For the longest time I've been meaning to learn to crochet. I've looked at courses but it always seems difficult to fit them in around family life. Anyway for some reason on Saturday the vague desire to have a little crochet in my life became a pressing need and so I turned to the internet. Ravelry is fabulous as a resource and I found tutorials, free patterns, videos and advice. On saturday evening I made a little sample strip to get me started and give me a feel for the hook but I really wanted to actually have something to show for the effort so I started on this great free pattern from Attic24.
My first ever crochet project is riddled with errors and I've used the wrong stitch (double instead of treble english – all that terminology is still a foreign language to me). I also wish I'd not started in that dark purple as I like the muted gentle tones of the rest of it. But all of that is outweighed by a childlike pleasure in learning something new. I'm having a lot of fun although my hands are hurting more than with knitting – I must be awakening some new muscles!
Anyway, it feels good to have made a start and this old dog is happy to be learning new tricks!
little cotton rabbits 
Be warned… crochet is very addictive. I absolutely love knitting, but crochet seems quite relaxing in that you are doing the same stitch again and again (well I seem to anyway!). It also grows quickly which is a bonus!
Enjoy it Julie xx
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I noticed you’d been ” faveing” things on Ravelry lol. I made a ripple blanket for Milo’s bed from Lucy’s pattern and it’s just so easy …. still prefer my knitting though :-). Your cover is lovely and I don’t mind the purple eye ..
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I find crochet very addictive! I love your colours.
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It looks gorgeous Julie – and crochet is incredibly addictive as Rosy has said above. In fact I can feel my crochet fingers starting to twitch even as I type! Lucy xx
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That is fantastic for a first project!
Remember that the UK treble crochet is the same as the US double crochet… it looks to me that you have done double crochet? (Which is also UK treble – crazy different terminologies!)
I love crocheting, it is what I primarily do, and it definetely uses different muscles to knitting!
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Oh I’m so impressed! Tracy has been teaching me to crochet, but I’m still having a terrible time with the tension. Must keep practicing: your bag gives me hope! K x
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Your first project looks pretty good to me! I am a knitter too, but often wish I could find the time to become more adept at crochet. I think its all in the “muscle memory” and yours must be developing! If it crochet grows quicker than knitting, then its a skill worth having!
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dangerous waters you’re dabbling in ~ fair warning! but it is so much fun…
i like your color combination. hooray for self-teaching! it kind of feels like mental exercise, doesn’t it?
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My grandmother taught me to chain when I was young but never taught me how to do the second row. My first crochet project was amigirumi(?)of a Brain Slug from the Futurama cartoon. I didn’t pick up crochet again for a year. I picked up my hooks a few weeks ago and have been doing my own designs like crazy! Dish cloths, camera socks, glasses cases, etc. It gets addicting! I also have achy hands from crochet, I’m not use to holding and moving that way. I love your project. The colors are beautiful. I didn’t even notice the purple until you mentioned it. 🙂 Ravelry is helpful for SO many things! 🙂
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Well done. That’s an amazing first attempt. I’m so like you in that I want to learn but it keeps getting pushed down my list if things to do. I so wish I had paid more attention when my Nan tried to teach my to crochet any years ago and now it’s too late!
I must take a leaf out of your book, I think, and watch some you tube videos. x
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That’s lovely – my Mum tried to teach me crochet a couple of weeks ago. I am ashamed to say that I quickly gave up as I too found the lingo a bit mind-blowing so I decided to stick with my knitting for now.
Is that Rowan handknit cotton? – one of the projects I am working on at the moment is a blanket and I am knitting with that it is lovely wool.
Davina x
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Oh I love Attic24 and you are working on a project I have been dying to start! alas, i’m up to my eyeballs in another at the moment.
It looks lovely!~
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Looks very good!
If your hands are hurting, you may have hold your hook with to much strength, it can happens in the begining. Try to relax a bit! 😉
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That looks amazing!I too keep meaning to start but never seem to fit it in around life with 2 kids under 3. You have inspired me to get my hooks out tonight! Also it’s very good for the brain to learn new skills apparently – a mental work out, so to speak! Love the blog, thanks for the inspiration.
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i have just mastered if myself and im hooked, i love lucys blog, you should check out my friends little tin bird she is awesome, love what you have done so far very pretty xx
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Good heavens your knitting skills must have helped the cross over as I’ve been trying to teach myself for a while now and it’s taken months until the bulb finally glimmered. My attempts still look nowhere near as beautiful though.
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i know just how you feel – my hands were aching when i started – but its such a sense of achievement – i only learnt last year!! your crochet looks brilliant!
xx
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It looks lovely and I’d never seen that Lucy pattern – I might have to try it too.
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WOW!! It looks so great. I have always been timid about crochet. Everybody always tells me it is easier than knitting, but I am not too sure:) I need to give it a try!
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It looks lovely Julie,if it turns out as nice as yourtoys then we`ll all be wanting one of those to!
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I love your colours, I’ve been teaching myself to crochet but not doing too well, I find following a pattern hard. Will have a look on Revelry thanks for the tip
Jackie x
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Where, oh where did you get that crochet hook? It’s lush!
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Great job! it Looks great!
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Beautiful. I agree with Tracey..Love the crochet hook. LOVE IT..
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Looks to me like you got it down!
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Crochet is so pretty and a nice change of pace. I was going to recommend Attic24 until I noticed her site on your sidebar. It’s another way of using your wrist muscles — I had to be carefull when I first started — got carpal tunnel and wore wrist braces for awhile. That’s a funny look — braces and knitting needles or crochet hooks! It’s so much fun and all the colors are gorgeous. Oh, the possibilites!
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That’s a pretty good start! I learnt to crochet as a child, my mum made fantastically intricate doilies. Am now discovering how easy it is to just crochet any animal I choose – once you gat the hang of it all, it’s so easy to free form! Also, once you learn the squiggles in patterns, you can attempt patterns in amy language as you don’t need the words – some brilliant Japanese patterns out there.
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Oh lovely – is this a hat?
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Nice to see that you crochet as well. I was about to tell you about Lucy’s Attic24 when you just mentioned it. Great start. Lucy’s crochet has actually inspired me a lot. And I love the colours you chose. Maybe the purple will look good if you use it for the edging or handles. Just a suggestion. Good luck! 🙂
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I learnt to crochet earlier this year, it makes my little finger ache from controlling the tension but I still keep doing it!
Love your cushion, looks brilliant for a first project. Lucy always has great inspiration, have you read Do you mind if I knit? She does wonderful crochet too.
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Well done, it looks lovely, I too taught myself how to crochet using Lucy at attic24 when I discovered a cute knittted jumper with a crocheted hem. That was two years ago and have I knitted it? No still there in the to do file.
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I long to be able to knit one of your patterns, but sadly my mother never succeeded in passing on her skills to me. Still, I used to console myself that I was good at crochet (that was thanks to a neighbour) – and I’m so impressed that you can do both! It is addictive – so I hope it doesn’t completely stop you from knitting.Thanks for the pattern link.
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Crochet is satisfying, isn’t it? The texture of it can be so solid or so cobwebby.
I just wanted to say how lovely it is to see you posting on your blog more often these days – a sure sign that Toby is doing well and that you are doing ever more fulfilling things. (Not that you weren’t before! but you know what I mean).
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Loving the colors of your project!
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I did the same thing, watched a few YouTube videos then went to Nexstitch web site for some more video tuition. Love the bag.
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Fantastic job Julie 🙂 i also love Crochet! meet me at mikes has a brilliant granny square tutorial and Do you mind if i knit has one too. Have you seen my Crochet rabbits? Fancy a swap? Now i an going back to check out your hook that everyone is drooling over 🙂
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Oh yes nice hook. . . Where did you get it?
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I’ve been inspired by Lucy, too. So glad that you’ve started to crochet. Love the bag. Like you I wanted to do so for years. Dare I say it, it’s more portable than knitting! I love your crochet hook but the soft Clover ones are really lovely to use, Julie. Funny I had a bad hand when I first started crocheting.
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Looks lovely. I sometimes see patterns I really like but then realize it is crocheted. I am always disappointed. Maybe I will give it a try after all. I just bought two books by Jan Messent. One is KNITTED GARDENS, the other KNIT A FANTASY STORY. I am eager to begin a magical journey – which means the crocheting will have to wait a bit longer.
OH, I have had soooooo much fun making the strawberries. After checking over at Ravelry I found they are addictive to others as well. So much fun. Thanks for sharing your love of knitting with all of us.
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lovely!!
Do you want to win a silk shawl?
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It looks lovely. I have been tempted many times but never got beyond a chain.
Maybe after my little one is over his op and back to school after the whitsuntide holidays then I might have another try in peace and quiet.
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You might like these free patterns a friend posted on my facebook page
http://www.lionbrand.com/cgi-bin/patternFinder.fcgi?search=Search&searchText=amigurumi&Go.x=0&Go.y=0
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How lovely! You’re just gifted, if you can teach yourself how to do that! I’m still working on knitting dishcloths and scarves! 🙂 One of these days, maybe I’ll try teaching myself crochet. I love the colors you’ve chosen.
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Well done Julie, this is fantastic for a beginner!! I can see you excelling at crochet too. Hugs Dawn Marie.xx
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Congratulations Julie..love the pattern and the colours…the dark bands give it definition. Aren’t you clever! Sooooo impressed with your first project! I taught myself this year… so that I could make the teacosy from the cover of “Killer Teacosies”…so currently the ony thing I can crochet is the pansy from the pattern….which is much easier than it looks and very small! Jenni x
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Wow! You are doing brilliantly for just beginning crochet! It is very addictive! I love all the gorgeous things you make! 🙂
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I guess I never did post to this. Not that there’s any significance in my doing it – but I’m thinking, now, about crochet. I learned knitting and crochet at church of all places, back in middle school. Potholders. Hmmmm. I knitted a bit after that, did a couple of sweaters, stealing “patterns” off my own sweaters and off Dale ones. But the crochet was always fascinating and decorative, and with it, I could make small things (which I am now learning to do with knit). I made doilies, making them up as I went around – and I still have them, lovely, ornate things like delicate pastries. And then I did snowflakes (not having a great use for doilies, truth be told) for Christmas. But after that, I just quit. You can only have so many decorative things. After a while, I did afghans, of which, again, you can only use so many – and crocheted ones have such holes in them.
Now, my daughter is making A-dorable small animals this way, and I find myself interested in that. What I love, I guess, is taking a thing that is completely linear and using it to bring into being something that is round and fat and has a face. And any excuse to throw colors together in the same pot – quilting, clay -yarn arts – makes my hands and eyes and heart happy.
I would imagine that anything you put your hand to will spring alive out of that same hand and go gamboling off into the spring fields – it’s just in you.
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i love crochet and have been doing it since 5 years old.-taught by my mum of course.!!
Are you using a tunisian crochet hook ,as your hook looks long enough to be one. That is another one to try aswell,!! Tunisian crochet makes lovely warm baby blankets and ones for a large one.
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you are so talented! The colors are so bright and pretty! I think you may get hooked on crocheting too!;)
Debbie
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