Hooking up to Crochet - December

BusyLizzy

In chatting with a fellow crochet enthusiast at one of the craft fairs this year (a slow event that lent itself to  vendor chat) we were both lamenting that there are not a lot of young people taking up the fine art of Crochet anymore. At least, neither of us could think of any!

I'd been thinking about that very thing of late and we hatched a plan! Bringing crochet out in the open with acts of public "hooking" might just be the ticket! We decided to meet in a local coffee shop with our latest WIP (work in progress) to boldly perform our craft with the eyes of the public upon us! I know what you are thinking: "What brazen hussies!"

November Meeting:

Beckie M

The first gathering happened Monday November 14th, and was very casual with only 3 of us in attendance: Sarah of Sarah's Knit Bits (she does crochet too!) and Basia (my cohort from the quiet craft show) and myself. It was last minute, so we were happy to start with a few of us. We met at a lovely local coffee shop (Mochaberry) in Orangeville, grabbed some coffee, and sat on the couches with our yarn and hooks flying! Quite a few people stopped to chat with us about our projects and commented how lovely it was to see us crocheting.  We decided to gather each month on the 2nd Monday -- a random choice, but something to start with! Our crochet group was born!

December meeting: Entitled "Hooking up to Crochet"
So that brings us to today! This time I set up a Facebook event, and while the original group had some things to attend to this week, there were 4 new participants, including a fledgling Crocheter in her early 20's (we're guessing, we didn't ask!) who heard we'd be there and stopped by for advice on getting started. Success! It was incredible to have this mandate (bringing crochet to the next gen) already showing some promise of being fulfilled!

Dale L

Here is a bit about each participant, and what we got up to:
Beckie M- Has been crocheting about a year. All her housemates are hand-crafting their holiday gifts this year! I can't reveal her project, or who it's for, but I'm hoping she'll send pics when it is done and delivered Christmas morning. Trust me, the recipient won't find one of these at WalMart any time soon!
Dale L - Very experienced in both crochet and knitting, and a sock monkey maker (sewn, not knit/crocheted, but they're oh so cute!). My favourite quote from today's meeting was Dale's: "Anyone have scissors? I left mine in my monkey box."
Paula S - Taught to crochet by Beckie this year. She's working on a glove to match the one she lost! Apparently she's remade herself this lost glove before... so Dale suggested she crochet a long chain that she can string through her coat and attach to each glove to avoid further MIA mitts!

Paula S

Liz G (Me) - Crocheting since I was a teen. Also working on matching a mitt today! I made a real "novice mistake" a few weeks back: I ran out of yarn bought more to whip up a second glove, but only weeks later (in a good light) did I notice the brown was off! I had to make another glove with the new yarn. I still have ONE mismatched glove... so I have the perfect Christmas gift for any one-armed people on your Christmas list!

Candice

Candice - Our newbie, working on her first projects: A single crochet dish cloth, and a Granny Square dish cloth. We were able to help her solve two issues. A misprinted bracket in the pattern was causing confusion in getting the 2nd dish cloth started, and Dale caught that she was wrapping her yarn in the wrong direction, making all the stitches really tight and twisted. Good catch, Dale!

Topics of discussion included:

• Best ways to do "ribbing" in crochet: Liz likes the crochet in the back loop method (Here is a YouTube video I found using my fav technique).
• The business of Crochet/Handcrafting... how to set prices when you sell your stuff? By how long it takes to make? Materials used? Obviously this have to be accounted for in some way. Nobody came up with a definitive answer, so I'm thinking this will be an ongoing discussion!
• Use of patterns vs making it up as you go along! Most of us "just crochet" out of our heads, but admit we started with patterns, and that they are a great way to learn new techniques, and essential for beginners! Liz equates a pattern with a recipe in cooking. A new cook needs to work with a recipe until he or she learns what flavours, combinations and techniques go together well. Then the pantry and the skills are just "let loose" to create new dishes. It is the same with crocheting. Use a pattern as a guide and an inspiration, but not always to the letter! Liz has started writing out her own patterns and just sold her first one for fingerless gloves on ETSY last week!

If you are a "Happy Hooker" and live in the Orangeville area, please look us up on the 2nd Monday of the month for our Hooking up to Crochet group... we'd love to see you!

Cheers,

BusyLizzy

Elizabeth Glenday