Crafty Cat

I’ve always liked hats and knowing how to crochet them makes it easier for me to make my own. It’s just a matter of having enough yarn :P My stash of is mainly that of acrylic and wool or acrylic and cotton mixes. I already used up my big skein of Bernat handicrafter yarn for my backpack. I am looking for ways to increase my stash of cotton yarn for greater happiness. I want to make cardigans as presents for my family and friends. Or bags. Which reminds me: I ought to buy those balls of jute rope so I could make a bag. If I don’t end up using it, I’d sell it or give it as a present. My first bag was a backpack. It deserves an entire post of its own because of the many lessons I learned when it comes to crocheting. Especially since this one needed lining.

I learned how to make popcorn stitches already and PJ Punla shall be pleased when I show her the beanie I made out of the Cotton Ease yarn she sold me. A new pink hat for me! A beanie this time.

My current flickr set of crocheted projects should be enough to show you that I am addicted to crochet. However, I originally started learning knitting from the awesome Jonette Valenciano first and what mainly put me off was frogging. It was too intimidating. She’s awesome so she could pull it off but I really can’t. So I got myself 2 books yesterday. Knitty Gritty and Knit & Stitch. Both of them are aimed towards beginners.

So in the coming months expect gifts made out of yarn.

Ok, now that I have discovered how addicting crochet is, I always have a ball of yarn or maybe two. In the office, I have a yarn stash ready to be brought out in the evenings that I am trying to relax. After a long day at the client’s office, it always feels better to have dinner with my boyfriend and our dear friends. Afterwards, crochet is the next thing left to do to make me calm down a bit. Why? Even though there is counting involved as I loop the yarn through, I have something tangible in my hands that show me what my handiwork is accomplishing. Most of the time, whatever I work on is not tangible. Also, I don’t really get involved in the development of the actual products, in a sense. In some ways I am a pattern-maker. But I am itching to be the one to implement the pattern. Crochet lets me do that. I don’t have to feel as frustrated with crochet because it’s relatively fast enough to do. I could finish a beanie in a couple of hours. The starting part is a bit tricky sometimes. Especially if it involves stitches I just learned. But it’s so much worth it because a finished product could be given as a personal gift to friends.

I’ve made 3 variations of the Ethan cap already. The first one I gave to JM but because my crocheting skills were still very much ‘raw’ at that point, it was a bit too tight. I modified the pattern so that it could fit his head. A bit too snug but not so bad. The second one followed the pattern to the letter. And I used Red Heart acrylic yarn for it. I am glad that the particular variant of Red Heart I got for that was quite soft. So it’s ok. That beanie is going to Carl as a late birthday gift. Evelyn liked the texture of the Ethan cap so I made it in some funky old rose yarn.

I didn’t really have pictures of the first one. In any case, I thought of removing one row from Evelyn’s hat as I think she doesn’t have such a big head. This used practically only one 50g skein of yarn. If ever this becomes a hit, I might consider selling it. I’d either use Red Heart or the funky yarns I saw in Dreams. It’s just that Red Heart is a cheaper brand and I could make more yarns from each skein. If ever, please let me know if you’d be interested in an Ethan cap for yourself. I’d be willing to sell you one.

There are so many interesting patterns out there. I actually have several PDFs of patterns I want to make. But I don’t have enough yarn or I don’t understand the patterns that well yet. I want to learn more stitches actually. If you’re also into crochet like PJ and Jonette, maybe we could share stories re: how we learn new stitches, and so on.

I want to share more crochet stories but I should be sleeping soon. I’ve got work after all.