Well, I did it. I finished my first crochet pieces! You see, this is a big deal. I’ve been trying to finish my first crochet piece for almost 20 years. Yes, you read that right–20 years.
Twenty years ago my grandmother (the one who reminds me of frogs and soil and azaleas and drawing trees outside the bedroom window) was still alive, and I wanted to do everything she could do. She taught me to crochet and latch hook and all sorts of other crafts when I was a kid. She died when I was 11, and that year we started a project together. She was teaching me to crochet a pair of mittens in a soft white fabric with silver threads throughout.
We almost finished the first mitten together, and then she was gone. I could never finish it.
So these projects are for my grandmother. They’re for me, they’re for my family, they’re for my sanity (I was very stressed), but really–they’re for her. And so will be every thing I crochet throughout my life, which will hopefully be many more.
I put pictures of the pieces (me trying to be artistic and failing!) and some notes on each piece behind the cut. I didn’t count for these, so the notes are relatively sparse.
Three scarves and a hat. Each scarf was created with a different pattern. For many gifts I chose multi-colored yarn to add a bit of dimension and variety without needing to switch yarns at this point. My next two projects may be using only solid colors.
The coloring is off but you can see the hat a bit better. The hat is one I hope to wear this season. Since this is one of the better photos I have of the hat, a few notes:
This was made with a soft yarn in 6 worsted weight. I used a 9mm hook and started with a youtube video, and from there made it how I wanted. I can’t tell you how many times I started and unraveled this hat before getting it to be the size I wanted. It used 2/3 a skein of yarn, leaving me with another skein and 1/3 to use to create a matching scarf.
I started with 4 chains and a slip stitch back on the first chain. From there, I stitched through the center 6 times, chained twice, then double stitched twice per stitch. To get to the next row, I chained twice and double stitched twice per stitch again for a total of 24 stitches. From there, things get hazy–I think I did it one more time for 26 stitches, then did two rows of clusters, one row of single stitching, one row of double stitching, two rows of single stitching and finished with a row of slip stitch. If I looked closely now I would be able to tell you better, but like I said–I put together and pulled apart this hat more times than I can think.
This was the first project of the weekend, stitched in plain 4 worsted weight yarn. It used an entire skein and I can’t even tell you what size hook I used except that it was the wrong size. Apparently I’ve been doing it wrong all along–no wonder my stitching was always so tight and inconsistent.
This was a relatively simple pattern, alternating between single, double, treble and slip stitches. I’m not sure what they’re called, but I also alternated with two rows of “chain” stitching (see the broken spaces in the picture above) to break up the pattern.
This is a scarf I made for me but, given the texture of the scarf, I’m not sure that I want to wear it. Perhaps keep it as a keepsake or give it on to someone who could get better use out of it.
I’ve decided that I want to make matching scarf/hat sets for family, and this scarf is for my cousin, Meghan. This one scarf took two skeins of 5 worsted weight yarn (I used an 8mm hook) to create and waves a little in the middle–I’m not a big fan of my 8mm hook style. I will likely need another 1/4 skein to finish this project, and another two skeins to create a hat similar to my orange hat above.
This pattern looks feminine to me, but was rather simple to create. I began with a chain of approximately 204 stitches, then a single stitch row. On that single stitch row I did the scalloping like in my hat, but it is more defined here and less bubbly in this lighter weight yarn. A row of single stitch follows the scallops, a row of treble, and then back to mirroring the beginning–a row of single, scallops, single, and I will do a slip stitch to finish it.
This scarf was almost done with only 2 skeins of yarn (5 worsted weight, 8mm hook). I have half of the last slip-stitch row left, but now it’s time to get another three skeins–one to finish this and two for the hat. Though extremely simple, I love this scarf. I want to make one for myself–but this is another gift for Mike’s sister.
What can I say–I love simple.
This scarf begins with a chain of approximately 200 stitches, one single row, 3-4 double-stitch rows, a single row and the remaining slip-stitch. That’s it. I can’t wait to make the matching hat as simple as this. Mike’s sister is a soccer-playing type, a bit of a tomboy (though alternating between that and feminine). I’m hoping this works
The next post will be a Nebraska-themed scarf for Mike’s cousin in a utilitarian single and slip stitch combo, and a solid green scarf with a fancy crunch stitch for my cousin Caitlyn. But I’m getting ahead of myself–I still need to buy the yarn!
Morgan Farms 
Well done – and a lovely story to explain your motivation. I’d love a hat like that!