YouTube? Tik Tok?

 So I see a lot of people say "I just learned to crochet. I'm going to start a YouTube channel and teach people how to crochet/my patterns/etc!" Please don't do this. If you're new to crochet, or any craft for that matter, don't make a social media account to "help" or "teach" people how to do it. I would encourage a social media account to show your journey with this new craft and let people know it doesn't happen over night and takes persistence. It would be beautiful to see someone's journey and watch them get better and better! Practice makes progress!

However, it's infuriating to see someone who can't tell their ass from their elbow in a craft trying to "teach" people. Please learn the terminology, how to move fluidly and to proper way to do things. Also, if you have small kids, please try to record when they aren't screaming. I would love to see an account that blossoms from "Learn with me!" to "Here's a simple pattern anyone can do and one I started with." Instead of frustrating veterans in the craft, encourage and stand by new people. Let them know they aren't alone and they have someone to learn with. Only a newbie can fully understand, even though we were all new once, it's not the same.

Do you have a crochet social media account? Please share!

Getting Started With Crochet

 Ok, you've been lurking, looking, gathering your thoughts and information. You are now ready to venture in to crochet! But....What do you do? Where do you start? It's ok, we got you. Here's a very simple list to get you started. It's not carved in stone and you can do what feels best for you, this is just what I use when I teach people how to crochet:

Yarn-I recommend acrylic and size 4 or "worsted weight" yarn.  It's just the cheapest and easiest to find plus it's a good size to learn with.

Hook-Size 5MM-6MM as anything smaller or bigger can get fiddly. The type of hook will be trial and error as hooks are very personal. I recommend a Bates or Boye metal hook to start. They're cheap and easy to find and metal usually works with whatever yarn fiber you want to try.

A large eye/tapestry/plastic canvas needle-Can usually be found in sets with different sizes and a container.

Scissors-Any that can cut yarn.

Optional-A row counter. You don't need this to learn how to crochet but it will come in handy when you start making projects.

YouTube is also your friend. There are tons of videos for beginners and most are very well done. I'm going to start my videos here in a bit, after I get my phone stand to record so I can help you there too.

I hope you share your crochet journey with us!

My Current Project

 So my current project is a sapphire blue dragon bag. I wrote the pattern myself and no the pattern will not be for sale. Too many people steal and sell patterns claiming they wrote them.

Anyway, I'm kinda stuck on what color to make the belly of the bag. I haven't found a green that looks good with this particular blue. I can't come up with another color that might look even half way decent and it's making  me sad. Any suggestions would be helpful!

Yay!

Tomorrow is my birthday! I think I'll get myself a nice pattern or pattern book and some yarn.

I've been trying to stash bust this year and not buy yarn I don't need. My stash was getting out of control but for some reason I never had black or white or any shade I needed. Turns out I still don't but I'm working with it. I like being able to just grab the yarn I need for a project and not have to go to the store, stopping my project and ruining my flow. At the same time, the stash was taking over my craft room. I guess there's a fine balance we crafters keep.

Do you have a stash? Do you only get the yarn you need?