Tara Tuesdays - Part 32

Tara is back for her regular Tuesday slot after an extended Christmas break, thank you T for another 'Tara Tuesdays' blog post!  Here it is:

A New Skill

I know I haven't been on Em's blog for a while as it has been a bit "same old, same old" in my life since returning back to work after Christmas. Going horse riding and playing catch up with the chores at the weekend leaves no time or energy for much crafting. However, recently I went to my friend Cat's after work as we are keen to learn crochet! Like me, Cat is a very keen knitter and has only been knitting for a few months, she seems to eat up the projects that she starts putting me to shame and I think she will be one of those uber fast knitters very soon!

Cat has recently subscribed to the Bergere Knit & Stitch magazine advertised on the telly, which comes with a DVD to learn how to knit and crochet, so we decided to watch it and try and give crochet a go! I have done some before as I went to a workshop run by my teacher Nicki Trench ages ago but came away with such a headache as I found it really difficult and hard to concentrate! I did make a doily however (my Mum has it now) and then with lots of help a Granny Square. I couldn't tell you how I did it mind!

We found the DVD helpful but as you can imagine we were having to stop, pause, and rewind it over and over! The woman made it look SO easy and was crocheting (not sure if that is a word) really fast so we struggled to keep up! I managed to learn the foundation chain, the slip stitch (or single crochet) .... get me going all technical (!) and the double crochet. I know there are other stitches and increases and decreases still to master but I thought that was enough to be going on with! I did also need to drive home!

I haven't actually made anything yet as I have just been practising the stitches first. After knitting, it is a bit confusing as you only have the crochet hook to work with rather than two needles and you have to get your head around holding the yarn in a different way. Then there is your tension, Cat struggled with hers and found that her stitches were too tight for her to get her hook into! I really like the effect and neatness of crochet stitches and have been wanting to learn for ages. My boss at work is a whizz at it and has made some beautiful things that she just whips up at the weekend! It is good to know that she is on hand when we need her at work when we get stuck!

I have recently subscribed to Mollie Makes magazine and am keen to make this as my first project:

My boss assures me flowers are easy, we shall see! Watch this space for updates on how I am getting on!