3 1/2 Scarves

I haven't continued with my Craftsy Crochet Lab class this week, but only because I have someone teaching me in person and she, unfortunately, is going back home this week.  I have to take advantage of her mad crochet skills while I still can!  I still love and recommend the Craftsy class and am planning on taking more as my skills progress.

So far I've made three scarves using single stitch crochet.  Because it's the only one I currently know.  I'm getting used to how to hold the yarn and the hook (there's no one right way, trust me), as well as figuring out which style of hook I like.  Because I hold far too much tension in my hands, I prefer hooks that have a thicker handle.  There are a variety out there, but I chose from the slim selection at my local crafts store.  My current favorite is by The Crochet Dude.  I love this hook's thick, padded handle.  At some point, I'd still like to try the Addi ones that have a wide, curved handle.  I can work with the standard skinny hooks, but I simply prefer not to.  I know that you can get rubbery grips to slip over them and I've heard there are adapters (I guess you would call them) for people who have arthritis and need a much larger, rounder handle, so I'll have to check all of that out, as well. 

I chose to try a few different yarns, as well, to see how I feel about them.  When I first started, the only one I could use was the Caron One Pound I originally bought.  The acrylic is a bit scratchy and I have no desire to wear it (super sensitive skin), but it holds its shape really well and doesn't split, making it a perfect yarn to learn with.  I made a few samples and then a long scarf the acrylic and decided that it's going to be the yarn I turn to whenever I learn anything knew in crochet.  So when I go back to my Craftsy class and do the first project, which I believe is going to be a crocheted electronics case, I'll use the acrylic to learn on.  My experience making the scarves was that after enough practice on the acrylic, I felt more comfortable using the Bamboo Ewe I'd bought, then trying out a random lone skein of Noro Cash Iroha that I found in one of my moving boxes from my mom's wealth of yarn that got left behind when she moved to Italy.  The Cash Iroha is the silkiest I've come across in the many boxes of yarn I have in my garage, but it isn't the easiest to work with.  But the Bamboo Ewe is only soft in comparison to the acrylic and some skeins of wool I found.  Another type I'm favoring for its feel alone is alpaca, but the particular skeins I have are very thin.

Here are the three scarves I completed this past week:


On the left, in pale blue, is the Caron One Pound, which is 100% acrylic.  Great for learning on, but not very soft.
     In the middle, in a silvery grey, is the Stitch Nation Bamboo Ewe, which is bamboo and wool.  Softer than the acrylic by far, a little more stretchy and plied so it's not the easiest to work with when starting out.  It is not, however, hard to work with in general.  I will definitely be getting more of this.
     The dark multicolored one on the right is the Noro Cash Iroha, which is cashmere blend, wool, cashmere and nylon.  It's luxuriously soft.  I want to make a blanket out of this stuff, but it would be a pretty dang expensive blanket.    
     I'm also making a scarf for one of my friend's kids out of the alpaca I found and will post photos once it's done.    

     I'm proud of myself for having already created a few things with the small amount of knowledge I have (huge thanks to Maria for teaching me and my mom for buying me the Craftsy Crochet Lab class), but I'm not actually finished with them.

     Aside from a variety of stitches and patterns, I need to learn how to block my projects once they're done and I need to learn more about the various yarns that are out there - don't even get me started on patterns, embellishments and using more than one skein on a project!

Right now you can take a free mini-class on Craftsy called Know Your Wool.  This seems like a pretty advanced class, but you never know what you'll glean and it's FREE.

You CAN'T Kill Rosemary

Wanna bet?

I have discovered, aside from the fact that I can obviously kill any plant, that putting those that need a lot of water in the same planter as those that don't...yeah, it doesn't work out so well.  The basil and mint have really struggled between being kept indoors during the worst of our wind storms (they really don't love the air conditioning and I'm not willing to compromise my comfort that much) and some seriously withering heat, even though the "heat wave" has been over for a while.  I have to keep a close eye on them to make sure they're not wilting, but a little bit of wilt seems inevitable these days.  And we're not even to August yet.  Ugh.  Most of the time the rain takes care of these two (below), I just have to make sure I don't get lazy and completely forget to water them on dry days.

I was going to yank the dead rosemary plants (there are two there in the middle) out of the planter, but then I realized there is a small problem with that...

...The mint has migrated into the space underneath both rosemary plants.  Cute lil mints!

So, I simply cut the rosemary down to give the cute little mint babies room to take over.  I guess that's good news mixed in with the bad.  Other good news is that my thornless blackberry has recovered from the shock of being tossed about the back deck by last month's derecho.  I've been going out to remove the dead parts of the plant now and again (and did more after taking these pictures) and keeping an eye on it, making sure it's well watered and not falling out of the planter (it lost a lot of dirt originally).

And now it's got a nice long green, healthy tendril.  It's unlikely we'll have a single berry this summer (I'll feel lucky if the poor thing has any blooms next summer), but I'm just glad it's not dead.  Unfortunately, I will need to buy a tall trellis to weave it into (complete absence of forethought here).

This makes me really happy.

No Crafty for Kitty

It's official: I can actually crochet.  Granted, I can only single crochet at this point, but a few days ago I could only manage a slipknot and a wobbly foundation chain.  Now I can make really wobbly scarves instead!

Like this!

It started off really well, though I had no idea what I was actually making, until I realized that I hadn't been counting stitches (didn't Meg warn me about this?!). 

I know, Meg.  I know.

 My second try was definitely better.  Not fantastic, but better.  Let me tell you, counting stitches is really hard when you're watching The Departed.  Hallmark movies are much easier to tune out.  I stopped everything I was working on tonight because of Political Animals - you cannot craft with that show on.  If you haven't watched it, put down your crochet hook, knitting needles, glue gun, paintbrush, or what-have-you and do it.

Aside from the online crochet class on Craftsy (which I still love to pieces), I got help from a friend thanks to a Craft Day we had at my house.  I will eternally owe Maria for showing me how easy single crochet is.  On this fateful day, my Uncrafty catchphrase was also created and then echoed with much enthusiasm by my friend's daughter: No Crafty for Kitty!!!

Sweet little hands crocheting (or?)

Soon to come, an actual scarf.  Maybe two.

Crochet Lab on Craftsy

I have just started my first crochet class online at Craftsy: Crochet Lab with Vickie Howell (Basic Techniques and Patterns).  First impression:  I heart Vickie Howell.  She's just the right amount of quirky and perky and I love the stuff she makes.  She is now tied in my heart with Debbie Stoller of Stitch 'n Bitch. 

Here is what I get along with my class (for $15):

• Access to the class at any time, as many times and for as long as I want.
• Ability to skip around within the class sections, do 30 second repeats (perfect for following along) or pause the video.
• The ability to ask questions and participate in discussions with my classmates and instructor.
• Ability to create notes, which will be bookmarked on the video in my account.
• And access to printable class materials.

I came to the realization that I need a sort of starter-yarn (my mom's stuff is way too fancy), so I'm going to Joann and Michael's today to pick up a skein.  I'm hoping to find Stitch Nation's Bamboo Ewe in a light blue.  And I'm considering picking up whatever size hook it recommends, even though I have a set, because I want to try one with an ergonomic grip.  My right hand is crazy sore from crocheting last night.

Sunday is Crochet Day, so hopefully I'll have a sample of my awfulness to show you then!

Embracing the Suck

If you haven't already figured it out from my last post, I have a serious problem with being bad at things.  When I said that I wanted to already know how to crochet, Meg called me on it, telling me that my perfectionism was going to be the end of me (I'm paraphrasing).  She is correct.  I am a perfectionist and it is hindering my progress.  


You would think that wanting things "just so" would be a good thing, but more often than not I have the tendency to stick with the things that I know I'm already good at.  I defend myself by saying that I'm improving upon those things (which is true to some extent), but I'm doing myself the great disservice of not broadening my horizons.  If I want to learn something new, I have to be okay with the fact that I'm going to totally suck at it for a while.  


The reason I created the Uncrafty blog was to encourage women like me to embrace their creativity and learn a craft they had always been interested in.  To stop thinking that it's too late.  To not be intimidated by those people who have obviously been doing it a long time.  In my experience, quite a few of those talented crafters love the opportunity to share what they've learned.  


Mary has, on many occasions, attempted to teach me something new.  Looking back (after talking to Meg today) I realize that my fear of doing it wrong often got in the way.  Luckily, Mary's cooking lessons did not go to waste (I frequently use her recipes).  She also tried to teach me how to knit.  I sucked.  My first project was laughable and I didn't enjoy doing it, so I stopped.  But now I need to get past my insecurities and my need for perfection and just enjoy this experience.  Especially if there is a chance that some other uncrafty people will join in the discussion at some point (that's totally a hint, you guys).


To help me on my way, Meg has offered up a picture of her first crochet project for all of us to enjoy.  The title of this project is "Cape or Baby Blanket?"  Awesome.

She also included a picture of Orlando Weeks.  There doesn't need to be a reason for that.


Meg and Mary have both inspired me with their creativity and fearlessness when it comes to taking on something new.  Mary knits, crochets, paints, makes jewelry, cooks, bakes, sings, writes, makes whackadoo things with polymer clay and sews her own clothes (because everyone in Genoa is five to ten inches shorter than her). Meg bakes, cooks, sings, crochets, laminates like a mo' fo', writes, handmakes cards and is learning to play ukulele.  Both women have completely supported my creativity, even my uncraftiness, and instead of being intimidated by their awesomeness, I feel inspired.  Anyone up to embracing the suck with me?


Crafty and Uncrafty folk:  Do you have a story about, or a photo of, a first craft project that sucked real bad?  Post stories in the comments or email us and we will post it for you.

Hallmark Holiday Crochet

I have something to admit to you.  You already know that I am the uncraftiest of them all.  What you may not know is that there is a special place in my heart for the occasional Hallmark Channel movie.  And I love Christmas movies even more.  This is most likely because my dad celebrates Chanukah and my mom spent several years ruining Christmas by decorating our tree super-80s-Southwestern style (long live the Christmas Cactus!).    


A few days ago, I decided (after much encouragement from Mary) to spend my day learning the basics of crochet while watching Hallmark Channel Christmas movies - because they know me well enough to realize that I will totally watch cheesy Christmas movies in the middle of summer.  That's how I roll.


I started out with a pack of crochet hooks from Michael's and a ball of yarn I found in the leftovers from my mom's storage unit (I have a lot of her yarn, but this one is a spare).  I only have one book on crochet, but it has a small how-to section in the back, so it got me started enough for me to figure out if this whole crochet thing was really going to work for me.  Which isn't to say that I haven't learned how to do the first step (a foundation chain) before.  I know I've made one, but I can't even remember who helped me with it, so remembering how to hold the tension (the way you hold the yarn) didn't go so great.  Actually that was one of my big issues before.  I'm assuming that practice is the only thing that is going to change that.  The pictures of the book and hooks, below, are product links to Amazon for the exact items I got.  For something I am NOT going to make, click here.

I started out with a US I9 5.5mm crochet hook (the pink one), because...I have no idea what I'm doing and it seemed like a good idea at the time.  I decided to start by making a few foundation chains (recommended by Mary).  I just watched the video embedded in the last sentence...I totally didn't do that...  Here's a vagapple for you...

The first chain I made (with the pink hook) is the longer one below (in other words, not the one with the blue hook, which you probably already figured out) and it is obviously not a very good chain.  It won't lay flat because the stitches are uneven, but I hadn't done this in a while, so I wasn't too dismayed.  I decided to switch to the blue one, a US H8 (ha!) 5mm hook.  And no, not because I hate crochet, I hadn't gotten that joke yet.  I just wanted to try a slightly smaller hook with this yarn to see if it made a difference.  It felt much more comfortable and the chain turned out better (it lays flat and only the first few stitches are uneven).  I'm going to need a lot of practice and better instructions.

Part of me really doesn't want to do the learning part of this, I just wanna make stuff - I want to already know.  This is why I gave up knitting (I really hated that).  But I like crochet.  I feel more comfortable with a crochet hook than with knitting needles (there are two of them, it's so confusing!...shush) and I have all these boxes of fantastic yarn (which I won't touch until I know what I'm doing).  So let's make it official - I am really going to try to learn how to crochet.  

To keep me from being half-assed about it (and because she loves me), Mary bought me an online crochet class from Craftsy!  Craftsy offers online video courses in a wide variety of crafts, from Artisan Bread Making to The Art of Cloth Dyeing.  There are several crochet classes available, including two beginners classes.  I am going to sign up for Crochet Lab with Vickie Howell, which goes over all the details from choosing tools to learning stitches.  My ulterior motive is to someday take the Amigurumi: Design Your Own Monster course.  Duh.

I am off to sign up and will post more details about the class and my progress (let's hope there will be some of that) later in the week.  Actual crafting, you guys!  Crazy!

It's All About the Pickles

I am not a fan of onions.  Bermuda, pearl, cipollini, vidalia, red, scallions - how I loathe them.  But as I learned to cook, I realized they were sometimes required for complex flavors that I loved, so I have learned to incorporate the occasional mellow-flavored into a meal (caramelized or chopped so fine they might as well have been juiced).  I still cannot imagine eating them raw and I do try to avoid them when I can (especially if they overpower a dish) and that is why, for a long time, I avoided potato salad.  

Potato salad purchased at a store is pretty much guaranteed to have onions in it (sometimes even red ones - my least favorite).  Most potato salad recipes call for at least scallions, if not two kinds of onion, and most people I know prefer to have onions in it because it adds a lot of flavor.

I am happy to say that I recently found a recipe online that, once converted by my anti-onionness, can now be proclaimed The Ultimate Onion Haters' Potato Salad.  Ahem.  I ignored the not-very-savory-looking photo on the Taste of Home page and concentrated on the ingredients; eliminating what I wouldn't use (or didn't have) and adding more of what I would use (or did have).  What interested me in this particular recipe were the use of eggs and pickles.  The eggs because I liked the idea of combining egg salad with potato salad.  The dill pickles because they add a nice zesty flavor that keeps you from missing the onions (for those of you who enjoy them).



Ingredients:
3 pounds of your favorite potato (I used russets, skin on), boiled and chopped
7 hard-cooked eggs, chopped (I boiled the potatoes and eggs together, taking the eggs out early, but you certainly don't have to)
5 medium dill pickles, chopped
1 cup mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip)
5 teaspoons prepared mustard (I used Nathan's Original Coney Island Deli Mustard)
1/4 cup dill pickle juice
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Salt and Pepper, to taste


Optional:
2 celery ribs, chopped (for extra crunch without changing the flavor too much, with the eggs in there, this is recommended)
Paprika (if you want to make it a deviled-egg potato salad - I can't wait to make this version!)
Hot sauce (try not to go too vinegar-y, since the pickles will already make it very tangy)


Boil the eggs and potatoes to whatever firmness or softness you please.  I like my hard-boiled eggs to be very firm (easier to cut, and hold together in the salad better) and my potatoes to not be too tender (same idea and don't forget that they'll keep cooking a bit once they're out of the pot).  Allow both to thoroughly cool.


Mix the mayo, mustard and black pepper together before adding it to the eggs and potatoes.  This will allow for an even coating.  If you want to add more mayo, do it before adding the pickle juice (which, added to a dollop of mayo, will produce mayo-blobs and no one wants that), but I don't recommend adding more than another 1/2 a cup of mayo.  Once it's coated to your liking, add the chopped pickles and the pickle juice.  Mix well before seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.  


You can eat the salad right away, but leaving it in the fridge for at least an hour (I like to let them hang out altogether overnight) will help the flavors marry.

This recipe brought to you by the Anti-Onion Brigade.