THE ROUND AFGHAN

Well, it has been a while since my last post. I am finally posting some pictures of some WIPs. I am really excited about this project, since it is my first true, big crocheting project, based upon a pattern for a round washcloth in "Get Hooked." Here are a couple of pictures of my progress thus far, the first one was the amount I accomplished in about an hour the first night, and the second is the amount I have accomplished over the last several nights. I am using a size G hook and Lion Woolease in Wheat, that I had originally bought to make a sweater, but found that I was not crazy about the pattern after knitting the first 2/3 of the back. I have 4 unused skeins, and 1 and 1/2 in the sweater...we will see just how big I want this blanket to be!

I have really enjoyed learning to crochet as it is a craft that my grandmother has done for years. She is very proud and excited that I have learned both knitting and crocheting and has even promised me some of her old crochet hooks when I go to visit in May!

Here are my first ever crocheted objects. My swatch/dishcloths and the round washcloth that inspired my afghan. All using size G hook and Lily's Sugar N Cream cotton.

I will post some more pictures of some knitted FOs that I have done through out the winter, and my other big exciting project, my first sweater, still a WIP...just in time for spring, go figure!!

Habit induced injuries?

So, I know my post title is "Jen Loves 2 Knit", but I have decided to teach myself to crochet as well. My grandmother crochets, and at one point in my childhood, attempted to teach me. I am left handed, she is right. At the time, I didn't have the capacity to attempt to do ANYTHING right handed. However, I now both knit right handed, and am learning to crochet right handed. My grandmother would be proud, and when I see her in May, I will be excited to show her my new talent, and hope to learn more from her. But, here is my dilemma...I have found that when knitting with the smaller size needles I tend to get a callous on my left forefinger from pushing the needle out of the stitch. Not that big of a deal, once the project is complete, the callous goes away. Last night was my first actual attempt at crocheting a real object....a dishcloth. I hold my hook like a knife, not a pencil, and after crocheting about 6 rows, I started to notice the loss of feeling in my right ring finger. Going back to my experience with knitting, I thought, "Well, this will be better in the morning, this must be my sign to put down the hook and yarn for the night" However, this morning, and still now, I continue to have numbness in the tip of my ring finger! I am hoping that it goes away gradually through the day so that I am not disabled from my favorite past times, though perhaps I should just alternate my knitting and crocheting enough to where I keep my injuries at a minimum! Who knew just how dangerous these two activities could be!!! Safe knitting and crocheting to you all.