Skill + 1UP

I had always meant to teach myself crochet. In the beginning I never really thought about it much because there was always so much knitting to do. But I did definitely want to learn, I loved expanding my knowledge of crafts. After a while I thought "Oh, maybe I'll never get around to it, there are so many other things I want to do." But with my introduction to Ravelry came all the wondrous things you could make with crochet.

It was really my mom's gift to me this past Christmas that sealed the deal. She gave me three books: Freeform Style, Shibori Knitted Felt, and Hello My Name is Amineko. Freeform style teaches you the element behind freeforming the most amazing pieces, combining knit and crochet. Hmm . . . And all the cute little Amineko kitties are crochet too. Are you trying to send me a message, Mother? Well there was nothing for it, I would have to learn. Ironically, felting is another technique I was procrastinating learning, and Shibori Knitted Felt is full of awesomely lovely things that I now must learn to make.

It took me a while, but I finally am catching on to crochet. It took instruction from several different books, a handful of online tutorials, and some tips from some very helpful friends, but thanks to them I am just putting the finishing touches on my first piece that incorporates crochet. Now I just need to get up the motivation to learn to spin!