Since Erin and I got way off topic in the Im not your inspiration thankyouverymuch strand. I figured I move over.

The biggest reason why I learned to crochet is so I can repair my grandmother final afghan. And hopefully make another one like it. Since I already know once it's repaired it'll be used a few times and then stored safely away.

My grandmother's probably upset that I would even dream to store it, ever the practical lady, but I'd like one of my grand babies to enjoy it and fear it's a bit to delicate a construction to hand down without attempts at preservation.

To whit I can already hear her telling me beauty with purpose is never long lived so enjoy it and bury it with pride.

Ah grandmothers morbid modern day confusiouses

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Is that a knitted feather & fan afghan?

My dad knits. He's made something similar. Knits it in strips, and then sews them together.





^This is one of the afghans my dad knitted a couple of years ago.

That's IT!, I could have sworn my aunt said she crocheted it but on much closer inspection of the stitches you're right, likely why I couldn't find the pattern under any crochet sites still need the hook to fix the holes though, but being done in strips like that it's small enough I could knit one.

Thank you so much! Been trying not to pull it out much until I can fix it, but now I should be able to start its copy just as soon as I can get some more yarn. It really is a lovely pattern. And you just skipped me ahead probably a year or two on making it

Just realized though.... I didn't need to learn crochet :doh:

Aw well, it's fun too.

No, crochet is always useful. What if you want to crochet an edging onto the afghan? (I crocheted the edging onto the afghan my dad knitted)

I like knitting, but I totally love crochet. I can't wait to get my yarn in the mail now. And then I'm going to buy more yarn, because I just decided that I want to crochet another pineapple shawl from a 70yr old crochet doily pattern that I've used about 20 or 30 times to make shawls.

I learned to knit back in 2006 when I had my first really big MS flare. About a day or two before I developed optic neuritis, I was watching a tv show called "Knit One, Purl Two". It was on HGTV I think. They had celebrities come on that show occasionally to knit with the host. The episode had the actress Marina Sirtis in it (she played Deanna Troi on "Star Trek: The Next Generation").

The host was teaching Sirtis how to do the purl stitch. I watched her do that, and all of a sudden, I thought I could do it myself. So, I had these two gigantic knitting needles my aunt had given me once, that I pretty much only used as back scratchers. I had to do a crochet cast on to get the cast on done. But, I managed to teach myself the knit stitch. How I managed that after watching someone learn how to purl. I'll never know.

Went upstairs to show my dad. He confirmed that I was doing the knit stitch. He knits combination style. I was apparently knitting continental. About four years ago, I had a flare that made my left hand numb at the middle and ring fingers. Which ended up making it hard for me to crochet or knit, because those are the fingers that I use to wrap the yarn.

So I taught myself how to knit and purl English style. I'm back to knitting continental, but I still purl English. When I want to make something in garter, I just use purl stitch for it.

I've made a lot of scarves, and dishcloths. I've attempted to make socks, but still haven't figured out how to do the socks.

Have you tried a sock loom? I have one but haven't really played with it, though I've done loom knitting before, it comes with a cd for instructions, not that I've watched it yet either lol.

Such a procrastinator, I swear. Apparently my life's motto is why do today what you can do next year . Just like the two knitting machines I have gathering dust.... Hmmm I really need to get to the store and pick up some yarn....

But loom knitting is really simple, part of the reason why I know I can put off playing with it, though it seems more like a combination of crochet and weaving than knitting, but it comes off looking like a knit a bit weird, but fun.

yeah, I tried loom knitting. I ended up giving the looms to my nieces.

for sock knitting, I've managed to learn how to do the figure 8 cast on, for toe up socks. It's just after that, I can't figure out the rest of the construction for the sock. Maybe someday?

Has anyone tried the cotton yarn, like sugar and cream... My hubby's ditching me for a week next month and I am in desperate need of sit down projects.

The last time he left me for a week it took me nearly two months to recover from my OCD cleaning fit... When the hubby's away the sponges will play . Spring cleaning in this house requires adult supervision.

Needless to say I need something to keep me from fixating on the dancing dust bunnies. Now I love love LOVE working with wool, stay away from it for babies just because of potential allergies and nothing sadder than a beautiful warm and soft baby blanket gathering dust in a corner.

But my husband is also allergic to wool so making a beautiful fluffy afghan out of wool for our bed... It's one way to tell him he's sleeping on the couch and neither of us like acrylic that much. I don't mind crocheting with it but dislike greatly knitting with it.

So that brings me to the uncharted territory of cotton yarn. I've used cotton thread and it comes out really stiff, not scratchy, but not really 'soft' it's great for baby bonnets, booties and dish rags but couldn't see cuddling under it.

The cotton yarn doesn't seem like it will come out as stiff, but does seem rather heavy. Like if I made an afghan out of it I would need a small army to wrestle it on to the bed, and have dreams of being caught in a fisherman's net.

Has anyone done a large scale project using it? Is it as weighty as it appears? Or is it just my woolen prejudice shining through? I just hate the idea of paying almost a dollar an ounce to try it and find that it's completely and totally wrong for the project I'd like to do.

I crocheted a shawl out of a cone of cotton yarn that I got at Walmart. Pretty sure the brand was Sugar & Cream.



The pattern I used was originally a doily pattern. Think it was published in the 1940s. It was originally supposed to be made with size 10 thread. (thicker than sewing thread) and was supposed to be put on chairs, to protect the fabric of a chair from all the oils that men used to put in their hair. So, originally the pattern wasn't very big at all.

If you make it with worsted weight yarn, or that crochet cotton, and use a very large crochet hook. It comes out to be an adult sized shawl.

I've made about twenty or thirty of these shawls. Most with acrylic yarn. The one in the picture tho, I used crochet cotton. It came out slightly heavier than ones made with acrylic yarn. It wasn't stiff. And it softened up when I put it in the dryer. It might have softened tho because it's not a solid pattern. It has openwork in it.



I just knitted a dishcloth with some Sugar & Cream yarn about a week ago. It turned out pretty nice, and it seems to be soft. That yarn didn't come in a cone tho. I bought individual balls of yarn.

That does look like the sugar and cream brand...thanks so much for sharing, I think it might work how I want, and the hubby will be happy knowing I don't have a weapon to use against him