Hell and the Crochet Hook

I've been knitting for a while now. Granted, I've only really done scarves and a few hats that looked like pillow cases. But, it's been several years since I started. I used to knit only in the winter months. Lately, I've been so into hand crafting that I may make it a year-round hobby.

Years and years (and years) ago, my grandmother, who is an expert with the crochet hook, tried to teach me the skill. I guess I was just too young to get too into it or maybe it's because my grandmother has always lived hundreds of miles from me. It's hard to learn things like that long distance. However, this past holiday, when I went to visit, I demanded that she give me another chance to learn to crochet. This time, perhaps because I have experience with yarn now, I took to it like a fish to water.

Presenting my newest foray into crochet:

In case it's hard to tell from the pictures, it's a scarf! (yes, another scarf) I made the pompoms myself too! I like to call it 'cranberry ice' because of the colors. I really love the nice cranberry red color I found. The only problem I enountered was that I had to switch between colors quite often. So, instead of cutting the old yarn and making a knot to join it to the new color, I tried carrying the colors up the side of the scarf. The problem with that is, if you can tell from one of the pictures, it made little loops along one edge. It looks okay, but I imagine that there might be a problem with those loops catching on things once I try to wear it. I need to consult an experienced crochet person for help with that in the future.

While knitting will always be my first love, I enjoy picking up a new skill whenever possible. Crochet seems sort of angry compared to knitting. I can imagine myself steaming mad and crocheting miles of material while I tell someone off, or vent. I need to relax while I knit. However, I picked up a book of delicate lacey crochet patterns while I was in Cali and those seem to require much more concentration. If I ever figure out the friggin' lace doiley I'm making, I'll post up a pic of that too.

P.S. If you put your mouse over one of the pictures in my slideshow above, the picture will expand so you can get a better look!