I Love To Croquet. I mean Crochet.

Before Christmas, when I made Golly's hair, I discovered that I really like to crochet.  It is a very relaxing, repetitive activity that is easily portable and can be as expensive or inexpensive as you want it to be.  When Phillip saw me working on Golly's hair in December, he exclaimed, "Look at you!!!  You're croqueting!!!"  It doesn't write as funny as it sounded when he said it, but it still makes me feel fuzzy inside and chuckle every time I think about it.  :-)

Since December, I have tackled a few smallish projects.  The first one, a dolly blanket, went really well as soon as I figured out how to noodle through the pattern.  It is finished for the most part, just awaiting some sort of imaginative edging that will be done when I look at something and feel inspired.  Currently, it resides as a bookshelf topper on the very small shelf that houses our school books next to the couch.  It actually looks pretty nice there, so it might live there permanently.

The second project was a back pack for Golly.  One where Lydia could wear the pack and put Golly in it to tote her.  Because I'm trying to instill the baby-wearing urge early!  I did the best I could with the pattern...it seemed simpler at first reading than it turned out to be.  Toward the end, I just had to wing it, because I couldn't figure out what the pattern was asking for and I was ready to move on.  At the end of the day, (or a couple of weeks) I had a bulky-at-the-seams backpack for Golly which isn't the most functional item in the world, and it was done before I figured out how to properly stitch crochet together.   If Lydia was better able to verbalize her emotions when I gave it to her, she would have said, "Meh....I dunno...."

Project number three was a scarf that was mostly done with chain stitch and a single 'croquet' stitch periodically.  Easy-peasy.  It still doesn't look like the picture, but I think I figured out why.  You're supposed to 'block' it, which wasn't referenced AT ALL in the pattern, but I learned about it by getting a library book.  Plus, it needs some 'croquet' flowers placed here and there.  I have worked on the flowers (posies, not pansies, as I had originally thought) and have two adequate ones to stitch on my scarf, after I block it.  The other four flowers are sitting on top of the above referenced dolly blanket that may be a permanent bookshelf topper.  The flowers make the bookshelf look more festive, even if the workmanship isn't what it should be.  Sometimes the little kids like to play with the flowers, so they are being used, even though not for the original purpose.  I'll make some more flowers to go on the scarf as the urge arises.

Project number four was a dish towel topper, which I am mostly happy with.  I hate that all my dish towels end up on the floor because the kids like them better there, so I crocheted (croqueted) a buttoned top for the towel so it would button to the oven door and not fall on the floor.  I made two, the second one looks better than the first.  Again, I had trouble with the pattern as written, so I mostly made it up as I went along.

After the towel topper, I discovered that I really prefer my items to be utilitarian.  It's kind of like gardening.  Sure I like looking at flowers, but I don't want to work to grow them if I can't eat them.  Give me something that is useful!  Like a vegetable or a fruit!!  So I decided to ditch all the fru-fru scarf and little blanket patterns.  We have been blessed with my Mom who makes far nicer quilts than anything I could attempt to crochet, and those are the ones I love!  I decided to undertake something that will be very useful to me.  Something I need.  Something I don't replace until they have holes and are threadbare...washcloths!

All I needed was some 100% cotton yarn.  Real cheap.  At a trip to the St. Vincent DePaul's thrift store on Friday, guess what I found...a bag of eight balls of really nice cotton yarn!  Plus one skein of crap yarn, but it was worth the three bucks I paid for the eight good ones!

The first pattern I chose (for beginners, of course!) was apparently too complicated for me. I wanted practice crocheting in the round, so I wanted a round wash cloth.  Also I thought a round wash cloth would be fun and out-of the-ordinary.   I tried it five or six times.  And I pulled it out five or six times.  After a quick internet search, I found another pattern that was similar, but made more sense to me.  And this is what I made!!!!

Of course, this picture was taken in the bath tub full of water, because it didn't occur to me to take a picture before the kids' bath times.  It is wonderfully scrubby on one side and slightly less so on the other. You can't tell very well from the picture, but it is an octagon type shape.  I like it very much and plan to make a few more to replace the ragged ones that are threadbare.  Out of all the projects I tried previously, this is the only one worthy of photographing and using regularly in daily life.  I think I'll make some square ones for the kitchen too.  Ya know, so I can tell which ones scrub the body and which ones scrub the dishes!  I am super excited that I finally have something that turned out well, and mostly to my expectations.  I still made a boo-boo or two in it, but am really satisfied with it even though a few mistakes were made.

Each project failure has taught me something, which definitely has value in itself.  I still thoroughly enjoy the craft despite my failures and one day, with persistence, I hope to finally be able to read and fully understand a pattern the first time through!