Last week at knitting group we noticed that there were two very different blankets being made from the same exact stitch. The lighter blanket made out of fingering weight yarn is dense and squishy. The darker blanket made out of worsted weight yarn is light and airy. Both blankets are straight double crochet.
It’s amazing how yarn weight and hook size can completely transform a project.
When I mentioned that I started doing my double crochets a different way, a few people wanted to know how I was yarning over. (Is yarning a word?)
Basically, I was yarning over front-to-back instead of back-to-front. It doesn’t seem that it should make that much of a difference, but going from back-to-front gives the stitch a bit of a twist. The texture is more defined.
Once I saw the difference, there was no going back. Only problem was all of those squares I made on vacation. I’ll admit that it took me awhile to get up the courage to rip them out and start over. But after seeing the difference, I knew I had to do it.
interesting note: the extra little twist uses up a bit more yarn and makes the squares a bit more bigger.
I’d like to say that I adapt fairly well to change, but that doesn’t mean I like it. Today I tried three new things and I’m actually exited about them.
crochet yarn over
Recently, my friend Jennifer pointed out that our double crochet stitches look different. She watched me do mine and I watched her do hers. The difference? How we did the yarn overs. I spent the day practicing her yarn over and I’m hooked. (Ha, ha)
granny square basics
I’ve been making my granny squares the same way since my very first one. I happened across a tutorial on Sarah’s Crochet a Rainbow post and I really like how she does her color changes. Starting the next color in a different chain space makes it easier to crochet over the previous row’s tail. Sweet!
chai concentrate
Awhile back, Amy posted a link to chai concentrate. I don’t think I’ve ever had milk in my tea. Milk my coffee, sure, but in tea? (When I visited India, I was the weird American who ordered my tea black.)
Today I made a double batch: one for a friend and one for myself. I have to say that I don’t hate it. I’m not used to sugar in either coffee or tea, so the sweetness is a little weird. What I do like about this recipe: you can switch up your tea with each serving: caff, decaf, green. I’ll be trying it again tomorrow.
Three new things in one day. Who says you can’t teach an old cat new tricks?