Origins

I learned to crochet when I was about 8 years old. I churned out a couple lumpy granny squares, and put down the hook until I was about 20 years old. I asked my mom to re-teach me to crochet over thanksgiving break that year. I churned out a ton of scarves, and then two blankets. As I continued to crochet, I got the thirst to learn to knit. Being busy with school and work, I fiddled around a bit with knitting, but did not really learn until I was 22. Once again, I appealed to the mother, who taught me the to knit and purl.

Knitting was so appealing and so versatile that my crochet hooks got buried in the stash, and I have not crocheted much in the (almost) three years I have been knitting. Today I got back to my fiber origins and crocheted a hat.

My lovely friend Amelia described to me a knitted hat that she wanted, noting that it was holey, but not quite like lace. I realized that what she was describing sounded a lot like crochet. Her birthday is coming up, and and her crocheted birthday hat is blocking as we speak (along with the completed beret and clapotis).

One of the wonderful things about crochet is the speed! About an hour of work yielded just the result I had envisioned for her hat. I used Kirsten Kapur's Darling Diva Snow Day Hat pattern, omitting the attached flower.

A few pictures from my Memorial Day weekend, spent with friends and family in sunny Southern California: