Haven’t posted in a long time, but I’ve been really busy with work and crocheting.  Here is the tunisian afghan I’ve been working on for quite some time:

Here are some intriguing older hooks I found on Ebay; it is called Hook-A-Loop. Two of these double ended crochet hooks have a needle eye on one end instead of the other hook end.

I have been in email contact with a company called KnitPro, the overseas manufacturer of Knitpicks.com’s Harmony interchangeable knitting needle set. I asked them if it was possible for them to make an interchangeable crochet hook set like the metal Options knitting needle set Knitpicks also sells here in the US. They asked for my address so they could send me “samples” of their wooden crochet hooks, and ended up Fedex’ing to me at no cost to me, an entire set of these (the two larger hook tips are shown below). They screw right onto Knitpicks’ cables (of various lengths, which come with both the wooden Harmony and metal options set):

They also included their double ended crochet hooks:

I also send a jpg to Todd Paschall (http://www.crochetbynumbers.com) and he sent me two pdfs worth of a crochet pattern based on the jpg. You can view some of his free test patterns on his site to see why his patterns are so unique; he has developed a computer program that takes a jpg and generates a unique pattern using columns and rows of numbers. Single crochet is the only stitch used, the rows and columns of numbers tell you how many stitches of each color you put on each row. I need to work up one of his free sample patterns before tackling the huge pattern I bought from him. I will post pics once I have the sample pattern and will eventually post pics of my finished pattern, which I can’t disclose what it is here because the recipient, whom I intend to surprise in a big way with, might be reading here.

I don’t often update this, but here goes, before I go out the door this morning.  I’ve had a lot of fun meeting up with some local crocheters (and knitters) via two groups I found on www.meetup.com, the Santa Clara County Crochet Meetup group and the Santa Clara Couny Knitting meetup group.   Every once in a while they choose a meeting night or event I can attend.  Thursday was at the Barnes and Noble and yesterday was at our local Panera restaurant.

End of Sept, we went to the Renaissance Faire out at Casa De Fruita (near Gilroy, Hollister border on Pacheco Pass).  Go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/tygger428 under Events for 2008 Renaissance Faire to see all the pics.  Ren Faire site:  http://www.norcalrenfaire.org

Friday was our annual offsite training day in Sunnyvale at work.  It is a good thing, with the County’s budget in distress, that my agency still considers such training a priority.  Although, I wish the seminar workshop titles were more relevant to the topic that ends up being discussed.

Saturday, October 11th will be the next Men Who Crochet CGOA chapter meeting in Oakland.  It has been moved temporarily this month to the 2nd Saturday so some of us can attend a top down crochet class on October 18th taught by WA state crochet designer Karen Ratto-Whooley at Green Planet Yarn in downtown Campbell, CA.  I have some swatching “homework” I have to get off my keister and do before the class.  I took a top down crochet class years ago from Mary Rhodes when our Southbay Crochet CGOA chapter offered it (also in Campbell, at a yarn shop that no longer exists that was just a few doors down from where Green Planet Yarns is now).   But I lost the notes from Mary’s class, so don’t have my “pattern” for the completed sweater I made.  Once I find it (I intend to wear it to the new class), I will take a pic of it. 

Another crocheted project I want to find and take a pic of is my black beaded and fringed thread shawl (from a Nov 1997 issue of the now defunct Crochet Fantasy.  Mary Cahill went through and counted how many beads each row took as the original pattern was incorrect.  I think it was called the ebony beaded shawl or something like that.  Again, if I find it I will take a pic of it.

GPY didn’t advertise it much; I posted all over Ravelry, the Yahoo groups I am on, anywhere I could think of.  Other than me, Cay, Peter, Mike and Tom from our MWC group plan to attend.  As of GPY’s last email, only three “slots” remain, so hopefully this means it will NOT be cancelled.  I had to learn via the designer that GPY needed to know who wanted to attend by Sept 18th I think it was or else it was at risk of cancellation.  Kind of paradoxical, not to advertise, then have to cancel due to lack of interest.  Lack of interest my foot, it is lack of COMMUNICATION that put it at risk.  Luckily that risk seems to have been eliminated.  I also got the homework sheet emailed directly by the designer, GPY waited almost a month to email it.  Her recipient list was supressed, so I forwarded it on my own to Peter, Cay, etc. to make double sure they got it.  Will post again once the class is over.  I intend to use the Malabrigo Silky Merino in Carribeno I got from Twist, Yarns of Intrigue, for this project.  Karen suggested I swatch in Cascade 220, but why swatch with yarn I don’t intend to use?  Makes more sense to swatch with what I intend to use.

September’s Men Who Crochet CGOA meeting was cancelled because some of us went to the Oakland A’s Stitch and Pitch game.  It was fairly cold, I don’t think any of our group stayed the whole 9 innings, we left somewhere in the 7th inning, the As put on a few extra points after we left and won that game.

In online crochet and knitting groups, this is known for short as OTH or OTN. 

On the Hook (OTH)

A giant granny square afghan is in progress (red/white/blue Red Heart).  I hate sewing squares, so opt to do “the whole enchilada”.  Will post pics when there is significant progress to show. ETA (edited to add /24/08 ) This is the center area of the afghan, which is single, large granny square:

I put crochet first for a couple reasons.  I learned to crochet long before I was ever comfortable with knitting.  I’ve been crocheting for 35+ years now, an am completely self taught from books.  To me, crocheters have been “ugly stepchildren” or something, or at least so they strongly feel they have.

I’ve been a CGOA member since the late 1990s.  Speaking of CGOA; for the Men Who Crochet (chapter of the Crochet Guild of America, CGOA, http://www.crochet.org) group I attend in Oakland, CA (about 50 miles north of me in the East SF Bay area) I finished the Jacob’s Ladder afghan I made for their charity afghan (see pic below).  For the record, Men Who Crochet (MWC) was named by its founder, crochet designer Peter Franzi, to encourage male crocheters to gather and “network” in a somewhat female dominated craft.  Despite the chapter name, women ARE welcome, as my membership in it proves.  I try to encourage male knitters and crocheters, their perspective is fresh and they have valuable insight to contribute.

I guess you could say I have a “thing” for red/white/blue LOL  One of our MWC members, Cay, once asked me if I had any OTHER colors in my stash.  Indeed I do; the yarn I own all piled up would probably weigh at least a ton LOL   One of these days, I will pile it all in one place and take a picture of it and PROVE that it probably DOES weigh, well, at least a few hundred pounds.  

Back to MWC. Thank goodness we found a group that will accept the 50 odd we had already completed, Project Linus.  We had started out with “other” ideas for who they should be given to that didn’t work out too well for one reason or another.  I DO have a local CGOA chapter (Southbay Crochet, who meet at a senior center in Santa Clara, CA, just a couple miles west of me), but WHY do I travel 100 miles round trip to “commune” with the Oakland group?  Because they meet in the afternoon.  I like to SLEEP on Saturday/Sunday mornings.  Its’ my “thing” LOL

On the Needles (OTN)

As I’ve posted before, knitters and crocheters tend to “want” to be adversaries.  Stupid, Stupid, Stupid.  We both manipulate yarn (loop by loop) to form a fabric of some sort, be it a scarf, potholder, sweater, shawl, or whatever.  So what is the DEAL?  WHY do people choose adversity when commeraderie is so much more pleasant?  Why do I turn off the TV whenever a politician opens their mouth, or news commentator discusses politics?  Because it is ADVERSARIAL.  I don’t like yelling, screaming, and otherwise making an idiot of yourself.  On TV or otherwise.  I also refuse to discuss religion with anyone for similar reasons.  I practice a faith, I do not practice any religion.  What’s my religion/political affiliation?  MYOB.  Between me and the fence post, dear.

Anyway, to get back on topic, for the longest time, I was intimidated by knitting.  It looked COMPLICATED.  Again, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid (on my part this time).  Funny it might be, but I “caught” the knitting bug some years ago at a knitting workshop, held by of all groups, Southbay Crochet, my local Crochet Guild chapter mentioned earlier in this post. 

Another meeting or two down the road, at one of its’ “sister” CGOA meetings further north (it was in San Leandro, CA, which is just south of Oakland, at the time, Bay Area Rabid Crocheters, named for the local rail transit, BART), I stood behind a friend who was purling, and the “light came on”.  So what’s OTN?  The classic Fisherman Cable Pullover sweater, done in Woolese (78% acrylic, 19% wool, 3% polyester) yarn in #301 White/multi (which is white with a strand of metallic throughout) pattern and yarn from Lion Brand (http://www.lionbrand.com).  Will add pics once some progress is made.

ETA (edited to add 8/24/08 ) some pictures of my progress on the fisherman’s cable pullover:

Here is a closeup of the cable pattern:

Here is a full view of the progress on the sweater back.  It is about half done.

I’ve posted little about my family, this blog mainly “keeps track” of my knitting / crochet “madness”.  This post is an exception.  I wish I could introduce a very special young couple, new parents to Sadie Joan (born 7/10/08 ) and to big sister “Becca” who will be two in early November.  Keith, my eldest nephew is currently in the process of being a credentialed teacher, and it is his wife Cara I am asking prayers for.  She has been recently diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.  Of all the cancers to get, we are told, this is one of the most treatable.  But it still is unfair I think for such a young person, a parent of two such young daughters, to be struck with such a burden.  Keith and Cara both have very positive attitudes and a very strong faith which I’m sure will get them through this “bump” in the road, but still, if you pray at all in your life, I would ask you to pray for this young family.

Some of you may recall my earlier post here about my brother Mike and his family having to put their dog, Sugarbelle, to sleep 5/13/08. They have now adopted another dog, Holly. So far, Holly seems to have a hard time with younger men and male teenagers. Hopefully, she will learn to trust my nephew Chad and his friends.

It is about half done now, and I’ve opted to lace it up. It only differs from my Polish Star afghan in that the chain loops aren’t criss crossed, it is just a straight laceup. I am toying with the idea of staggering the chain loops so that the ladders form peaks and valleys, instead of straight up and down.

http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/jacob.html

Is where the free pattern for this afghan can be found.  She also has a round version on her site, that will probably be my next afghan “in the series” of ones I am crocheting for the Crochet Guild of America (CGOA, http://www.crochet.org) chapter I belong to in Oakland, CA, Men Who Crochet. 

CGOA, as I probably failed to explain in my prior, crochet related posts here, is a non profit organization devoted to “spreading the gospel” of crochet; it promotes the teaching of crochet skills, showing off of designer talents, they have an annual conference (usually held in New Hampshire these days, GRRR it is too far for me to go ((  I DID attend a Chain Link when it was held in Bellevue, WA in the summer of 1999 (as it was then called, now they call it the Knit and Crochet Show or some such title.  Chain Link was last on the West Coast in Sacramento, the closest it ever was to me.  I couldn’t afford it so I didn’t go).  The annual conference has classes, a vendor marketplace, a special dinner and awards kind of show and other activities focused on crochet.

Well, let’s get back on track (on topic) here:)  For those of you who viewed my prior posts here on the Polish Star afghan, Jacobs Ladder is merely a simpler version, the loops are laced straight up and down in vertical rows rather than laced all “criss cross” like the Polish Star was.  It is about 2 feet wide now, by about 4 feet long.

Complexitywise, it… isn’t complex at all.  Groups of 10 double crochet, separated by 10 chains.  Pics are below:

And here is another one:

Finally its’ done!  Just needs to be washed and turned in to my Crochet Guild meeting Saturday (to be donated to Oakland Children’s Hospital).  I had a couple rows of white and a couple rows of blue as a border, but decided that was too much border.  Here it is:

As I love both crafts zealously, I am constantly saddened to hear knitters and crocheters “diss” each others’ craft.  All these books out that promise to make your crochet “mimic” knitting (rarely visa versa, no one seems to want their knitting to look crocheted for some reason) are ridiculous, why would I want to do that?

Yarn shops sometimes add to this “rift” in how they treat crocheters vs how they treat knitters.  I’ve had personal experience with this, if I say I crochet, I will be “steered” towards certain yarns/patterns/books/tools, as if I am too dumb to know what I am doing.  If I say I knit, suddenly I’m long lost family or something LOL.  Luckily, my own local yarn shop (LYS as they are commonly called online), Commuknity (http://www.commuknity.com) treats both crocheters and knitters with respect, offering services to both.

Commuting on Light Rail as I do every day, one woman told me she was teaching her daughter to knit because crochet was “too hard”.  EXCUSE ME?  I firmly believe that a brain that can comprehend one of the two crafts can be easily trained to learn the other craft.  They have their differences, but like with human beings getting along with each other, differences can be a good thing and shouldn’t hinder life; it is sad that a lot of people just allow the hostile “gulf” to exist.  I am pretty tired of crocheters whining about being “discriminated” against (they are, but enough already), and I’m also pretty tired of knitters thinking crocheters are “lower life forms”, enough already).  We have far more in common than we differ, and I think we should focus on this and try to get along.

My dream is to write / design patterns that incorporate both crafts within the SAME PROJECT.  One way this can be accomplished is something a yarn shop near Redwood City, CA (Emerald Estates), Amazing Yarns, (Andrea runs this shop out of a portion of her lovely home) has come up with, the Amazing Needle, which is basically a crochet hook with a cable attached to its’ end, so you can circular needle style knit, but you can crochet where and when you want.  They have even written patterns for these needles:

http://www.amazingyarn.com/Pages/amneedle.html

Andrea is a regular Stitches West vendor, and is very friendly and willing to help anyone.

The Polish Star afghan is “growing” steadily, it almost covers my full size sofabaed.  Here are some pics of how it looks now since I last posted:

6/12/08:  EDITED TO ADD  I find the Needlecraft Shop leaflet, Spectacular Polish Stars by Dot Drake (pictured on my prior blog post on this project) on Ebay.com regularly, just search on Polish Star, crochet or Spectacular Polish Stars, crochet and you may be lucky enough to find it.  I am working on the border now so it will be done soon.  Here is the Ebay listing I found on it today: http://tinyurl.com/4pxnze

overall view:

 close up: