There were seven people in this workshop, so there was less time for the tutor to spend with each of us to make sure we were getting things right. I found it really difficult to grasp the concept of crochet - it doesn't grow in the same way as knitting and it's hard to visualise what it's going to be. By the time I had worked out what I was doing, the rest of the group had moved on to the next bit, so I was a bit lost. Hannah was in the background doing some admin and encouraging me not to give up but I don't think my heart was in it really - I'm not used to being rubbish at things!
Here are my creations. The one that looks most like the middle of a granny square is the one the tutor did for me in an attempt to help me catch up! It must have just been me, because Cath did succeed in making a nice granny square which became a pirate hat for her cat!
The workshop included a crochet hook, wool and a list of instructions to make a granny square. I expect at some point I will pick it up and have a proper go, because I don't like to be defeated, but for the moment I am definitely of the opinion that crochet is evil!
I realised it had been three months since I had knitted anything, and, suspecting that it was the sort of thing you had to do regularly so that you don't forget how to do it, I knew it was time to pick up those needles again. I also wanted to reassure myself that I wasn't a complete dunce when it came to needles and wool!
I have a lovely cowl that I got from Seasalt, which has a cable twist pattern running through it. It's wool but quite thin and not very snuggly and it's been freezing this Easter! So back to my friend Ravelry I went, searching for something that was worked flat (because I don't know how to knit in the round yet) and rated as easy. Up came this Burberry inspired cowl I thought I could probably do, and I already had the size 10 needles. A quick visit to Pack Lane Wool and I was equipped with four balls of lovely thick grey/brown acrylic/alpaca mix wool and a cable hook, which the woman said would be easier than a cable needle because the stitches don't slide off. As I had no idea how to do cable at this point, I just smiled and nodded!
So off I went to Cornwall for the Easter weekend, and was glad to have the knitting to do on the chilly evenings, to keep my hands busy and not dipping into all the lovely snacks that my parents had available. I had to face my nemesis in this project - the purl - but my mum was on hand to supervise and I soon got the hang of it. It's a simple knit row, purl row pattern, with a row with a cable twist in every so often. I have Youtube to thank for showing me how to use my cable hook! I associate cable with the twists you find in the Aran jumpers my mum used to knit, so it took a while to realise that this was a very loose twist rather than the rows that look like plaits. It took two balls of wool and two repeats of the pattern before I realised I was actually doing it right! I did a third repeat and a third ball of wool, so it's bigger than the one on the pattern but I'm really pleased with it. There is just one error on the back where I knitted a row instead of purling it and inadvertently put a stripe in!
Here it is on the needles before I cast it off.... 
The finished cowl...
And me wearing it. Snuggly!
I think I'm getting the hang of this knitting thing, but I was glad to have my mum on hand to spot where I had gone wrong and couldn't work out how! It took three nights to complete and is lovely and cosy!
Pondering what to make next. I have a friend who is having a baby in June but I'm not sure my skill level is high enough to give things to other people yet! I may be inspired by the Great British Sewing Bee tonight (if I can turn the sound off on Winkelman)!
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