I am an elementary school media specialist (librarian) and a new mom. My daughters (born 12/27/2010 and 6/27/2013) are teaching me all kinds of new things every day. One thing they have taught me is that sometimes, there just isn't room for much else besides learning. If you're not sleeping, eating, talking, blogging, or whatever, it might just be because you're TOO BUSY LEARNING!

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Crafty people have cool organizing stuff.

My mother-in-law is teaching me how to crochet. It's something I've always kind of wanted to do. I even tried to teach myself how as a child, but it's hard to learn the basics from books. I ended up getting frustrated and quitting.

Like many new hobbies, crochet can also tempt one to spend more money than is absolutely necessary on cool new stuff. And cool new stuff abounds in craft stores. Much of the cool stuff has the sole function of organizing the craft stuff. Nancy, my mother-in-law, took me shopping recently and bought me this cool crochet stuff organizer:

Someday, when I have more than one hook, they will all fit in here, along with the super-neat-o folding miniature scissors (which I love) and anything else I can think of. This thing rolls up and fits in my crochet bag. Fortunately, I did not need to buy a bag because I am a teacher, and canvas bags multiply like rabbits in my closet. However, had I needed a really nifty bag with specialized compartments just for crochet, the craft store would have been happy to provide it.

To my delight and probably future financial demise, WalMart also has a decent yarn and craft section full of the basics and the not-so-basics.

I know I have at least one crocheting reader. I'm looking for a good blog or two that might give tips and patterns for beginners if you have any suggestions.

And now, just because I'm so proud, here are some gratuitous crochet pictures.

This is my first completed project -- a dish cloth for which I learned at least three new stitches by reading a book:

And here are the granny squares that will eventually find themselves in a blanket, maybe for my unborn (and not-yet-conceived and not-to-be-conceived-in-the-near-future) child because it will probably take me years to finish:

I love the yarn I'm using on these. It's so soft, I want to crochet just so I can touch the yarn. (Tactile much?)

What are your favorite craft organizers? Anything you bought for your hobby because it was cool, only to discover you could have lived without it? Also, feel free to tell me how beautiful my stuff is for a beginner. :)

4 comments:

Kimberly said...

That's a pretty impressive puff stitch you've got going there.

My favorite craft thing is my bag by Lexie Barnes. It was a Christmas gift from my parents:
http://jossisahottie.com/kibathediva/?p=14

It is vastly superior to my fifty thousand teacher bags, all of which become bottomless pits wherein I lose my crafty bits. I live and die by this bag. But it's very spendy.

Yarn storage can be a problem. I'm using some of those wire crates you featured in your laundry closet post. (We're actually using those all over the house; they store both my yarn and paper goods, plus all of our DVDs and a couple of the speakers for our surround sound system, plus random books in Will's office.)

Crochet Pattern Central is good for tutorials and patterns. I read lots of crochet blogs, but they're mainly designer blogs. They don't feature a lot of tips or anything. I guess I am an advanced beginner or intermediate crocheter, and I'm entirely self-taught, so my course of action is just to get a book. I can recommend books!

Unknown said...

wow, you are so much more advanced than I am crocheting! I can do single, double, and triple... and that's it. But I can make striped blankets that way. :)

I still use my teacher-bags... especially the ones with pockets on them. The pocket holds the needles/hooks, and the bag holds the yarn and project.

Sonja Foust said...

Please PLEASE let me bequeath to you all the crocheting crap I bought when I tried to teach myself how to crochet and got frustrated and quit. I have pretty yellow yarn and LOTS and LOTS of hooks. They are yours. I will bring them to you. Then I don't have to look at them and remember how much my crocheting FAILS. :) Your squares are pretty.

Joanna said...

Either that or I will show you the basic stuff, and you probably can go back and teach yourself if you want to...