I thought the best way to start a blog about my crochet activities would be at the very beginning...

I taught myself to crochet about seven years ago. I had gone home for Christmas for the second time since my move to NYC/NJ. I was bored out of my mind and looking for something to do. My sister had bought a learn to crochet kit. It came with an instruction manual and some hooks and other tools. She's a lefty and bought it because it had lefty instructions and I guess she wanted a hobby. She never did really learn. There were some yarn scraps around. I don’t know if she had bought the scraps to learn with or if they were just in the house to begin with. I decided to start fiddling myself. I started following the basic stitches and would work a few rows until I had each one down. Then I'd rip the whole thing out and start with the next stitch. I decided that I really liked it. Then I decided I really wanted to make something. I picked one of the patterns in the book for a basic afghan with a striped, wavy pattern. Southwestern ripples is the name of the pattern. It was a pretty easy double crochet with chain spaces. I went to the now closed Ames and bought off-white, forest green, dusty rose and sage yarn. My friend Kelly was with me. The whole time i debated colors she went on and on about how it would take me years to finish it. That burned me a little. I decided I'd finish it in time for her birthday in March and give it to her, just to show her. I'm perverse that way. So I started. I crocheted at my parents watching tv. I crocheted on the 11 hour train ride home. I crocheted in my apartment watching hockey games with my husband (well, we were living in sin at the time). I crocheted while he watched wrestling. You get the idea.

I did finish it. We went to VT a week or so after her birthday for my parents wedding anniversary and I gave it to her. She was surprised and very pleased. (And it matched her décor at the time.) It's the only project I've done that I didn't keep a picture of. It came out pretty well except my gauge got tighter as I went along (a problem that often crops up in my work) so it got narrower at the top. But, I did it. I've been hooked ever since.