For many years I preferred crochet to knitting. As a child I crocheted blankets for my Barbie doll's bed, later I ventured into bigger projects such as pillow covers before making my first (self-designed) jumper when I was about eighteen. I made it during a stint in bed and I used all the scraps of colourful cotton I could find in the house. The jumper had granny square across the bust and the rest had stripes of whatever colour and stitch pattern I could conjure up. I remember not having the patience to sew it up properly, so I used the sewing machine with resulting bulky seams. No, it was not a perfect-looking jumper, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't even flattering, but I wore it proudly and a few people even offered to buy it off me. When I returned to crafting after a few years in the wilderness, I returned to crochet. I had found some crocheted jewellery on Etsy, didn't like the price tag and loudly exclaimed "I can make that myself". The next day I bought a crochet hook and some wool from Ms Old Maiden Aunt and, as they said, the rest is history. As you probably know, I swiftly moved into knitting but that is a story for another day.
Why am I telling you this? I'm telling you this because one of my major pet peeves is when crochet patterns really, really, really want to be knitting patterns. This crochet pattern is a crochet version of knitting patterns such as Lady Eleanor. Or how about a crocheted Aran pullover? A Bohus-esque pullover? By imitating knitting patterns, I think designers make crochet into a second-class activity. It is like they say: "Oh, knitting is amazing and we are so sorry that you are not knitting that we have made you some patterns so you can look like you are wearing some famous knitted stuff." Instead I want designers to say: "Crochet is amazing. It can do so many fascinating structural things with (negative) space and dimensions and we're designing patterns that really showcase what crochet can do." Yesterday I saw some examples of what you can really achieve if the designer understands crochet and that was a joy to behold. Crochet is not a lesser craft - it is a different craft.
Today I have the pleasure of a day off. Snow may be heading our way, so I think that is a jolly good excuse to curl up in the sofa with a cup of tea and the last few rows of my Fan Shawl. I just have some stitches to pick up and five rows left to knit. Sounds fun, mm? Unfortunate I have 350+ stitches to pick up but nevermind.. I have all day to myself and what a luxury that is.