Wednesday, February 27, 2013

The Crochet Workout - Grunt, Swear, Snap, Sweat

So, my latest hobby is crochet. I'm just getting started and am still learning. After practicing some basic stitches I decided to jump right into making a scarf.

I knew something was wrong when I snapped a fairly thick acrylic hook. My hands were all cramped, I was getting blisters and every muscle in my body was sore. On top of that, my scarf was curled up like a sleeping centipede.

I did a google search and decided that maybe my tension was off. Apparently, when you crochet, it's not supposed to involve every muscle in your body. You shouldn't have to struggle to jam your hook between stitches, swearing and sweating and snapping hooks. The floor was littered with them. I considered getting some steel hooks, but they just would have bent.

So I ripped out the entire scarf, unravelled it across the floor like a sweater that a had a run-in with a caffeinated cat.

And I started again.

I watched Sweet Pea first - with even less practice than I have, she hasn't had the problems I had - she's a ntatural and is farther ahead with her scarf than I am. I made an effort to relax and to make my stitches looser. It wasn't easy. But after a bit of practice, I'm finding it to be so relaxing - like floating on a cloud - a cloud of fluffy fuzzy pink yarn - not a sore muscle or blister in sight, no hook-schrapnel littering the floor.

It's actually becoming enjoyable. But it isn't as much of a workout.

Quack!

No comments:

Post a Comment