Many years ago my great~Granny Smith started teaching me the basics of crochet. She was always crafting something lovely ~ lacy collars, darling little dolly clothes. And she was one of those rare gems who knew the delicate art of tatting. How I wish we'd had the chance for her to pass that on to me! I'll share some pictures of her beautiful work soon.
With my basics, I attempted a (very amateur) crocheted scarf for a friend at school, but didn't pick up a hook again for a long time until a few years ago when I thought I'd try again. I have a sweet friend who very patiently helped me with the stitches, and even gave me some of her pattern books and supplies. But if you don't have a Mrs. Rachel E. to give you her wisdom and you'd like to learn crochet, check out these sites for good instructions:
http://www.marthastewart.com/article/how-to-crochet
I printed these out and carry them around in my yarn bag to refresh my memory. The pictures and directions are clear and simple.
http://crochet.about.com/od/learnbasics/a/beginners.htm
http://www.freevintagecrochet.com
This website is almost too much fun! Lots of free vintage crochet patterns like these baby bootees that I'm working on with some scrumptious silk/bamboo yarn in "sea" (is there anything lovelier?)
And no worries about crochet being stuffy; there are plenty of fun, modern projects for this generation, too. How about these super~cute juicy apple pot scrubbers?! Not sure if I'd even want to scrub some dirty ol' pot with them! You can find the free pattern for them here along with lots of others like scarves, afghans, baby toys...
Here's a "granny smith" apple I'm finishing. ;)
I think she'd be pleased.
