I started to hand sew when I was five and to use a sewing machine when I was nine (a matter of having finally grown tall enough to operate the foot pedal). Somewhere in childhood (can't pin any of them down to an exact age) I learned embroidery and crewel (which is basically larger-scale embroidery with yarn instead of floss), tapestry stitching (including bargello), rug hooking, hand quilting, macramé, cross-stitch and other similar arts. When I was seventeen I taught myself to knit from a how-to pamphlet. Tried tatting in my twenties and liked it but never could find a decent shuttle to really give it a go (the cheapie metal and plastic ones available today are crap). Took a hardanger class in my thirties ... piece o' cake. My preferences are strongly towards knitting and sewing but overall if it involves fibre then I've generally found it easy to learn/master. And remember ... I know from experience that I can not do the thing for years and then dive back in as if I'd only been doing it yesterday.

Except.

Crochet.

For some reason I have never ever been able to retain crochet. I have relearned it from scratch, as if I'd never held a hook before in my life, several times since childhood but it simply won't stick. I can follow instructions, master stitches and truck along just fine (to the point where I've even cranked out a three-dimensional rose) provided I don't stop. If I set it aside to, y'know, get a night's sleep, then when I pick it up again (even if only eight hours later) it's gone. Back to the beginning and relearn as if it's completely new to me. ***sigh***

But the brain changes and benefits from change and hope never dies. So I'm planning on giving it another shot sometime this year. It's a time of an abundance of really good materials and, equally important, really good tools. I've only ever used Aero crochet hooks which are plastic-coated and blunt ... sorta the crochet hook equivalent of kiddie safety scissors (they were the only thing available at the time). So I've placed an order for some DyakCraft hooks (the same folks who produce those high-end knitting needles that I love) because I know from experience that better equipment really does help. I've loads of good quality natural fibre yarns on hand. Now I'm cruising through Ravelry looking for Irish lace patterns because that's the variant of crochet that I've always liked best (hence that three-dimensional rose ... Irish crochet tends towards patterns of often-realistic flowers and leaves, sometimes 3D).

And discovering that for some strange reason some of the nicest Irish lace designs currently available are from Japan: designers, publishers, and language.

This is going to be interesting ...

This entry was originally posted at http://jlsjlsjls.dreamwidth.org/1337231.html. Please comment here or there (using OpenID), whichever is most convenient for you.

Tags: crochet