I can crochet! And loom.

I was bummed because Bev's was having a challenge to make red, white, and blue saltines and yo-yos and I couldn't crochet. Well, God heard me. :-)

I wasn't able to make what I would have normally, but last night I was able to crochet for the first time in weeks. Seems like years. LOL I made several saltines. It may not seem like much, but it was a pleasure to do.

I also did finish a loom hat though I'm not sure it will fit anyone but a cone head. LOL I did learn a lot doing it and that was the intention - to learn how to do it.

You can see the work in progress at the Crafty Corral blog, either at Wordpress or at Blogger. Still pondering changing it over. You see, doing this emphasizes my point. I can't work on Crafty Corral blog and Crochet Cabana blog at the same time because I'd have to sign out of one to work on the other. In Wordpress I can work on both my Shifting Winds and my Crafty Corral in the same session without signing out of either. And could do Crochet Cabana too if I wanted to, but I'm not thinking of moving this one.

Back to the loom topic - It is called a knitting loom so I guess it doesn't qualify as crochet.  However, some crocheters do other crafts and I know a lot of you enjoy looming or have wanted to try it. I needed my daughter to actually show me in person how to do it for me to be successful, but I will tell you what turned the corner for me. She told me to do each stitch individually rather than wrap around the entire circle. That works perfectly and I don't get that boing effect which was so frustrating to me. So big thanks to her for that.

If you are interested in trying the loom, the book daughter used was Loom Knitting Primer: A Beginner's Guide to Knitting on a Loom.

Amazon also has several other books on looming.
Learn New Stitches on Circle Looms
Learn to Knit on Circle Looms 1405
Learn to Knit Cables on Looms Real crochet cables are not so easy to do, so I'm wondering if it would be easier on the loom. Haven't tried it so I can't say, but I'm interested.

How to Knit Fashionable Scarves on Circle Looms: New Techniques for Knitting 12 Stylish Designs You know I love to make scarves, so I will probably try this soon. I didn't have enough chunky yarn to do it this time. It seems like most people use either two strands worsted, or chunky on these looms.

I did watch a video of someone making a scarf. It was essentially just working in the round longer and then using a particular method of closing up the two ends. It is almost like making two scarves and joining them in regular crochet or knitting. I would think it would be nice and thick.

I Can't Believe I'm Loom Knitting (Leisure Arts #5250) I haven't seen this one, but I love the I Can't Believe I'm Crocheting! that I have used for years. I see on Amazon that there is an updated version now I Can't Believe I'm Crocheting! Updated Edition. There are probably even more versions since I bought mine.


Of course, you need looms to do these. There are three different manufacturers that I'm aware of.
Darice 1171-58 Set of 4 Round Plastic Knitting Looms
Knifty Knitter Round Loom Set With Hook & Pick Tool - 4 per package
Flexiloom - Mitten Loom Set  (Note: I purchased these on Ebay from In the Attic. I have to give a caution though because I have tried e-mailing from their web site with no reply and others have told me they've tried to contact them without reply, so I'd wait and see if I get mine first. I really wanted the flexible looms. They used to sell the glow in the dark ones too. Sad that I missed that. [update: I have rec'd e-mail from Ebay with a tracking number so the Ebay shop IS active.])

Then there are the long looms. I haven't tried those yet but I did watch a video at YouTube on it.
Learn to Knit on Long Looms
Knifty Knitter Long Loom Set

On a video I watched, I saw these loom clips Provo Craft Knifty Knitter Loom Clips . They were being used on a long loom to get a particular hat size. I didn't even know you could make hats on the long looms. So much to learn.

If you have lost your loom hook, do not buy the $5 one at Amazon. It is expensive. I have ordered some from Craft Designs For You for $1 (don't know if they are on the web site as I special ordered them) and I saw them at Hobby Lobby physical store for just slightly more than that. Couldn't find them at the online store, but their search engine is not that great - or my searching skills leave a lot to be desired. :-)

Anyway, more than you wanted to know about looms, I'm sure. I am fascinated by it at the moment, but still hoping to be at full steam with crochet soon.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie