If your crochet work will have integrity this requires the spirit of patience.  Rushing does not allow for any mistakes.  Avoid it at all cost.  In the midst of your work stop and check the number and type of stitches as you go along. This is one way of quality checking your work. Otherwise, in your rush to get done mistakes will lie hidden throughout your finished piece.  I've found my share so far.

On a lighter note, crochet as an art is very forgiving, We do learn from our mistakes.  Sometimes through  mistakes you discover something creative...wow! (written 4/5/11)

A different color yarn is working for me, even a paper clip has worked.  So why buy stitch markers? I guess I'll learn why when I am no longer a beginner. (written 4/4/11)

cotton vs wool

Cotton is a cellulose fiber and wool is a protein fiber. When you add water protein fibers weaken (think of hair).  I chose to start with cotton 'cause it was cheaper.  I didn't find out about fiber differences 'til later. Experts say you should start learning using wool yarn because it holds up better keeping its shape when you are working with it. Cotton yarn is supposed to be less stretchy thus harder to work with somehow. (written 4/3/11)

Colors inspire

Race to finish red versus natural

For any fellow beginners of crochet who get bored easily, you could try to work on 2 identical projects at the same time in 2 different colors.  I'm working on a motif hat that needs 5 motifs. At moments I couldn't advance from the first round to the next.  I just kept running out of gas (maybe steam is better said).  So I bought more yarn in a brighter color (red) and started to compete with myself to see which color I would finish first. It turns out that I progressed more slowly with the brighter color, to my surprise, and I finished the original color (natural) first.  I hope this will help someone else to keep trying before giving up. (written 4/2/11)

arghh )=o

Beginners beware of not documenting your work.  I was so taken back because I couldn't remember which hook number I had started with on my scarf!  The pattern called for 4mm, but when I went back to continue using that size hook the stitch looked so much bigger (huh?!).  Desperate, I tried 3.5mm, 2.5mm and finally 2mm (voila).  Don't ask me how a 4 becomes a 2, but this is surely what happened.  So I would strongly suggest documenting the materials that you use on a particular project or you may have hook mayhem like I did! )=o    (written 4/1/11)

Book source:  Crochet So Fine

Today I found that I could actually work on a large project without giving up the same day that I started it!  It's a pattern for a lace sweater wrap.  I will admit that since I set out on this crochet journey it has taken me a solid month to put my hands to the test in a large project.  Putting it off, I would always choose a much smaller project.  A month ago I saw the model photo of the sweater and right away knew that this was a design that I wanted to tackle.

Here are the benefits I have discovered so far from this large work: 1) more focus / fewer distractions, 2) the scratch for my itch for complexity and challenge, 3) my piece / my peace :-), 4) wild urges for immediate results is tamed and patience takes over. (written 3/31/11)

If you're ever curious or anxious about crocheting with more than one color you may start with using two then venture to even more colors. I wanted to give this a try too.  After working a few patterns it didn't take long to figure that adding more than one color was going to be a lot of work. Just using one color leaves me with so many loose yarn ends. I just knew that by adding more colors even more loose ends would result and that I would jump ship. Also, my expense would multiply. So one day I got the guts to try an ombre yarn. Ombre is a french word meaning shades. By using this ombre yarn I was able to incorporate numerous colors into my work without breaking the bank or my hands.

Beside hooks, you also need to choose yarns.  I've found that I like some yarns better than others by far. As a beginner, I am warming up to the threads and finer yarns. It may have something to do with the pattern designs of my choice. I have tried cotton, mercerized cotton, and acrylic. Although the pattern may call for a different fiber, I always go for the cheaper yarns for practice sake. Not that the quality is cheap, just that the price is cheap. I've seen silks and other pricier fibers sold at comparable prices by Asian merchants on eBay. One day I'll try them.

It took several months to take courage to rework rows for that pink purse pattern. Getting the rows straight is the feature of this purse. My first try I gave up on. Here is my second try: