I'm hooked

It's been years. YEARS. Until a few months ago, I hadn't touched my crochet hooks or raw yarn ... probably since my dear son discovered scissors, in conjunction with the huge ball of yarn I was using to make my sisters slippers. Yeah, he's in his 20s now.

But seeing my friends and relatives knitting and crocheting, and all the yarn crafts at the fall fair... I told myself I should crochet again. I mean, I entered flower arrangements, baking, COMPOST (that's a tough one!)... why not some needle arts? And then, my arthritis resulted in fewer minutes behind my cello... I think I just needed the creative outlet. When have I had the yarn bug bite before? Usually when I wasn't playing my cello. And THEN, a call went out for baby blankets! Well, there you go.  That, and Pinterest.

The arthritis did cause frequent breaks, but I learned that using a lower tension on the yarn made it easier on the hands. And, thankfully, maybe it was the supplements, one hand improved. Had a corticosteroid shot in the other, and it improved, too. Or maybe it was the chocolate and fruitcake. I don't know, but they are not too bad right now. Maybe it was the crocheting! :-)

Here are the first two blankets I made. The first one is made with two "Great Value" skeins of Bernat Chunky in "Wedgewood" which worked up very quickly in a V stitch with a double crochet border.  I think it was about 30" x 30". The second one is made with white and pink pompadour yarns. The pattern can be found at Modern Grace Design, but I had trouble following her directions at the ends of the rows... I ended up with something that worked, but I don't think it was the intended design!  I think I adapted the number of stitches for the finer yarn, as well.

Stay tuned for pictures and details on blanket number 3, what I might call Happy Hugs...