adventures in crochet

i have long wanted to learn how to crochet and finally found a tutorial that was actually effective. i'm one of those people who can learn things if someone shows me how first and i'm kind of slow about new stuff, so it has to be just the right kind of tutorial. i used crochet school by craftyminx and seriously, her entire series is so awesome. full on instructional and really taught me quite a bit.

unfortunately, crochet ended up being rather painful for me. after a while my arms and shoulders were sore, then i noticed it really set off my carpal tunnel, thus making my hands numb while sleeping. but i loved doing it so much i continued on. i have all kinds of little squares everywhere that i've been using as stamp scrubbers, so it's worked out nicely.

other than killing my hands i made this. i made a whole bunch of practice squares and felt confident i could make myself a scarf. so i got started.

then i noticed it started to ruffle. and not really getting longer like a scarf would but wider. i liked it so i kept going. i took it over to my parents on christmas eve and i think my mother laughed for a good five minutes before saying anything.

there were comparisons to those colorful mexican skirts you sometimes see dancers in. to tree skirts. there was lots of laughter over it and i was okay with that because i was still "learning but isn't it neat looking?"

she showed me where i screwed up and i went ahead and finished it. when spread out the way it is it literally turns into a circle. i’m thinking i can make it into a pillow…somehow.