Crochet Lesson #1

The girls were delighted (well, Helen was!) to find a crochet hook and some chunky yarn in their Easter baskets on Sunday. After the hunt for Eggs in the yard, we sat down and started our lesson. Helen has been asking me to teach her for months now, and so she was thrilled to learn. Sophie didn't really want to participate - the lure of word games on her new handheld were more exciting, I think.

Boy was it hard to teach them! They had a lot of trouble getting down the actual holding of the yarn. The hook motion wasn't the problem, it was really the tension of the yarn leading to the ball. I've never taught anyone to crochet before. I just learned it myself from a book, so I don't think I was the best teacher. We perservered (Helen more so than Sophie) and by the end of the day I came into the room to see this:

Here's Helen on the phone with her nana. Note the headband holding the phone clip... truly hands free so she can crochet. She's gotten a lot done and is now enthusiastic about it, since she found a comfortable way to hold the yarn. This is a TRUE smile!

And here's Sophie. That little peach thing that she appears to be sitting on, is her yarn. Hook, nowhere to be seen. Probably under the couch. And yep, the word games won. She might be trying to hide from me under those shades. It's okay, I'm onto her.

Vacation is just around the corner, and the crochet will be a nice project for the plane trip. I've just packed a little knitting project for myself. I chose a gorgeous shade of Berroco Pure Pima... I've been lusting after this yarn ever since I swatched it months ago. I LOVE it!

And I am making the Jessica sweater in the Nashua Handknits Sprout booklet. It is SO adorable, and will be perfect beach knitting.