Crochet Class Shawl

Here's my progress from the class at JoAnn's I started yesterday!  Today will be day 2 of class.  I got the first 9 of 26 rows done there (above photo).  At first it was really difficult working with the 10mm Crochet Hook when I'm used to the 5mm!  But after a few rows I got the hang of it.

At home I added a bit more, I completed row 15 and started row16 (below photo)!  It's really taking shape!  I'm excited to get to wear it soon!  Now I don't think I'm going to finish it in class today but I guess we'll see how much gets done today, and it might get done tomorrow after all.  We'll see, even if it takes longer than expected this is still a very fast project which is really nice because it rewards you for your efforts as a beginner!  LOL

I also looked up how to create a center pull ball and wound a couple of skeins to make life easier!  OH that reminds me I did need to add in another skein last night!  That was a first for me I don't know if I've ever made it that far in the past...if I have I don't remember!  HAHA

Starting A Crochet Throw

So I had bought some variegated yarn and a book of quick and easy stitches and planned to pick one and create a Throw!  The Stitch Pattern I choose was Treble Rhapsody from the book 100 Quick & Easy Crochet Stitches.  I figure why not dive in and make something bigger like that right off the bat!

I had been watching some youtube videos of Meladora's Creations and they were really helpful to give me confidence seeing visually how patterns work out.  She also explained what the meaning of things like 12 plus 16 meant so that I was able to use this stitch pattern and make it the size I'd like!  I used the throw that is in my lap as a general size guide, I had the choice of making it just shy or a bit bigger and I was like...ehh this is pretty big I'll make it just a tad smaller!  LOL  Plus that means just a little bit less work!!! LOL LOL LOL

I finished 3 rows last night!  I had read through the entire pattern to make sure I understood and boy was it hard for me to decipher sometimes but I felt I got it...then I started and got a little stuck on this pattern's puff stitch it's kinda odd so I ended up looking up videos and saw how other puff stitches are made and then went back to this pattern's instructions of it's puff stitch and was able to work it out!  For some reason I had not seen the first "yo"...my guess is that my brain read it like "Yo, insert hook as indicated..."!!! LOL I can't be sure I might have just had first learning "tunnel vision" too!  BUT dag-nabbit if those darn abbreviations don't throw me off while reading!  Well I'm starting to read them as the words now but man it takes training my brain to do it like teaching kids sight words!!! HAHA!

Today I have my class at JoAnn's and I'm excited about it too!  So tomorrow I should have some of that project to show and tell!

Updates for 2017

Hi All!  It's been a long while since last blogging and I haven't done much since then, life is funny like that.  Well I went through another move and now I'm working on setting up my Art Studio again so that I can start working on Crazy Quilting again!  My plan at the moment is to start working on my Cream Crazy Quilt Throw again to get my feet wet with the creative process once again.  Other things just feel too overwhelming to think about so I figure why not pull that out and start adding embellishments as it feels right.  Get that creative flow going!

Another thing that I'm doing at the moment is starting to do Crochet once again!  I've tried off and on since I first learned as a kid and each time I would do a little and get stuck at some point with no help to be found!  Thank God this day and age has lots and LOTS of help online and with videos!  Just last night I had several of my questions finally answered while watching a few videos on YouTube!  YAY!  I also signed up for a beginner Shells Shawl class at JoAnn's this week so I should have one project done with some help soon!  The other day I sat down and got my crochet stuff out to refresh myself on all the basics.  I made a few swatches of each basic stitch just to work out questions and what not.  I'm impressed with myself that my crochet work is looking NICE!!!  I used to have such trouble with too tight tension and very uneven stitching but now I'm able to control it much better and my work looks really nice!  I think my years of embroidery and tatting have helped up my eye-hand coordination and crossed over to crochet!  I love when stuff like that happens!

Refresher complete! From Single Crochet up to Treble Crochet.

OH and P.S. Yup I have a cat now!!!  A Siberian which is allergy friendly so that I can now finally snuggle a cat and have no ill effects!!!  Isn't he cute!  His name is Percival and we call him Percy!  And he loves purring all the time, Purrrcival!  He thought the yarn was for him to play with!  I gotta keep a watch on that bugger or he will have a little too much fun!  HAHA