Crochet Hooks

Crochet was my very first fiber love. When I was seven, I had a babysitter, and older lady that would sit and crochet when i was doing my homework or playing when my parents were out. She was a wonderful lady, and while I don't remember her name she's left a lasting gift with me.

She taught me to Crochet. And the very first thing she taught me? The Granny Square. I wouldn't say it was instant love for me... in fact, I found Crochet very very frustrating. But I had a little orange plastic hook (which I kept until my sister sat on it and broke it nearly ten years later) and I struggled through splitting the yarn, doing things wrong, and I managed to learn crochet.

And then life moved on, the babysitter stopped coming because she moved, and I didn't pick up a hook very much. Until my family had to move. My girlfriend made me a blanket as a goodbye gift. It was pink and white and beautifully done. My competitive spirit was aroused. I wanted to be able to do something like that. And I started to crochet again.

I practiced, and practiced, made a lot of really bad doll clothes, got a lot of yarn for Christmas, developed a regular stitch, made whatever I wanted, and flatly refused to use a pattern book. If I wanted to make something, I looked at a picture. It hasn't been until now, at college that I've started following real patterns. As in, actually reading the directions.

But what is my point in all this? Well, if you look at the title, it's supposed to be about crochet hooks. And my point is, until recently, I had been carrying my hooks around in a glasses case. (Hey, it worked and it was compact!) But as part of my SP 12 Swap, Kathleen made me a beautiful crochet case holder, and I've been wanting to show it off. So I gathered up most of my crochet hooks, and made some startling discoveries.

I have far more crochet hooks than I imagined. I have a full set of steel crochet hooks. I have a D, E, 2 F's, a G, a G1/2 (I got it in Sweden, it's between a G and an H). I have 3 H's, 5 I's, 6 J's, 3 K's, an L, M, 2 N's, and a Q. (This does not count the ones that are currently in projects, which is (I think) a G, an O, and an H.)

I think that totals 39 hooks. Now, I'm not surprised, because I like to keep my hooks with my projects, and I"m quite fond of my size H's and J's... they're two of my favorite size hooks. Also, sometimes I get them as gifts, and the range between H and K seems to be the size people like to gift. Anything else seems either too small or too large.

So, what size hooks or needles do you prefer? Do you have a collection, or do you have one for each purpose, and switch them in and out? Let me know!



The second week of my contest is going on! Writing a comment will get you an entry. Mentioning the contest in your blog will get you TWO entries, just make sure that in your comment you link back to your blog. Thirdly, if you make a halloween-themed object during this month, leave a link on the comments and you get TWO entires. You can comment as much as you want (if you spam my blog, that will get you disqualified), you can make as many halloween themed stuff as you want.

I'm going home!

I'm so excited! I'm flying home today where I'll get to see my family, my two best friends, and meet up with my boyfriend! It's going to be so much fun!

Unfortunately, I have mixed feelings about the traveling part of going home, seeing as how I have to fly. I actually really like flying- especially flying home for Christmas break. Normally, I've been going, going going during finals, and then I have to scramble to pack and get on the plane. Being on the plane is the first time I get to relax. When you're on a plane, you have no control. You get on, and it doesn't matter what you do, you have to trust that someone else is going to get you where you need to go. My mother finds this stressful, worrying about connections and if she'll have enough time to get from one place to the other. Me? I personally think I'll get where I'm going, eventually.

And, I find planes really good places to sleep. The white noise of the engines just puts me out like a light.

However, there's one thing I don't like about traveling, and that's having to decide what projects I'm going to take with me. I can't take my whole stash, it just doesn't work. So I wonder, what to take. And I'm bad at making decisions when it comes to crafting.

So how do you decide when your traveling what to take?

My contest is still going on! Writing a comment will get you an entry. Mentioning the contest in your blog will get you TWO entries, just make sure that in your comment you link back to your blog. Thirdly, if you make a Halloween-themed object during this month, leave a link on the comments and you get TWO entires. You can comment as much as you want (if you spam my blog, that will get you disqualified), you can make as many Halloween themed stuff as you want.

Remember how I'm in a sculpture class?

Well, the sculpture class is tomorrow, and I'm going to be handing in the sculpture as well as a paper (which I've yet to write). Just a preview of the finishing touches....

I also have another exciting post I'll put up tomorrow. Hint: it has something to do with what I got in the mail!!!

Up late

I've been up late working on my second sculpture which involves a lot of crochet. The concept is a little like, "rebellion against the sampler" and "Dr. Seuss" combined.

I've been lazy, so I haven't gotten any pictures up, but I'll promise I'll get some up soon.

My Sclupture Class

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Originally uploaded by jenamberautumn

So I'm taking a sculpture class for my art credit at college, and this is my first sculpture. I'm including it here because aspects of it are crochet.

Not much more going on today. Got some roving in the mail... I'll get up pictures later.

Blog still isn't totally fixed, but it's getting there. Bear with me.

Firefly Shawl

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Originally uploaded by jenamberautumn

So I told you that I had a bit of a surprise. Last Wednesday I was supposed to be doing homework, but I was really thinking about how I couldn't find a pattern for a shawl that I liked. I wanted something that hinted leaves, but all of the shawls I saw either had leaf patterns, but were too "airy" (I wanted something a little more solid) or they were solid, but didn't hint at leaves the way I wanted.

So I picked up some spare ty-dy that I had from another project and started crocheting my own pattern. After several stops and starts, and a fair amount of frogging, I came up with something I like. This is just a glimpse of the finished project.

I decided to name the shawl "Firefly" in honor of Wash from Firefly and Serenity, a television show and movie.

Now I'm taking the pattern to make another shawl, a bit bigger, to see how the pattern would fare with another yarn. I'll post my progress in a bit.

Musings, and what's been going on

Well, I've been amiss in my blog, and various other things, but I'm making it up, I promise!

Things have been active around here. I've moved into a single, and I'm still adjusting to having my own space for the first time in what seems like forever. I've got a shelf entirely devoted to yarn, and I love how it's visually accessible.

See?
The self is right under the bed.

So, I've been able to see my yarn more, and that's quite exciting.

So what have I been working on? I made a shawl, out of some yarn I won, but I'm not quite sure if I like it. It was an experiment, and it's ok, but ended up really long. It's such a disaster that I'm not posting it up, but the one thing that redeems it is the color, a deep deep purple and grey color.

I've been working on my ripple afghan, and it's slowly coming along.



I also bought myself a spinning wheel out of some money I've been saving for that purpose. I'm hoping it is all right, because I bought it sight unseen, but the company has good reviews and I have faith. I've also bought some fiber to start me off, though I don't think it's going to last me that long.



I've got some other exciting thigns going on that I'll talk about later. (hint: see my works in progress!)

Plan to see more of me!

Back at College!

I'm back at college, so there will be more posting soon, because I have regular access to a computer, and can thus access the internet regularly. This means I can also upload pictures with a lot less effort.

The drive down to college went well. It's 12 hours, and my father, brother and I split the trip up fairly evenly, with each of us doing about four hours. While I spent four of those other eight hours sleeping (we got up at 4 in the morning, and I hadn't got to bed early the night before... too many last minute things to pack) I spent another large chunk crocheting.

I worked on my ripple afghan, and got several inches done. It's getting to be the size of a nice lap blanket, and I'm glad... though it is far from done. I also worked on a gift/commission for a friend. She wants me to make her a "boob" pillow. I'll have to post some picture of it soon, I promise. It's been a fun project to work on because people will stop, ask if they think it is what they think it is. I'll ask, "What DO you think it is?" And the reactions are amusing when I say, yes, it is a boob. No, it's not a hat. *grins* I love shifting people's worldview. Crochet is no longer the realm of the young.

Over the summer I also worked on two sweaters for my friend. Both were from my copy of the crochet bible. She's having a baby soon, and I made the two sweaters for the baby. I'll also get pictures of those up- they came out beautifully.

What are your favorite places to craft, what objects make the setting perfect for crafting?

I changed the word from knit to craft, because for the most part I'm a crocheter that dabbles in other things. My favorite place to crochet is when I'm crocheting and I'm listening to a book on tape... I love listening to books on tape, it's almost how I would imagine others would sit doing work while listening to the radio. TV requires too much of my visual attention... but I love listening to books on tape. Especially if they're books I need to read for class because then I'm working but not working, if you know what I mean.

As for objects that make my crafting complete, I'd have to say my spoon ring. I wear it on my left ringfinger not because I'm engaged, but because it doesn't fit on any of my other fingers. It's a family piece, and I've found that sometimes if I can't get the right tension on a yarn, threading the yarn through my spoon ring will help.

Major Update

So for those of you who have been hanging out with no updates, I apologize. While I do have limited internet at camp, often by the end of the day I'm too tired to go to the one place we have wireless to wait forever for the connection to sign me in so I can post. But I'm on a day off, well rested, and can get time to post a bit.

Working at camp is going a lot better, I've finally settled into my role and have gotten comfortable in it, for the most part.

The other weekend we had a raffle at camp and I won three skeins of brushed mohair. Pictures will come soon, but it is gorgeous. I don't know what to do with it, but I'm sure I'll think of something. The only problem is the dye lots aren't quite the same.

On my night off I went to Northhamption to get more of a yarn that I've fallen in love with only to find that North Hampton Wools was closed an hour and a half early. It made me really sad because now I have to wait to go. *mutters*

I recently got some new crochet books (one of them courtesy of my SP12 pal... and it's amazing) (Thank you PAL! You're doing such a good job pampering me... and I love getting packages at camp!) and I've been fooling around with some of the patterns on some of my more generic yarn to see how the patterns play out. Naturally, it just gets to me using the patterns for inspiration because I can't seem to follow directions without thinking on how I could "improve" a design, but I'm having fun.

So that's the quick update! Write more later.

Cheep Therapy

So the last few days of camp have been a lot more difficult than I expected. After being a counselor for four years, I decided to join the program staff and teach swimming lessons. It's a very scary transition for me because I don't always do well with change, and it's always difficult to step outside of your comfort zone, and I'm definitely doing that.

In reaction of being pushed out of my comfort zone, I've moved from Knitting (a new, uncertain craft for me) to crochet again, and I've been mass producing washcloths. I've got some cheep cotton yarn and I've been pumping them out. They're both simple and brightly colored and crochet, and they're a source of comfort- one of the first things I learned to use on the hook I got when I was seven, and single crochet... the simplest thing in crochet beyond the chain. I'll have to take some pictures of the ones I've made, but I'm a little behind on uploading pictures onto my computer and thus onto the net. It's been very very busy.

In other news, I'm rather excited because Secret Pal 12 is underway, and I've both contacted my Secret Palee and been contacted by my secret pal. For those of you who don't know, Secret Pal is a circle of people on the net that participate by sending fiber-themed care packages to each other. I have some ideas on what I want to do, but I have a question for those who have participated, and even those who have not. Have you ever received some really cool, creative packages? What made them special? I'm perfectly willing to mine good ideas off others (after all, copying is the highest form of flattery), or use others ideas to jump start my own. I want to make my packages special!

Let me know.

Christmas/Summer Blanket Stories

My Christmas and Summer Blanket started on Christmas of my junior year of college, four years ago. My grandmothers had given me carte blanc in the yarn store, and the result was me buying yarn for my first pattern where I followed the directions- almost.

From the first I knew this project was going to be big. I have a big family (two parents and four children including me) and we have an appreciation for a blanket that can span the length of the couch and cover all of our legs for movie night. It was no wonder that I wanted a big blanket, something I could imagine surrounding family in folds of love and bright colors.

However, having this big blanket did present some problems. Namely, ability to transport. I found after a certain size the blanket could no longer be comfortably carried in a craft bag, and it began being brought out less and less. Thus, it became my Christmas/Summer Blanket, because those were the times I worked on it- over Christmas when I had the leisure to sit down and watch a movie with my family while having the work cover my legs, or during the summer when, working at camp, I could pull it out during freetime and have a solid hour to work on the project.

It came with me on all the long drives with my parents to look at colleges. My father and I made the 12-hour trek down to Davidson with me merrily crocheting and chattering (when I wasn't driving). There's a series of four stripes (which I got done on the way there and back) that I associate specifically with my father and driving down to look at Davidson College. The talks about what I would encounter, planning my life, and good advice all seem to be embedded in the stitches.

So tell me... do you have a project that captures memories of when it was made, or in use? Just a reminder, commenting will enter you into my June contest for the mystery yarn!

One of THOSE projects

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Originally uploaded by jenamberautumn

Everyone has one of those projects that goes on and on and on. For me, it's my Christmas and Summer blanket. I started this my junior year of highschool, and now just over four years later it STILL isn't done. It's not that I don't love working on it... I do.

And it's not that I don't think it's beautiful... I do.

It's just that it's gotten so long and so big... it's a problem carting it everywhere.

So today I wanted to take another look at this blanket, and share some of its stories.

This blanket was one of my first big project I ever did. I got the pattern in an old crafting book... the standard crochet ripple afghan pattern, and then proceeded to modify it so that it would be wider, because I love really really big blankets. And I was making it for myself, so I wanted it really really big. It was one of those strikes of fortune... my grandmothers had given me carte blanch at the yarn store, and I went and picked out all my favorite yarns. The original pattern called for nine rows of a color, broken up by three rows of the base color. It was really retro. But very soon into making the blanket I decided I wanted to change it up more. Instead of doing nine rows of one color, I would do nine rows of color, and three rows of white. I like how it turned out. Basically, I do whatever I feel like when it comes to the pattern.

Now, this whatever I feel like doesn't come without problems. You see, I didn't quite measure out the distance right, so on one side the "V" goes down where on the other side it goes up. They're both susposed to go down for pattern reasons, and I find that I need to 'compensate' a little on the pattern. Also, with all the color changes the sides are rather ragged, but I think that's ok because I"m going to edge the whole thing in white when I'm done. So it will look normal, I swear!

In the next few days, I'll be posting on some stories that involve my Chrismas/Summer afghan. But in the meantime I'd like to ask you. Do you have a project that goes on and on and on? Is it one that you enjoy, but for some reason just get to only once and a while? I'd like to know.

Secret Pal 12!

Secret Pal 12!

I saw this before and decided I desperately wanted to join.

Here's the questionnaire:

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
My favorite yarns to knit with tend to be different types of wool: plain sheep wool which I love to felt. I recently got some alpaca by Lavish (www.lavishfibres.com) which I'm making into socks for my boyfriend. I love just running it through my hands. I also like cotton such as Lily's Sugar 'n Cream line or Ty-Dy by... I can't think of the name right now.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
As of right now? An old case for glasses for my crochet hooks, and a plastic bag for my di-point knitting needles. I always intend to make something where I can carry and organize them all in, but I hesitate to buy something at the store because it often has only one place for a size hook, and often I have doubles of my favorite hooks because I want the hook to match the project. Sometimes I want aluminum for a project that I'm churning out, but if I'm doing it more for the pleasure, I might get out one of my beautiful wooden shaped hooks so I can more enjoy the process.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I've been crocheting since I was six or seven (I'm 21 now) and while I prefer to do more simple, clean lined projects, I would consider myself advanced in crochet.

Knitting is another matter. I learned to knit when I was ten, but never enjoyed it as much as I did crochet, probably because by that time I was rather quick at crochet, and awkward with my knitting needles. Recently, in the last six months, I've slowly picked up knitting again. I started with a pair of socks, which turned out well but large, because I do continental style knitting (feeding from my left hand almost like crochet) instead of the throwover method, and I've found that my gauge is a bit looser so I have to choose a smaller needle than the pattern dictates (sometimes I'll even go two sizes down).

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Yes! I love to read, but oftentimes don't have the money to buy the books I want, so I go on Amazon and pretend to shop by adding things to my wish list. It's like drinking water when you're hungry... eventually I'll eat but I can hold it off until I have some time.

It's located at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/1NQLYUYXB2SEJ

5. What's your favorite scent?
I don't wear perfumes, but I do put vanilla bean sachets into my drawers (especially my sock ones). I like vanilla because it's subtle. I also like the Bath and Bodyworks lemon handsoap. A lot.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
I do have a sweet tooth, but I've been on Weight Watchers for the last two years and have lost 55 lbs, so I humbly request that candy be sent in very small quantities because I have very little willpower. Given that, I love sugar free york peppermint patties, Weight Watchers bars and frutties, dried fruit (dried strawberries and kiwi are my favorites)

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I do spin, if badly, but I still enjoy it. I've never had formal instruction on how to spin, which I think might be part of it. I have a single drop spindle which is rather worn and well loved, and occasionally I'll treat myself to some fiber.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I like country, oldies, musical soundtracks, folk music, irish music and am open to almost anything.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I tend to like blues and greens when choosing yarn, though I look better in brighter colors. I wear a lot of pink, light yellow, jewel tones, and bright blues. I'm not fond of muted colors, tans, dark greens, etc.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I'm the oldest of four children. I don't have any pets, except for my youngest brother. *wink* I'm a senior at Davidson College (our basketball team rocks!).

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
I occasionally wear scarves if they're soft and warm. I love mittens, socks and hats (thought I don't always look good wearing hats). I've actually haven't owned a poncho since the winter of ninth grade (it was black and I was trying to be a goth which lasted until the spring) so I think I would wear one if I had one.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Well, I haven't been seriously knitting for all that long, so I've been doing simple things- socks for the most part. But I don't normally do socks in sock yarn unless it is on the thicker side of sock yarn (or worsted) because I'm still slower at knitting than crochet and I do like to feel like I'm making progress. Thing sock yarn feels much too SLOW.

13. What are you knitting right now?
Socks for my boyfriend. Thick yarn not made for socks, but they're turning out good.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
I do, mostly because none of my friends are as crafty as I am, so I don't get them.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? If it's crochet I like aluminum (Boye- I'm picky), though I already have a large collection. I also love wood for crochet needles, as long as they're well polished.

Knitting needles I have full sets in in 6" and 10" di-point needles (from 0-10.5) I also have lots of plastic circular, but I don't like the feel of them so I don't use them that much. For knitting I prefer bamboo, because I need a little bit more friction. Aluminum tends to just slip too much for me.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
No to both, and god how I'd love them.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
Four years. It's my christmas/summer ripple crochet blanket, because those are the only times I work on it.

18. What is your favorite holiday?
Halloween and St. Patrick's day. It's a tie, and each of them happens in a different semester so it counts. Why? because for both of them I dress up and go all-out. My father is a Shriners clown by the name of Shamrock, so it's rather necessary that I dress up on St. Patrick's day.

19. Is there anything that you collect?
My Little Ponies... but not in a serious way. More like I'll be in the store and see one I like and buy it. It goes back to when I was a kid.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I don't have a subscription to any magazines, much to my disappointment. As for patterns, I tend to like to play, or wing-it. Patterns are guidelines. I'm very visual, so I like to look at crochet things at the store so I can copy them. Recently I got a book of different advanced crochet stitches that I love (blanking on the name and it's still in my boxes that I have yet to unpack from college) to just play and experiment with.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
Hairpin lace.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
Yes, I've knit socks. I also crochet them though it doesn't work as well.

Foot Measurements?: Heel to toe: just short of nine inches. Base of little toe to bottom of my arch, where the heel begins: just shy of four and three quarters inches. Widest part of my foot: four inches.

23. When is your birthday? April 24th

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?
Yes. jecrowley

Dinosaur Tail

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Originally uploaded by jenamberautumn

So my girlfriend doesn't know it yet, but for graduation I made her a tail. We have an inside joke where we call her (hername)-saur, and make videos and write articles on lj about this mysterious being's living habits which mysteriously mirror a college students'.

Random note: the color of my girlfriend's hair is the same color as the dark pink.

So she graduated a couple of weeks ago, and since then I've been working on her graduation gift. Having looked on the internet and not finding ANY patterns for crocheting a dinosaur tail (there were a few knit ones I came across, but I did not find them remarkable) I decided to make my own.

I started from the tip, and worked in a spiral, increasing by two every third stitch and alternating with a row of no increase, repeat. About a fourth of the way up, this changed to increase every fifth single crochet for a round and then two rounds of single crochet, repeat. Finally, around where the third spike ends (from the tip up) increased every tenth single crochet in a round, and then had with three rounds of no increase, repeat.

As you can see, this was a very approximate pattern, which resulted in a little too much increase at the beginning of the fourth spike up from the tip. Still, I was rather pleased. However, when held up to the butt, the tail looked more like a random pink cone sticking out of the butt. I felt it needed to be angled down.

So then, I employed the same method I use when turning my crochet socks on the heel, except this was much bigger and less drastic. I crochet halfway across, turned, and went back. The next time I went across, I picked up one stitch from the opposite side, and then Crochet two.

It was very... feel along as you go type pattern, which is what I like best. There was also lots of unraveling involved. So finally, I angled the tail down enough that I was happy.

The second step was a giant coaster that was worked in a spiral and then sewed to close up the tail and enable me to stuff it.

Finally, I made the spikes. These were done in a single crochet square which was then folded into a triangle and single crochet together. The first spike is one round, the second three rounds, the fourth five rounds, and the last two seven rounds. They were then sewn onto the body. Looking back, I probably should have sewn those on, then attached the giant coaster and stuffed it.

But still, it turned out well.

What do you think?

PS: Model is my sister.

Attack of the Daleks!

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Originally uploaded by jenamberautumn

Finals almost killed me, but I promise I'll be posting some more. Here we have the two Daleks from Dr. Who that my two girlfriends asked me to make for them. The first, short one I did off a pattern that my girlfriend found. While a decent pattern, a combination of slightly different yarn, and unclear directions made it a struggle. So after studying pictures of Daleks, I made the second one, which I feel came out better.

In the second one I doubled up the yarn, and switched colors for the black parts. I feel it has a more solid, Dalek-y feel. I also enjoyed it much more.

Let me know what you think, and which one you like more!

Granny Style Decorating

Since I'm on a Granny Square bent, I came across this picture and thought I would share. What an idea to decorate! I love all the bright colors, and their use of borders on both the squares and on the shapes in general.

Killer Crochet- literally

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Take a look at this. "Killer hooked on crocheting as a 'small part' of atonement"

According to the article, in this state prison the inmates have learned how to crochet. However, "The scarves, caps and afghans go to charities, but victim advocates discount the inmates' intentions."

Personally, I have to think it's gotta be pretty darn boring in prison, and no matter what their intentions are, if they're doing it for a good cause, nobody should complain. These men meet for three hours a week in the prison recreation room to crochet.

Of course, the crochet hooks get locked up after class is over. Probably a good thing, even if the hooks ARE plastic.



EDIT: Later today I came across a second article. Juvenile offenders start life over with a crochet hook | csmonitor.com

Again, I think this is a wonderful idea. When you give a person a purpose- especially one that helps other people, not only are you helping th community, but you're encouraging people to get involved and invested in the community. And there something about watching something beautiful and filled with purpose grown in your hands. That is such a charge.

These youth are in the detention facility for the same reason the inmates above are in jail- attempted murder, murder, arson, gun running, drug sales... and more. They would be felons if they were old enough.

I love the quote one of the boys says, that I think nails this right on the head. "Crocheting makes me feel good," says Timma Johnstone, a pony-tailed, 19-year-old arsonist who burned a field "because I was mad at someone. When you're here you can calm down."

A lot of times, when I'm feeling angry, stressed, or frustrated corcheting is something to grounds me. It's like a simple type of mediation- repetitive movement, and the slowly growing creation. From something as simple as a blanket, to a complicated sweater crocheting teaches discipline. It also teaches persistence- this is one time in life where if you make a mistake, you can just unravel it and start over.

So what do you think? Does it help?

Because it's just that cool

Go check out Revelry if you haven't yet. It's a great site for those of you yarn lovers out there. It's a mix between a social networking site, a place to brag about your projects, share them with others, catalog the projects you want to do, have done, and really like. It's neat, and even better, it's free!

Right now it's still in the Beta Stage, but still, it's pretty damn cool.

Go take a look.

Angsty Crochet

Ok, so it really isn't that angsty, but sometimes you don't want a sweater in bright colors, or you have a friend that is more of the... Goth persuasion. Or maybe Emo. (Though my understanding of Emo is a little less clear so don't quote me on that)

Still, there isn't that much out there. After digging quite a bit, I came up with these helpful resources for your viewing pleasure.

Anticraft. This site is quite wonderful, and they recently put out a book to go along with the site. While not all crochet or knit (they have some really great crafts too) it's full of dark colored clothing and spiderwebs. My favorite function about this site is how knowledgeable they are about their craft. While the knitting I do tends to be quite secondary to my crochet, they know what their talking about. Their magazine they put out is always full of some great ideas to spur your imagination. Also, they are sympathetic to people of the more generous persuasion, so they always note when a pattern is good for different body types.

Rather unrelated, but still great, there is in Utah a Goth Crochet Club. You can adopt bats. It's worth going to check out, even if you don't live in Utah.

Ok, and I totally admit it, this is rather off topic (though not REALLY) but here's a great pattern for a mini boa. *drools* Boas.