Crochet all the way...

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I've just published the first instalment of Lorene's fabulous guide to crocheting so that you can make your own beanies in time for the winter. I will be purchasing some crochet bits this week for sure so I can get practicing!

Check it out here:
http://www.powderroom.net/page.php?pageID=390&title=Crochet

Maybe we can post pics of our efforts in the future...

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powderroomie
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Looks great, can't wait to get started!!
Thanks Lorene! :)

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If you guys run into any problems or have questions, let me know and I'll try to sort them out for you.

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powderroomie
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oh thank you, thank you, thank you!

i've never had any problem mastering any other crafty type thing i've tried, like knitting and sewing and things - but i've never managed to get to grips with crocheting, and have been wanting to learn for a while now...

i'm about to head home, where i don't have much in the way of leisure time, but i'll be sure to try it next time i'm over here and get to sit about in the evenings!

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powderroomie
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That's really good! I'm going to have a go this weekend (hopefully!)

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ooooh I wanted to do this and Shane laughed at me.....I wanna make one with some ear flaps...however that may be a little to ambitious for my first attempt!!! :roll: i am same as chilli usually pic up crafty stuff pretty quick....once I get organised I will be sure to post a pic....! Thanks Lorene great idea.

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Earflaps are easy and coming in part 2!

And you can always add them on later.

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powderroomie
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I will have a try but i suck at crafty stuff!

My fabuloso mummy knits me funky scarfs and things :D

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powderroomie
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I'm so hooked up with making beanies..:) Last season I did somewhat 7 different for myself. (of course there has to be different coloured beanies to match my clothes!) 8)

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powderroomie
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Errrr I'm not great at this crochet stuff... can I place orders with those of you who are going to try it out?!?! :wink: :D

Kat
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powderroomie
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Well there would have been one if I hadn't exceeded my limit

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powderroomie
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Ooh i might have to give that a go. Might ask my mum to help if i get stuck though. She's good at these things in a typical mummsy fashion.

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powderroomie
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This is no reflection on the wonderfully put together article, but it looks a tad complicated for my tender braincells...

But, I *think* I will try and give it a go - something to keep myself from drinking too much and getting obsessed with hockey on those long winter nights in Fernie, methinks!

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You can handle it. Crocheting is really easy once you get the basics down. I taught a bunch of people at work for Purls of Hope - which is a charity that distributes blankets to AIDS babies.

If you get stuck definitely go check out http://www.stitchguide.com/stitches/crochet/index.html. Their videos are very helpful. Or else get someone to demonstrate for you. I know there's someone in London who crochets, cough...Kat..cough.

And just know that crocheting is going to feel VERY weird at the beginning. You feel like you're all thumbs, but once you get practice it starts feeling more natural.

Kat
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powderroomie
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Here's one of mine modelled by my mate Martin

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Lordy - I'd have to take antihistemines to make something like that!

It's gym night off so I'm off to John Lewis after work to buy some bits. If I can get started before I go my hols to Norway in three weeks I'll have heaps of time to make stuff - and hopefully my Mum will help me cos she knows about these things...

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powderroomie
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I think I may send the crochet link to my grandma, she's ace with the sewing stuff and knitting, so she probably crochet's too...

i bet she'd be able to knock up something in no time!!!! :D

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[quote="Wendy"]I think I may send the crochet link to my grandma, she's ace with the sewing stuff and knitting, so she probably crochet's too...

[/quote]

Your Grandma uses the internet?? :shock:

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Bugger just realised I've forgotten my purse :cry:

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powderroomie
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I would love to go shopping for Crochet things after work but I HAVE to go to the gym, not made it once this week, and we have this flippin race on Sunday!! :cry:

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[quote="Snowpixie"][quote="Wendy"]I think I may send the crochet link to my grandma, she's ace with the sewing stuff and knitting, so she probably crochet's too...

[/quote]

Your Grandma uses the internet?? :shock:[/quote]

Yep - with a little help from my Mum who stops her from clicking on the wrong/bad things ;)

And she text's... although she does SHOUT a lot :lol:

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[quote="Snowpixie"]I would love to go shopping for Crochet things after work but I HAVE to go to the gym, not made it once this week, and we have this flippin race on Sunday!! :cry:[/quote]

:? :( :? :( stop reminding me!!!.... I haven't done anything this week either but I've brought my kit in today, so have to make it to gym! :?

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[quote="Wendy"][quote="Snowpixie"][quote="Wendy"]I think I may send the crochet link to my grandma, she's ace with the sewing stuff and knitting, so she probably crochet's too...

[/quote]

Your Grandma uses the internet?? :shock:[/quote]

Yep - with a little help from my Mum who stops her from clicking on the wrong/bad things ;)

And she text's... although she does SHOUT a lot :lol:[/quote]

:lol: :lol:
thats trés cool! My nana struggles to work the phone and thinks it is normal to have her mobile switched off all the time! :lol:

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Well one day you could even aspire to make this

[img]http://www.lorenextreme.com/hooked/wp-content/newhats2.jpg[/img]

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Or how about one of these?

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powderroomie
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Wouldn't want to get that wet! :o

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powderroomie
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bloody hell! look at the teeny weeny triangles on that (alleged) bikini top!!!! even my weeny B cups would be spilling out of that in the manner of Pammy Anderson :lol: :lol: :lol:

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Hurray - colleague has loaned me £20 so its off to John Lewis after all - I'm thinking pink (unsurprisingly). Or maybe bright green?

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powderroomie
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yay! let me know how you get on. Think I may head up there friday after work!

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yay I have all my materials....some bright pink and some black. As Lorene said I was all thumbs to start with then it came to me and I was off....this is so exciting. I can see the crochet wave starting......!

I will be sure to post any results. :roll:

Exciting as it is I do feel like I should have some sort of beige outfit on and be sporting a tightly curled hairdo...granny stylee! :wink:

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Yey - got mine too. I got a bit confused about what wool to get - I couldn't see anything with the same grading as in Lorene's piece but I had a quick look at a crochet guide in the shop and they recommended double knit so I've got some nice mint green double knit to get started.

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powderroomie
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Got the crochet bits and gave it a go last night. After a few failed attempts I have a little rectangle - not a triangle!

Having just read the UK-US conversions I've found I should've bought DK weight wool and I've got the wrong stuff - doh! Will have to hit the shops again before I can start my hat attempt.

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I couldnt find any worsted at all in John Lewis - they only had DK and then Aran and nothing in the middle. Hmm.

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So lucie, what wool/yarn would you suggest to buy in the UK ? It is all a bit confusing to me! :?:

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I went for Aran in the end, but at the top of the conversions page it says (US) worsted = (UK) DK. My crochet looked chunkier than in Lorene's pics, and I reckon DK would be easier to slip through the loops.

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ok after my initial confidence-ie mastering the rectangle, I am having Great trouble starting the hat. It just looks like a knotted mess....argh I am so frustrated but I can't put it down...! :lol:

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Looks like it gets easier from round 13 - maybe a bobble's the way forward if it looks a mess at the top :?

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In the UK - Double Knit = Worsted weight ...

There's a lot of differences between US and UK!! lol

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So I did get the right stuff - hurrah! So UK girlies you can buy anything that says double knit or DK on it.

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powderroomie
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Cool!
Can't find anywhere near work that sells yarn at all, so I have to wait until tomorrow when I can get to John Lewis' :cry:

Kat
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You're pretty much stuck with John Lewis if you're in London, the only other place I've found that does wool is Liberty but they never seem to have the right kind of stuff.

In the meantime if anyone wants a hot pink slightly fluffy hat give me a shout and I'll let you have it for a fiver

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[quote="ever"]Got the crochet bits and gave it a go last night. After a few failed attempts I have a little rectangle - not a triangle!

Having just read the UK-US conversions I've found I should've bought DK weight wool and I've got the wrong stuff - doh! Will have to hit the shops again before I can start my hat attempt.[/quote]

Yeah for rectangles! What kind of yarn did you get? You can probably still use it, you'll just have to adjust the number for rounds you do so that the circle you make is about 6" in diameter. Then you go onto the stuff in Round 13.

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[quote="LittleL"]ok after my initial confidence-ie mastering the rectangle, I am having Great trouble starting the hat. It just looks like a knotted mess....argh I am so frustrated but I can't put it down...! :lol:[/quote]

if you can post a photo of what you've got so far I can try to figure out what the problem is.

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[quote="lorene"]

Yeah for rectangles! What kind of yarn did you get? You can probably still use it, you'll just have to adjust the number for rounds you do so that the circle you make is about 6" in diameter. Then you go onto the stuff in Round 13.[/quote]

I got UK Aran (US medium or fisherman). OK, thanks for the tip, I'll give it a go anyway - expect my first hat attempt will be a bit of an experimental mess!

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[quote="ever"][quote="lorene"]

Yeah for rectangles! What kind of yarn did you get? You can probably still use it, you'll just have to adjust the number for rounds you do so that the circle you make is about 6" in diameter. Then you go onto the stuff in Round 13.[/quote]

I got UK Aran (US medium or fisherman). OK, thanks for the tip, I'll give it a go anyway - expect my first hat attempt will be a bit of an experimental mess![/quote]
aran is about the same as worsted, so you should be ok

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ok so i think I have yarn thats too thin...doh...I couldnt find any of the stuff you guys were talking about...I just got some cheapy stuff.
Shane is away with my digital camera so can't post a pic...but I am confused by the part that talks about the big loop!!
It says as an extra note you are inserting the hook into the loop made by the ch 3, not each individual chain?

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Ok I made a little video of how to start this. Lola makes a cameo at the end.

It's 15mb, so please don't kill my bandwidth unless you need to

http://www.lorenextreme.com/crochetround.avi

my loop is bigger than you want yours to be, I just wanted to make it easier to see. and also I wasn't counting how many scs I did.

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ahh you are a ledgend Lorene!! THANKS HEAPS
not that I have a clue what Bandwidth is...but hope i dont kill it!! :?

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powderroomie
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Note to aspiring crocheters... when asking your grandma if you can borrow her crochet kit to make a hat, you should refer to the sticks as "crochet hooks" and not "crochet sticks" as she may almost have a heart attack from laughing at you so hard :roll: :roll: :lol:

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That little video is really useful. I made a start on the hat yesterday evening and it took me at least 10 attempts to get that first bit. I've made it to the end of round 6 and it's looking about right although I'm having trouble keeping count :roll:

Kat
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. :arrow: