Chic crochet??

I love crocheting because it's easy to learn, incredibly versatile, and progresses quickly. While I love the look of hand knit items, I always found knitting to be slow going, and I had trouble keeping interest long enough to finish even a simple scarf. With crochet, even though a project like my granny square blanket takes a long time, I can make substantial progress with even an hour or two of crocheting.

The problem with crochet, though, is that a lot of the patterns I've found are pretty dowdy, to say the least. A lot of crochet patterns are fussy, oversized, 1970s-1980s things that are not at all my style. There are some "modern" patterns, although some of those go a little too far into the artsy, overworked realm to really work for me. There are some great vintage 1920s-1950s patterns available, although they are a bit hard to follow for my present skill level.

To be honest, I was starting to worry that my crocheting would be limited to afghans, baby clothes, and the occasional scarf. My initial online digging didn't turn up much at all. Over the weekend, though, I gave it another go and I hit pay dirt! Crochet patterns that appeal to me immediately- none of that "maybe if I change x, y and z, and use different yarn, and different colors, and make it more fitted, and... and... and..." business.

Some of these patterns are for intermediate or advanced crocheters, which I am not, but some of them are perfectly suited to beginners. And what better motivation to improve my crocheting skills than the Lattice and Swirls sweater?

Convertible Cowl (free pattern!) by The Crimson Owl

Flapper Bow Beanie by The Inner Hooker (this reminds me of a Sonia Rykiel hat I fell in love with last winter- it cost upwards of $150!)

Pearl's Cardigan from Crochet So Fine by Kristin Omdahl, this pattern is available free at Lion Brand Yarns.

Big Bow Cardigan by Julia Vaconsin for Interweave. I might alter this pattern to remove the bow, but I love the vertical stripe texture and off-center buttons.

And last but certainly not least, my favorite pattern so far, the Lattice & Swirls top-

Lattice & Swirls top, from Crochet Today magazine May/June 2010 issue (available here).

A nice ending to a not-so-nice day

This past Friday was a no good, very bad day. I had what you might call a "New York first" - I got mugged in the subway! Yep, in 6.5 years of living here (13.5 for my husband- that's 20 years between us), I had never been a victim of street crime (neither has he) up until my second-to-last week living here. Several of our friends have experienced it, but so far we had been very lucky in that regard. The story is pretty simple, a thief reached over my shoulder, grabbed my iPhone out of my hands, and ran off. Fortunately, they only took my phone and I am unharmed, if somewhat shaken up. Of course, this being an iPhone, it's a little like having a wallet stolen, because I had so many apps with personal information. The hassle of changing all those passwords, filing a police report, and dealing with AT&T (they are worse than the MTA! seriously!) has probably been the worst part. I do miss my phone, especially since I'm not going to be replacing it immediately, and now I'm on an old-school flip phone with no email. It's been a bit of a shock to realize just how dependent I was on it, and how accustomed I had gotten to being constantly connected. So in a way, it's refreshing to be cut off from all of that, and I think that if/when I do get another smartphone I'll be a bit more judicious in my use of it (and in the information I store on it, gah!).

Needless to say I was not in a good mood when I came home that afternoon. Two things cheered me up, though. One was coming home to this face- he never fails to make me smile (except when he wakes me up at 3am...).

The other was finding, and successfully completing, this crochet collar pattern from the Ongoing Project. It was my first time following a real pattern and it went pretty well although I may have messed up on a couple of the steps. Also, the pattern called for a fine, cotton yarn, but all I had was the Cascade 220 worsted I'm using for my afghan. It turned out OK, but I'd like to get some finer yarn and try again, maybe with a pale ivory so I can embellish a cardigan à la Anthropologie. As it is, I think this collar will look cute worn over a plain cardigan.

In action, on a very wrinkled J.Crew sweater....

I may need to try blocking it out again- my first attempt definitely made a difference, but it still looks a bit uneven- and small. Not too surprising, since I forgot to use pins the first time I blocked. Whoops!

In Progress: Granny Square Blanket

I learned how to crochet several years ago. My grandmother taught me- she loved to crochet while watching TV, and everyone in our family has at least one of her striped afghans. So far, I haven't really gone beyond scarves, although I've wanted to. When I saw this blanket at the Purl Bee, though, I just had to try and make one of my own. It's still a work in progress but I love how it's coming together!

I'm using Cascade Yarns 100% Peruvian Wool in white, light grey, medium grey, and charcoal, transitioning from light to dark and back again. Although I'd never done one before, it was easy to learn how to crochet the granny square using these instructions.