Leggi questo post in: Italiano
I mentioned in my pom pom yarn scarf post a couple of months ago that I was participating in a Facebook knit along/crochet along to create two hats. The event was created by Italians to better learn how to read an English pattern, which wasn’t an issue for me but I participated to get more experience knitting and crocheting a hat, which is still pretty new to me.
I first completed the crochet hat, called the Voyages Beanie. This was really easy and quick to complete, even for a beginner crocheter like myself. I actually found a mistake in the pattern which somehow nobody had every pointed out to the author, but she changed it when I contacted her. I decided to make it in shades of blue with an ombre effect and ended up adding another row at the bottom to make it bigger. I really like this hat and have gotten a ton of compliments on it (and an order for another from my husband!). You can see more info on this project of mine in my Ravelry notebook. The only thing is that I don’t tend to wear decorative hats, as I prefer a hat in the winter that will cover my ears and forehead more to keep me warmer. But it’s still a really great pattern and I can’t wait to get working on some more of the author’s crochet patterns, like this chain necklace. How awesome is that?!
It took me longer to get started with the knit hat project, a beret named Simple and Sweet. I had a hard time choosing the right yarn (and then finally found the right type of all-wool yarn that matched my coat), then the right needles, then the right gauge. I started it over and over again. I didn’t have any problems with it at all after that until the very end, right before making the i-cord. I should’ve switched to double pointed needles sooner instead of trying to attempt to finish it off with circular needles.
You can really see in this picture of the hat being blocked on a plate (here’s a good tutorial on how to block a beret) how the stitches are all stretched out right below the i-cord. However this mistake was only due to my inexperience, not any fault of the pattern. I do, however, prefer a larger beret, so I’m considering making another (because I just love berets!) and changing the gauge. Here’s more info on the project from my Ravelry notebook.
If you take a closer look at this picture above, you can see another little project that I did recently and will be sharing sometime soon! Can you tell what is it?
Now I’m taking a course in freeform crochet. It’s really fun to learn new techniques and the fact that I’m a beginner at crochet doesn’t really matter because there are no mistakes in freeform! Here are some parts of a work in progress (Don’t mind the crappy picture. I took it with my phone really quickly to ask my teacher for help!). These, as well as other pieces, will be put all together to create a shawl, which I will of course share once it’s finished. Are you on Ravelry? Go befriend me there! I’d love to see your work!
Question of the day: How did you learn how to knit or crochet?
My mother and grandmother taught me the very basics of knitting one Christmas that I was visiting from Italy, in 2001. For years I only knew how to knit and purl rectangular pieces because I didn’t have anyone to teach me more. This was enough for things like ruffle yarn scarves and beaded necklaces. Then I bought a couple of knitting books and tried to learn more from those, but it was just impossible for me to figure it out from the pictures. For a few months I went to a weekly knit cafè and that was helpful, but I was unable to continue going. Then I joined some knitting groups on Facebook and a different knit cafè and became determined to learn. I then discovered how much easier it was to learn from YouTube videos and I started being able to knit more complex things.
I’d also tried to figure out crochet, but just couldn’t through pictures or YouTube videos. Then, at last year’s Worldwide Knitting in Public Day I met Marilena, who taught me the basics of crochet and walked me through my first freeform piece. Unfortunately I hadn’t written anything down and forgot everything, but after the summer she taught me the basics again and I was able to continue on my own from there. And now she’s my teacher in the freeform class I mentioned above!
