Switching Teams ;)

Yesterday I went on a recognizance mission with my daughter. We were scoping out the newest and BIGGEST bookstore in Monroe County, Pa. Bargain Book Warehouse opened recently filling a huge void because there are no bookstores in this area. As a crochet fan I hoped to find a huge cache of crochet books.

Perusing the miles of aisles (the spot used to be a grocery store!) I was overwhelmed with the amount of books I saw. I found quilting books and crafing books. I saw books on scrap booking and books on sewing. I found beading books and too many knitting books to count. I found only four lonely crochet books (Huggable Crochet, 150 Crochet Trims, Happy Crochet and Loop-d-Loop Crochet) amongst all of the hundreds of fun knit books. That totally unraveled my yarn!

The uneven ratio made me for a moment want switch teams. I wanted to go from hard core crocheter to happy-go-lucky knitter. Knitters have so many fun and quirky titles. (Knitting for Peace, Pretty Knits and Naughty Needles!) I wanted fun and quirky too. I wasn't too disheartened though. When I look into the crochet world I see that that idea of toggling between knit and crochet is not new.

Nicky Epstein, whom I only knew from her beautiful book Crocheted Flowers is actually a prolific knitter and more known for that than for her crochet.

Mary Beth Temple, who inspired me to write my own book of crochet stories has focused on many other crafts than crochet . Her latest book is Curvy Girl Crochet, but The Secret Language of Knitter is considered, “…the project of her heart.”

The ubiquitous Debbie “Stitch and Bitch” Stoller has famously taken up both hook and needle in very successful books on the fiber arts. I have to admit that there is appeal and beauty in both.

Because it is more popular, crocheters are often urged to “to come to the dark side" and knit! Teva Durham in Loop-d-Loop Crochet was the only one I saw that invited "knitters taking up the hook" to try one of her twenty five crochet designs.

So there is hope! I intend on remaining a crochet purist, and I can do so by helping fill the market with fun and quirky crochet pattern books, just like they have in the knit world. So, get ready for Naughty Hooks, the crocheted version of Nikol Lohr's Naughty Needles!

Dani Does Doilies!

The Happy Hooker, Chicks with Sticks, Dani Does Doilies Do you see a pattern here? Is it any wonder that I chose a “naughty” title for my book of crochet stories?

My crochet stories are far from dirty though. They are varied and will fill a void in an industry dominated by all things KNIT. I have found very few copies of stories straight from crocheters. Stories about the lives of knitters abound, but stories about crocheters are few and far between.
Crocheters have stories to tell that are different but similar to knitter stories. Knitters and crocheters have gauge and yarn and patterns in common, but only crocheters have hooks and only crocheter have beautiful lace work and only crocheters have Allison Hoffman!

Alright, so if you knit you can make a cable knit sweater;

I so want a cable knit sweater. You can make(comfortable) socks and you will use much less than yarn than if you crochet; crochet is known as a “yarn gobbler” but knit has only two stitches, the knit and the purl. Crochet has so many different stitches and techniques there are entire books devoted solely to that.
Sure crocheters and knitters can both Zen out together because all fiber artists gather relaxation from the melody of the movement, and we can really groove to the fact that we are actually creating a hat, or scarf, mitten, toy or sweater or skirt even. You can’t make lace with knitting needles!

It’s okay that Michaels.com says that knit is the “favorite for sweater making”! You can make a sweater with crochet, although it’ll be a little…boxy.
To be fair, Michaels.com also admitted that crochet is a versatile and popular. So there, knit!

So, come on…be naughty with me, be a rebel with be, go against the grain with me…Crochet With Me!