting done whenever I have some down time.
So, in the last few months, I’ve been able to whip up a couple of afghan rugs using Peggy (Granny) squares. It’s so satisfying to build a whole blanket one small square at a time.
To sharpen up my skills, I’ve been making use of YouTube. You really can learn anything with a good YouTube tutorial!

The first tutorial I found was by Bella Coco. I find English tutorials easier to follow because they use the same terminology as New Zealand (4/8ply, hook sizes, double/treble crochet etc.). This one taught me the basic double (treble) crochet:

I also really like Bonny Barker – even though she’s American she has a good way of explaining really complex stitches. I whipped this dish cloth up in a couple of hours: