I’m taking part in 3rd Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week. Today’s task is to think about my yarn-based crafting balance.
Are you a knitter or a crocheter, or are you a bit of both?
At the moment, I’m a knitter, exclusively. I have never done any more with a crochet hook than what I need to start a pie shawl, fix a dropped stitch, or do a crochet bind off. I keep my crochet hooks in my notions bag, along with my markers, my scissors, and my measuring tape.
I guess this means I’m monogamous, but…
If you are monogamous in your yarn-based crafting, is it because you do not enjoy the other craft or have you simply never given yourself the push to learn it?
…but I’m crochet-curious.
I learned to knit when I was 8 and have remained attracted to it ever since. I started out with the vanilla stuff (dish cloths and ribbed scarfs), but later on I developed an interest in riskier business (lace, cables, and entrelac). I even dig a few of the more adventurous pursuits (amigurumi looks interesting) and don’t mind an unconventional approach (hello, blended intarsia, where have you been all my life?).
Crochet is interesting and very attractive in its own way. Very flexible. Very dynamic. And it can bend and twist in the most sultry ways. Ways I wish my knitting could do. I’m curious about it. Really curious. I mean, crochet can do this:
And this:
Crochet is the one fiber art that can’t be fully duplicated by machines. It’s totally awesome.
But knitting is safe, and familiar. And it just has a way with me.
If I decided to take up with crochet, I would be starting over from square one. I don’t know if I want to go through all that.
And yet…
Sometimes I fantasize about knitting a lovely cashmere sweater. And then, picking up a crochet hook and whipping out a tantalizing trim of lace at the bosom. Knitting and crochet at the same time.
Is it warm in here?
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All She Wants To Do Is Knit 
Yes, you want to do both! I knit and crochet. I prefer the process of crochet but I knit things like socks, mitts or sweaters that need to drape. I inflicted crocheted socks on my family for years before I finally broke down and learned to knit 🙂
I love the crochet examples you posted. I actually just bought the VK Crochet mag and want to crochet that Nicky Epstein afghan. I admire so much of her work. I can both knit and crochet, but knitting has a greater appeal to me because it feels so much more rhythmic to me. I have to work harder when I’m crocheting. Maybe it’s because I need more practice 🙂
That blanket…I’m just in awe. If you make it you must post it. I want to see it.
I will definitely do that. My thoughts are to make it in some saturated summer colors, like my knitted sunflower pillow. I think it would be awesome, although I admit the thought of making it is a bit daunting 🙂
I thought I’d catch the crocheting bug, but its now 7 years later and still no interest. I’m stuck in knitterland and ok with that.
I have been waiting to be bit by the crochet bug, but it is now 7 years later since I learned to knit. I don’t think its going to happen. I’m stuck in Knitterville and ok with that. Knit on!
I definitely need a teacher. Someone to shepherd me through my first project. I don’t think I’ll motivate myself to pick it up out of a book.
Wow, those are some amazing crochet examples – especially that afghan! To die for! And combining knit and crochet in one project, now that would be an accomplishment. But really, crochet isn’t that hard to learn. I used the Stitch and Bitch crochet book (it’s called Happy Hooker, or something like that), which is a great starting place. It gives you an overview over a whole bunch of topics and techniques.
And if you like toys, amigurumi patterns are a great way to get started with crocheting. They mostly use single crochet stitches, which isn’t that hard at all, and there are lots of resources out there on how to do an invisible ‘cast on’ so you can easily crochet in a circle.
Go for it!
I love to knit, but very curious about crocheting too… even more so after reading your post. thanks for sharing.
Cosmic brownie points for me! Yay. So happy to encourage someone else to try something new. Even something I don’t have the gumption to try myself.
Crochet is not as scary as you think! I found it much easier to learn from a fellow knitter than when I tried learning from crochet-only folks. Try it out – more crafting is ALWAYS a good thing!
Yes, they are right, crochet is much easier to learn than knitting I think (a bit like snowboarding compared to skiing in my experience), and I love the fact that there can be no major disasters when you are crocheting compared to knitting. If you drop a stitch the whole thing doesn’t unravel but waits for your patient attention. I’m quite happy to crochet without a pattern, but I don’t do this when I am knitting! Overall, I love them both, for different reasons and different items. You should make a granny square (go to Attic 24 blog, she has heaps of good tutorials), I’m sure you’ll be hooked 😉
I feel the same way. I see that there are lots of cool things that crochet can do, but do I really want to start from scratch?
I started with knitting for one whole week before I fell into crochet’s grasp. Now I’m a knitter through-and-through but I love me a bit of crochet. You’re right, it’s so flexible. 🙂
Wow – gorgeous!