Life's Little Pleasures

Just got done making my first crocheted hat ever. Actually, two hats. I knitted a couple of hats two winters ago when I got into knitting for a month (of course as always, got bored with it after I mastered it). I gave them away as gifts & didn't think much about hats until this spring when I saw a cute crocheting book at the library. I checked out the book and bought some yarn & a needle to attempt crocheting, but couldn't follow the written direction for the life of me. Even tried watching some 11 year-old boy do it on YouTube, but he was too fast (watched that thing about 10 freakin times!) So I gave up on making my hat. Plus summer was approaching & I had other projects I wanted to work on.

Then this morning while getting ready for work, I looked out the window & realized summer was definitely over. I could feel the cool breeze & I knew Utah winter would be here before I knew it. I started thinking about hats again and remembered there was a para (teacher's assistant) at my school I've seen crochet. So I took my yarn & needle with me to school & found the lady during my lunch break. She said she hadn't crocheted a hat in a long time, but showed me the basic steps to making a circle. (That's the part I couldn't figure out before.) She wasn't sure whether it would turn out or not, and promised to bring me a pattern tomorrow. But even with her warning, I couldn't stop. By the time lunch was over, I had a round doily.

After school, I brought the doily home & continued crocheting. (I go crazy when I start something new... I can't stop until I'm done.) Before I knew it, I had turned the doily into a fabulous hat. I was so excited I called my friend Cassie to tell her the news. She didn't seem very excited...she was in the middle of fixing her state-of-the-art espresso machine. Thought about calling another friend but realized I'd probably get the same reaction. So instead, I popped in a movie that was overdue and proceeded to make my second hat. (Sh*t's incredibly addicting.)

I think I was supposed to count the stitches, but got too involved in the movie to care, and soon I had a round hot-pad the size of a flour tortilla they use at those taquerias. But not to fear. The coolest thing about this crochet thing is you can undo the stitches & never lose your place the way it happens in knitting. Anyway, I'd become a pro at gliding the needle in & out, and used not knowing how many stitches I had to my advantage & ended up with the coolest shaped hat ever. Not sure if I could duplicate the hats, but I'm totally into it. It's way easier than knitting, and you only need one needle vs two. I almost want to cancel my trip to Lava this weekend so I can stay home & crochet.

That's the thing about being a dabbler...there's so much to do & not enough hours in a day. It's already time for bed, and I really want to crochet another hat...