FAQs while KIP

I do most of my knitting and crocheting in public because I have other things to do when I get home. It serves as a sort of ice breaker because people who otherwise don’t have one word to say to me use it to strike up conversations. Here’s a list of frequently asked questions and comments that people make when they encounter me engaging in my craft. My actual and imaginary responses are in brackets.

-Is that knitting or crochet? What’s the difference? [If I’m knitting I pull out a hook or vice versa.]
-What are you making? How long will it take? [Answers vary.]
-What can you make? [Hats, scarves, sweaters, ponchos, muzzles…]
-Why don’t you make stuff to sell? [Because most people are not willing to pay for the labor involved in making something. If I’m lucky I’ll barely recoup the cost of materials.]
-My aunt/grandmother used to do that. I still have the quilt she made me. [Is that right? She probably made you an afghan. Quilts are sewn.]
-I used to know how to crochet/knit when I was little, but I forgot how. [It’s not hard to pick it back up.]
-I didn’t know people still did that! [Raised eyebrows.]
-I couldn’t do that. I’m so uncoordinated. [It doesn’t require as much coordination as you think.]
-You must save a lot of money. [Quite the opposite. It’s more expensive to make my own sweater than to purchase one that was machine-made in Asia from the local big box store.]
-You must be really patient. [No, actually, knitting/crocheting makes me more patient. I don’t get antsy when I have to wait around for something.]
-Aren’t you too young to be doing that? [Your question implies that only the stereotypical grandmother knits. That idea is not only tired, it’s flawed because almost all the older women who knit/crochet learned how to do so when they were little girls. As if something magical happens to a woman the moment she turns 65 and poof! suddenly she’s endowed with the skill. Give me a break.]

In Honor of Ex-Boyfriends

Often, when we think about our romantic past, we tend to dwell on the jerks we’ve dated----you, know, the ones who acted like it was their job to load us down with emotional baggage. But today I’d like to honor two men whom I truly loved (still do, but in a different way, now) and for whom I have fond memories: Sapito & Choufleur.

With them I had trust, respect and love. They were also intelligent, hardworking, witty, handsome, sensitive, yet manly. We remained friends after the breakups. I knew that they would someday become good husbands and fathers (and they did). Three cheers for good men. Hip-hip hooray! Hip-hip hooray! Hip-hip hooray!

On a fiber-related note, the first hat I ever crocheted was for Choufleur (as per his request). I made my best effort considering that it was the first time and I wasn’t using a pattern. When I presented it to him he laughed. Not tee-hee----more like a guffaw. Several loud guffaws followed by a fit of giggles. Seeing my annoyance, he said “Thank you, honey,” and then pranced around the house like a clown with it on. Granted, it looked afflicted, but, dude, couldn’t you have held the ridicule ‘til a little later? Anyway, I forgave him.

Old Finished Projects

crocheted scarf
yarn: Peaches & Creme 100% cotton (two balls)
hook: 3 ¾ mm/US F
pattern: nine rows of double crochet
comments: When I first moved to the DC area my only scarf was a red, yellow and green one I had crocheted in honor of my Guinean dance instructor. African men on buses and trains would see me wearing it and use it as a point of conversation. Most African men I have come across tend to be very persistent and won’t take no for an answer (huge turn-off), so, to avoid unwanted attention, I bought yarn and a hook and crocheted this scarf and retired the old one.

I was an intermittent crocheter. I’d have a few months of frenzied activity followed by several months, or even a couple years, of inactivity. Making this scarf was the beginning of a new period of crocheting activity during which I learned how to knit. Now that I have two crafts to choose from, I can switch off between the two and haven’t had any more periods of craft inactivity.



first (second, third, fourth) hat
yarn: 100% hand-painted wool
needles: 5 mm/US 8
pattern: 2x2 rib in the round, crocheted tassels
comments: This is the first hat I ever knit. It’s beginning to look a bit worn out, but I still wear it. I knit it without a pattern and without making a swatch, therefore had to pull it out and re-knit it three times (too small, then too wide, then too pointy). This explains why I never wove in the end at the bottom. I wasn’t sure if I was going to have to re-knit the fourth attempt, so I just let it hang.

From this experience I learned the importance of swatching. I still rarely follow a pattern, though.

Good & Bad News on the Bus

BAD On the way to choir rehearsal I left my handmade mittens on the bus. They were the second pair I’d ever crocheted and were made of this awful, awful acrylic bouclé yarn which I loathe, but they were mine and they kept my hands relatively warm. Let us now pause for a moment of silence in remembrance of my wonky grey mittens.

GOOD Last week, on the way from choir practice I finished Em-hijabi’s blanket. The one I worked on on the road to nowhere . That I finished it is no great feat. The impressive part is that when I got home I wove in all the ends. I have only once in my life ever woven in ends on the same day I finished knitting a project. Part of the reason I have so many UFOs is because I don’t get around to that last chore: weaving in the ends. Don’t know what possessed me to do it, but I’m thrilled. Maybe this will be the start of a new trend.

As for the blanket, it was made of variegated worsted weight acrylic yarn. Em-hijabi, a friend and colleague, had started learning how to crochet a year or so ago, but it didn’t stick. When she fell in love and decided to move to the UK she gave me her bag of yarn. Lovely color, but since I’m trying to reduce the stash, I promised her a baby blanket. I doubt she’s pregnant now, but considering that all her friends seem to be chasing after toddlers, she’ll probably soon join that club. This is an advance gift for that as-yet-unconceived baby.

The specs for this project can be found here.