January 30

rachelle, heather, phyllis, and i met and showed off our latest projects. rachelle was crocheting a beautiful pastel green baby afghan with an attached hood, but was contemplating not putting on the hood. phyllis was working on a blue scarf. heather was still learning the ropes and working on a rainbow variegated piece that looked tie dyed. i was trying out a new yarn i found at, of all places, big lots! phyllis told us last week that big lots had a surprising amount of yarn. of course, i had to check it out. i found some ribbon yarn (80 yds) for 79 cents each. i decided to make a scarf with it. we all had new projects that we were working on. we also discussed books. we shared our favorite shows. turns out that we are mystery fans listing james patterson and sue grafton as some faves. as for television, we seemed to be fond of the csi franchise of shows and "how i met your mother" among others. we even confessed to being hooked on a few reality shows. bean counters is such an inviting place. rachelle and heather made plans to stop at big lots on the way home, phyllis called it a day, and i purchased some french onion soup in a bread bowl to take home. i think i'll ask about putting up our group's flyer at jo-ann fabrics. i personally find it comforting to be with people who understand my need to surround myself with skein after skein of soft, fuzzy, furry yarns.

our first meeting...

went well i think. we had five people show up: phyllis, henri, rachelle, heather, and me. bean counters is such a cozy place. we sat in a room named the gathering place. phyllis worked on a scarf in red, black, and gray tones. she got her yarn at bargain prices at big lots (an unusual place for yarn). henri bought some red heart light and lofty yarn in shades of purple. she's learning to increase and decrease in knitting. i taught henri to knit last year and this year she's ready to venture into more advanced techniques. rachelle is a math teacher working on a beautiful circular baby afghan. she says she'll probably be finished by next week's meeting. heather learned to crochet years ago, but came along with rachelle and is relearning the art of crochet. today, henri informed me that she checked out lion brand yarn's website after rachelle raved about it last night. she says she already downloaded three patterns. that site's a favorite with rachelle and me. i think next week will go just as well. before i left, i had to get myself a bowl of potato soup and an iced tea. yum!!

My red poncho

i crocheted this long asymmetrical red poncho a couple of summers ago. the pattern is available at craftown (see link to the right). here's the link to my pattern. if you make the poncho, let me know how it went.

http://www.craftown.com/crochet/cropat61.htm

first meeting of the knitting and crochet group i'm putting together...

is coming up. we'll meet at bean counters on kennedy in highland, indiana at 4:00 p.m. on monday, january 23. i've reserved the cafe for mondays at 4:00 p.m. it's just a chance for the knitters and crocheters i've met along the way to get together and learn from each other and to just hang out. i hope it all goes well. i've heard from about a dozen or so people interested in the group. i hope interest is sustained and we keep the group going for a long time. or at least through summer since i don't work in the summer and i'll need something to do with my time. maybe we'll post some pictures of ourselves and our awesome creations (i'm very optimistic) on this blog. i'm so excited!

purses

i've been working on purses lately. they are easy to make and if you start with one basic pattern and work it in stripes or boxes or all one color, you can make the cutest purses. i'll be publishing the pattern for the purses at a later date.

my scarf

i modified a pattern i have for a poncho and crocheted only 9 rows of it. i alternated colored worsted weight yarn with multicolored lion brand homespun yarn to make the scarf. i like how it turned out. i was lucky to have yarns that matched so well in my stash of yarns. i'll provide the directions later.

introduction

i decided to create a knitting and crochet blog for my passion. i considered naming it the knitwit hooker, but thought that might turn some people off. so i opted for another name.i plan on posting my numerous thoughts on knitting and crocheting, publishing my original patterns, posting updates on the knitting and crocheting group i'm putting together at bean counters in highland. i hope all works out well