Learning experiences

A friend and I swung by Nease's Needlework's going-on-the-internet sale today. It's sad to see it go, but I know the owner will enjoy getting to concentrate on needlework through the new web incarnation of Nease's, and as for the brick-and-mortar, an employee named Carrie told us to check back in a couple weeks...

The yarn had been pretty well ravaged by the time we got there, but I did pick up three pairs of Clover bamboo circs. I tried one out tonight on a swatch for a new project, and I learned a valuable lesson. I'm just not sure if the lesson was "I prefer metal needles in size 5 and up" or "Clovers suck."

A momentous occasion in my knitting career, and probably not a good one

I have some Blue Sky Alpaca sportweight in a lovely deep purple that I'd really like to turn into a nice long cloak, maybe with a hood. I haven't been able to find any patterns I like, so I was tossing and turning the other night trying to figure out if I could wing it...

...and then suddenly the thought popped into my head:

Maybe I could steek it.

I'm just hoping it passes...

From the blogger formerly known as the Mad Crocheter

Today is 8.8.08, a very auspicious day according to Chinese tradition and also the beginning of the Beijing Olympics. I thought about joining the Ravelympics, really I did. Even thought of a few possible projects. But in the end I realized, I'm just too lazy. But I figured the least I could do for the occasion was reboot my blog. Maybe the lucky day will rub off on it.

So what happened, Mad Crocheter?

Um... [looks around guiltily] ...I learned to knit.

I started Adventures of the Mad Crocheter with grand visions of making crochet just as respected and popular as knitting. For a while I even refused to learn to knit, I was so convinced that I could do anything with crochet that other people did with knitting.

Um... oops.

I finally gave in and asked StringTheory2.0 to teach me to knit after I practically ruined some divine yarn by trying to crochet it into wristwarmers. And then a funny thing happened: I started really enjoying knitting. It makes a denser, more flexible fabric than crochet. It's far better for tubular shapes like socks and wristwarmers. Which isn't to say it's superior to crochet: crochet has three-dimensional properties that knitting can only dream of.

Over the past few months I've been knitting almost exclusively. I'm not sure that it's really because I like knitting better; it's probably more that knitting is new to me, and I'm fascinated with the possibilities. I'm sure the new will wear off eventually. The best way I can describe it right now is that crochet is easier to learn, but knitting is easier to do.

And dyeing! I've gotten to play with dye and it's fun too! I'm not so sure about spinning but give me time, I may reconsider!

So what I'm trying to say is, I'm not pro- or anti- crochet or knitting. I'm pro-yarn.

A note about the title: Natalia immediately assumed that I was thinking of Patrick Henry when I came up with the new blog name. I'd like to pass myself off as that cultured, but I was more thinking of this Eddie Izzard routine. (Also available with Lego visuals!)