This week I dedicated my time to my final presentation. I did some research on the history of crochet and how it started. I spent time looking into my successes and failures during the project and what path I want to take after it is finished. I looked at my final goals and how they have changed from the beginning of the project to the end. I definitely did not reach my initial goal but in some form I did learn to crochet because I learned the basics so that I can continue after Genius Hour is finished.
I also had to look at my original intentions on what I wanted the project to look like and keep that in mind when making my presentation and setting up the information I wanted to present. I'm glad that I did the project because it introduced me to something new that I wanted to do. I have wanted to crochet for a long time but could never dedicate time to do it when I had other things to do, so this project really helped me learn, and it forced me to dedicate my time to it. I really enjoyed doing the project and I really enjoy crocheting.
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This week I mostly worked more on my double crochet and started looking at the requirements for the final presentation. I planned on making swatches to show that I know the three basic stitches to show during my presentation. I was working on improving my double crochet so that I could focus the next week on everything related to the presentation. The double crochet is the most complicated out of the three but that should be expected because it has the most height per row.
Many crochet stitches are a combination of the three stitches. For example you could do a repeating pattern of a half double then a single to create a different looking stitch to just the basics. After the project is over I want to learn some of the more complicated combination stitches. I will only start it after the project because I really want to focus the next week and a half on my final presentation. This week I continued working on my half-double stitch. I'm working towards the three most basic stitches and I have done two out of the three. I am still using the thicker yarn and the L hook because it is easier to learn with when you are first starting to crochet. I also did some research on crocheting this week. Mostly about yarn and the hooks that we need to use. You also have to use different types of yarn for different hooks and different materials. I learned that the word crochet means hook in french.
They make cotton, wool, fleece, silk, linen and acrylic yarns. You want to use different materials for different projects that you have such as a scarf. You would want to use a warmer yarn to make the scarf useful to somebody. For a potholder you don't want to use acrylic yarn because when it gets too hot it will burn and melt. You also have to choose yarn based on hooks, on the back of each label it will give you a recommended hook size to make it the easiest for you to use. This week for my project I worked on stitching a half-double stitch. The half double is slightly more complicated than the single which is to be expected. Knowing how to do the single stitch and getting my hands used to crocheting helped too. I'm working towards knowing the three most basic stitches by the end of the twelve weeks and so far I'm doing good. I have finished 1 and am working on the other.
It will take me longer than I expected to crochet something complicated but I plan to continue this even after genius hour. Originally I wanted to prove that I knew how to crochet by crocheting something like a hat or a scarf, but as I have realized it takes longer than twelve weeks to learn how to crochet well enough to make something that takes that much skill and time. Now I plan to prove that I can crochet by showing a swatch that I have stitched and by knowing how to explain how you crochet certain stitches. For this week relating to my genius hour I continued working on my single stitch. I've spent more time on this stitch then I would have liked to but it is proving to be more difficult than I imagined. This week I switched to a new yarn and it has helped with my stitch a lot and it makes it a lot easier to work with. It also has its difficulties like having to get used to a knew yarn thickness and a new crochet hook. The hook that I was using was a J hook but now I'm using an L hook. The L hook is 8.00 mm and the J hook was 6.00 mm. I was able to crochet 10 rows of single stitch consistently and tightly with the new yarn and hook. Before I was finding it difficult to place the hook in the next spot it needed to go. With the bigger yarn it is easier to find the next spot and easier to keep the stitch going. This week I plan to learn my half double stitch. I will continue using the thicker yarn and bigger hook, because it is easier for me to learn with. Since I have already learned the single stitch I'm hoping that learning the half-double stitch will be easier, and will take less time, because I already have the base stitch.
This week was again pretty simple for my project. I continued to work on my single stitch and my chain. I find that when I start with my chain my stitches are too tight so it makes it difficult to get my single stitch where it needs to go. Then when the single stitch is complete it is too tight so I struggle to get the second row complete and so on. I've been working on fixing this flaw in my stitching and it has been getting better. On Monday I have planned to learn my next stitch, which will be the half-double. It sounds like it will be just a single stitch because half of two is one, but it is really 1 and a half stitches. The picture below is an example of a half double stitch and also an example of something that is made with a half double stitch. This is also part of the reason that I wanted to learn how to crochet; that way I can make things like blankets and scarves. It could also just be a fun hobby for when you have free time.
For this week I didn't add anything new to my project. I worked on my single stitch to make it better and more consistent. The first few stitches are always a little rocky, even if you have been crocheting for a long time. As you practices though it will get easier and you will learn to live with the first few pieces looking weird. If you make something into a piece and you use the stitch you most likely won't even be able to tell that they look awkward. After my project is over I plan to continue crocheting and making actual things like hats and scarves or even blankets. What I would really want to learn is how do the corner to corner crochet that I mentioned in Blog Post 3. A single stitch is the most basic one to learn when trying to learn your first stitch, although it's a little bit harder to get the movement down. It was definitely for difficult than the chain to get used to. This is mostly why I decided to wait to learn anything new until next week. The stitch I'm most excited to learn is the half double, because I'm curious to see what it looks like, and how you crochet with it.
For my project this week I learned a first stitch. It really is one of the most basic stitches, but it is essential to learning how to crochet. It is called a single stitch, and it is based from the chain that I learned earlier in the project. All stitches start with the base of a chain and a slipknot which is why you learn those first. The single crochet was more difficult to learn than a chain, but once you get used to knowing the stitch it gets easier and the rows get prettier. For the upcoming week, I'll be trying to improve my single crochet and make it more consistent and smoother. I am also going to try to learn the half-double stitch, and make rows with both.
This week for my blog I learned the basics of crocheting. I learned how to tie a slipknot and learned how to crochet a train. I've been using a 6 mm needle and some very basic yarn. At first I really could not figure out how to hold the needle and the yarn, as well as the chain at the same time, but then I figured out a way and it got much easier. I have only been working on this for two days but this part seems pretty simple once you really understand how to do it and remember the movements in the right order. I also learned information about crocheting in general like, you would want to use a wooden J hook to work with yarn that is more silky that way you have more friction between the two. By next week I'm hoping to learn my first stitch. There are a few different ones that are easy when you are just starting to learn such as, the single, double, half double and treble stitches, the slip stitch and the chain stitch which is the one I know right now. There is also this stitch which is called Corner to Corner and you can make really cool designs with basically anything you can draw with pixels. The image at the bottom is an example of a corner to corner design. This is supposed to be a really easy stitch when you know how to crochet. When you switch the thickness of your yarn it can be hard to get used to it but you also have to get used to the new needle you need to work with. There are a lot of conditions to really get good at crocheting but by the end of the 12 weeks I'll be able to crochet in a few different stitches!
This week was pretty simple relating to my project. I mostly did a lot of research on the best types of yarn, recommended needles, and the simplest patterns for me to start out with. I also started coming with ideas of what I plan to make along the way to show my progress and what I plant to represent my end result after 12 weeks. I plan to start actually crocheting next week and I'll start with the most basic of patterns to help get my hands used to this new activity. My neighbor has offered to teach me some stuff and I also want to use youtube to try to teach myself how to do somethings as well.
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