Crocheting Heresies

[darski]

I am just so loving this thread...

I feel the need to take a picture of my last TP dolly cover just for the sake of hubris.

 

 

:rofl :rofl

[monael]

I only work one or two projects at a time

 

I don't have a huge yarn stash

 

I have to have at least a project in mind before I will buy yarn, no matter how pretty it is (but sometimes I really try hard to come up with one )

 

I am becoming more of a yarn snob

 

I never got the whole poncho thing

 

I probably will never crochet another granny square

[jenhen]

I really like to make hats, scarves, wraps, baby blankets, the occasional purse--I am not interested in making sweaters.

 

It's hard to find a crochet magazine without a sweater pattern.

 

I was more of a yarn snob when I started crocheting a few years ago, now I will use just about anything.

 

Except fun fur. Except, well, I did use some once, and it wasn't that bad.

 

I weave my ends in when I'm finished, not as I go. Sometimes though I will put down my hook before my project is over and pick up my yarn needle and weave a few ends in.

 

I don't use baby yarn for baby blankets--too pastelly.

 

I would like to make a TP cover someday.

[Blondie]

I like RHSS because it is readily available. When I am in the mood to make something I don't want to go on a yarn hunt.

 

I don't like free form crochet at all.

 

I don't like shawls, but I do like ponchos.

 

I finish a project before I start another one.

 

I do not make a gauge swatch. I know what ever hook size the pattern calls for, I need the next size bigger.

 

I love making different kinds of grany squares, but I think every granny square should have one row of single crochet around it, no matter if the pattern calls for it or not for joining purposes.

 

I weave in ends as I go.

 

I tie knots.

 

I love to make doilies, but I give them away except for a few small ones that I framed.

 

I don't like fringe on afghans.

 

I don't want to felt anything.

 

I don't like crocheted socks or slippers.

 

I rarely buy yarn without a project in mind unless the yarn is really a pretty or unusual color.

 

I lean more toward muted colors than the really bright colors.

 

I am sure there is more I could add, but that is all I can think of now.

[grrlsmom]

Oh my, I am not alone! LOL

 

I hate felting. Why do it? Why?

 

I like cheap yarn, probably because I am basically a tightwad.

 

I don't knot, but I like to crochet over the ends - kwim? Since I do mainly afghans, it really doesn't show and if all people have to do is look for the thicker parts, I feel sorry for them.

 

Thread and doilies fascinate me, I know I will never, ever attempt it.

 

I hate granny squares.

 

Oh, I feel better!

[OzRebel]

I love my Boye hooks, my one Jimbo hook and the bamboo hooks are not bad either

I rarely swatch/do a gauge check... usually the hook size called for is right on for me

I despise making granny squares even though I like some projects that are made with them... just don't have the patience for them myself

I hate fun fur and boucle

I buy the bulk of my yarn at Michaels/JoAnns/WalMart, but splurged on 14 skeins of Blue Sky Alpaca bulky 50%wool/50%alpaca yarn for a cape for myself from the Loop d'Loop Crochet pattern book...

I have trouble working in the round

I find getting in the groove of a new pattern difficult... I often have to re-work the first few rows a couple of times to "catch on" to it

[kiwikitti]

Oh I have to add! I was reading and realized "that's me too!"

 

I adore tp covers and plan on decorating my bathroom with them. Also, cosies for just about anything. I have yet to make them but when I finally get my own apartment, everything will have a little cosy to keep it warm.

 

 

Also, I don't like Susan Bate hooks because I think they are too angular but love Boye's

[terrijo]

I tie knots

 

I never test my gauge

 

I can't figure out how a poncho would work on a baby

 

I can't figure out the round afghan thing either

 

 

I think it's ridiculous when someone does a blanket I've seen in an older crochet magazine in a different color and suddenly it's MINE, MINE, MINE

 

I will never make baby booties or a ripple afghan

 

I used to hate trying to get granny squares together so it looks right but someone on the 'ville had a nifty way of doing it, I tried it and now I will make granny and other kinds of squares

 

I collect old doilies from antique stores and I get irritated when they sell for 50 cents....all the work that went into it! My family has joined my cause and they rescue doilies for me

[kookaloo_starr]

I like this

 

I will swatch for a garment for someone else but for me its just "hook 'n' go"

 

I DETEST TP cozy's etc, where is the shame in having loo paper in your bathroom huh?

 

I'll never make/use a doily

 

I choose yarn for the feel and washability - beautiful but hand wash only is OUT

 

70s kid who lurves Granny Squares, ponchos and tassels but doesn't wear any of them BUT I don't like the mishmash of colours often used in grannys I think it makes an item look like an after thought!

 

I knit too and had never come across any kind of "knitters are better" snobbery until I joined US based sites - where it tends to be people saying they aren't snobs, what I mean is I've never had a knitter say that crochet is inferior or a crocheter say that knitting is. I think its an urban myth

 

I'm sure there are more

 

 

[Rachel]

What the heck...I'll play too!

 

RHSS and I do not get along. It literally makes my hands break out in a rash. So, no RHSS for me.

I work over my ends...although, I didn't know that was considered a crocheting heresy.

I will NOT make a cozy for anything. Ever.

As much as I love the look of felted items, I hate the fact that its such a waste. I doubt I'll ever felt anything unless I become fabulously wealthy and have money to burn...or felt.

I'm not interested in making sweaters or socks.

I don't swatch.

If a pattern calls for joining squares, I pass right on by. I can never get my squares to look decent when they're joined, no matter what I do, and I'd rather not have the headache.

Fun fur....blech.

I'd rather free-hand something than follow a pattern any day.

I think doilies are lovely, and have even made a few for my mother, but you will never see a doily in my house.

I will not spend half a paycheck on hand-painted, no-cruelty, organic, fair-trade yarn. I'd never be able to use whatever I'd made for fear of wrecking it and blowing all the money I'd spent on the yarn.

 

Having said all of that, I have no problem with anyone who does any of what I don't.

[eurolyons]

Have to add,

 

I'm not a fan of fringe, except crocheted fringe...having grown up in the 70's, one of the reasons I don't care for granny squares is having to make 12 inch granny squares for an afghan for my aunt. It was the worst afghan I ever made mainly because we ran out of the olive green and the store didn't have any left in the same dye lot, so we had to take the closet olive green they had...and the afghan looked it. When we (my grandmother and I) went to piece it together (yuck) there was no, "Let's figure out how to work with the odd color..." It was just slapped together..." Oh well live and learn.

 

However, I do like to make granny squares out of thread to make little key chains and purse fobs...but only in one color.

 

While I rarely do a gauge swatch, I am bestest best friends with my tape measure...the times I do work up a swatch is when a stitch pattern looks complicated...then I view it as a rough draft...

 

While there are some really cute cozies out there, I doubt I'll make a tp cover, and if I do, that won't be it's purpose...

 

After 30 years of being a rebel about not using patterns for crochet, I realise I did myself a serious disservice because that's how one learns to take their craft to the next level and in the end it has nothing but help my designing. It's just that now, 9 times out of 10, I change nearly every pattern I work with.

[lucie]

Most acrylic yarns are icky. I'm sure some are good but since I've discovered Peaches & Cream, why bother!

 

Cotton yarn makes wonderful afghans.

 

You CAN have too much yarn! I'm OK with having a good variety of different yarns and threads on hand but there's really no point in having more yarn than you could ever hope to use, or in keeping yarn or thread that you probably never will use. Sell it if you must, or better yet, RAOK it to someone who doesn't have the resources to purchase yarn or thread for themselves.

 

Flip side... You canNOT have too many patterns!

 

My favorite hooks are boye balene II hooks.

 

After getting off to a slow start I find I love making granny squares for afghans. There are so many variations that it's difficult to choose! And, I don't really mind weaving ends. Sure it's tedious and time-consuming but there are times when that kind of activity is good for me to do.

 

Doilies are cool!

[papersmiles]

Darski,

 

Never thought of that and we do have an animal shelter in our little town. Thanks! This will at least let me get the LID on the tub!!!!!

[eurolyons]

"You CAN have too much yarn! I'm OK with having a good variety of different yarns and threads on hand but there's really no point in having more yarn than you could ever hope to use, or in keeping yarn or thread that you probably never will use. Sell it if you must, or better yet, RAOK it to someone who doesn't have the resources to purchase yarn or thread for themselves."

 

I actually agree with this, especially after 10 years ago I had to seriously downsize and gave several Hefty plastic trash bags full of yarn away...now I try to keep it as reasonable as possible, which isn't easy...

 

I hear ya on the patterns though, but I still try to keep it reasonable.

[amandapace]

"You CAN have too much yarn! I'm OK with having a good variety of different yarns and threads on hand but there's really no point in having more yarn than you could ever hope to use, or in keeping yarn or thread that you probably never will use. Sell it if you must, or better yet, RAOK it to someone who doesn't have the resources to purchase yarn or thread for themselves."

 

I actually agree with this, especially after 10 years ago I had to seriously downsize and gave several Hefty plastic trash bags full of yarn away...now I try to keep it as reasonable as possible, which isn't easy...

 

I hear ya on the patterns though, but I still try to keep it reasonable.

 

WOW! Let me know the next time you have to "downsize"...

[boo1]

I don't swatch.

I don't always use the hook they suggest.

I crochet too tightly, but I am DARNED consistent in my tension.

I HATE fun fur or anything that resembles it.

I love RH.

I hate Homespun.

I am beginning to dislike a lot of LB yarns-too much splitting.

I generally pass on patterns that call for joining. I hate it.

I do tie knots.

I don't or plan to start crocheting cozies for anything.

I like to knit but don't have time for both.

I believe that you can't have too much yarn (okay, so I'm justifying my stash) or too many crochet books.

I hate plastic hooks.

I cannot crochet with a Q hook. Wish I could.

I believe that due to the health benefits of crocheting, we should demand that yarn purchases be tax-exempt.

Oh, and I hate adding fringe. I'm not averse to it as a concept, just don't want to deal with it.

[eurolyons]

WOW! Let me know the next time you have to "downsize"...

 

I might just do that...

[amandapace]

[eurolyons]

"I believe that due to the health benefits of crocheting, we should demand that yarn purchases be tax-exempt."

 

Good one...

 

I'm not crazy about the white plastic hooks (not strong enough...they just feel too flimsy...)

[paperflowers]

Crochet is A VERY LONG WAY from leaving behind its tacky image. We went from bed dolls to watermelon scrubbies. What are all of these dishcloths for? Don't you have a dishwasher?

 

Yarn manufacturers really need to wake up. Half of the yarn at the store comes in baby pastels and the other majority is goofy novelty yarns. What am I supposed to make - a pepto pink cardigan trimmed in fun fur?

 

I do not understand the fascination with yarn boutiques. Why does a 50g hank cost $9? Even if it's handmade, I still gotta hand-untangle it. I'd rather go to AC Moore or Michaels, where my dollar will actually go somewhere.

 

I do not understand why tops are designed to be crocheted in two pieces. Knitters have to do that - we don't. There is a lot of time to be saved by eliminating the side seams altogether. And how do you know it fits if you can't try it on?

[eurolyons]

"Don't you have a dishwasher?" Actually, no I don't...but you make a good point...

 

You make another good point about side seams and trying on...while I do like to work with one piece garments, sometimes it's just easier to work with smaller and more pieces to make a top. For a long while this was because I sew also and am used to working with many pieces. In fact when I designed my first crocheted stuffed animal, I designed it in pieces like I remembered from cutting out from paper patterns...

 

How do you know it if fits? well, you can baste or pin the pieces together, that's what I had to recently with a project...

 

Still you make good points...and I hear you on bed dolls to watermelon scrubbies, but like I said in a previous post, I personally like the kitch...and it's fun...so for me, that's why...and knitting too (and sewing for that matter) has their own kitch...crochet hasn't cornered the market on kitch or tacky by any stretch of the imagination...just that it seems like it sometimes...

[Loralynn]

Here's my list:

 

I don't get the hoopala over the SnB book either - I've looked at it repeatedly and can't find a reason to want it.

 

I have never and will never "felt." I'm just not crazy about the look of it.

 

I only by cheap yarns - I just can't bring myself to spend $10 to whatever on a skein!

 

I tie knots.

 

I almost never make swatches, I figure it takes time away from making the actual project. If it doesn't work out in the first couple of rows, start over or give it to someone smaller or larger!

 

I only block my doilies.

 

I think Vanna's yarns look dull, like they have been washed too much and the color leached out!

 

I have crocheting ADD - I jump from project to project until I have 5 or 6 (sometimes more) unfinished projects sitting by my chair. I have had to start hiding them because my Husband will really give me a hard time about it!

 

I buy yarn I don't need, then hide it from my family...under tables covered by tablecloths (weren't table cloths invented so you could hide things under them???), in closets, even my bathroom cabinet that holds my "girlie stuff" because I know my dh WON'T look there!

[marillion]

I hate shrugs. There I said it and I'm not going to unsay it. I see so many patterns (crochet and knit) for them and all I can think is what is the point of wearing a pair of sleeves?

 

I look at yarn in craft stores, but almost never buy it. The yarn absolutely must feel great for me to buy it - so yes, I end spending lots on yarn, but if I don't I'll never use it.

 

I hate Homespun.

 

I use no wool or any animal fibers. It is rarely a problem, but I did have a woman in a LYS look down on me when I said it. I don't think I said it in a bad way, just as a matter of fact. So, sometimes I lie and say I'm allergic to it (which might be true...there are days when I think I am indeed allergic to wool).

 

I love, love, love coffee...but have no desire to crochet a cozie for it!

 

I love purple and orange and most of yarn stash is one of these two colors AND I find myself looking mostly at these colors when in the store. I made a hat out of both colors (yes, together) and I am still working on a orange/purple/grey afghan.

 

I will spend hours looking for just the right yarn. I will spend money on skeins to test the yarn to see if I want to buy enough for the whole project. I am making my first wearable and I must have purchased 7-8 "test" skeins in order to decide on the perfect yarn for it.

 

And the big heresy from me - I see so many patterns that I think are just awful! Again this applies to both crochet and knitting. I'm just happy there are plenty that I do like.

[amandapace]

 

I have crocheting ADD - I jump from project to project until I have 5 or 6 (sometimes more) unfinished projects sitting by my chair. I have had to start hiding them because my Husband will really give me a hard time about it!

 

I buy yarn I don't need, then hide it from my family...under tables covered by tablecloths (weren't table cloths invented so you could hide things under them???), in closets, even my bathroom cabinet that holds my "girlie stuff" because I know my dh WON'T look there!

 

Me too! I have driven around with yarn in a bag inside the stroller in the back of the car until I could move it into my stash boxes without being noticed! I do it with books, too. My DH doesn't see the point in buying books when we have perfectly good libraries. I agree with him, but I love to "own" my books - not all of them, just certain authors.

I work on three or four or ten different projects on any given day...what I think is funny is that people remark on how patient I must be to sit and crochet , like I have superior powers of concentration or something

[Debbi-a1]

I found some more from other posts:

 

I didn't think Vannas new book for her new yarn was all that great. Same old patterns. And the yarns too expensive.

 

I don't like fringe. Only did it on one or two afghans (can't even remember) that I had to fasten off each row (one was scrap yarn).

 

I made a cup cozy for my diet coke cans. I loved it.

 

I like homespun.