Crochet for Beginners...

On Saturday, my friend Rachel and I went on a Learn to Crochet course run by the Leeds based wool shop Baa Ram Ewe. We were told to meet at the shop at ten. Rachel and I arrived early, so went off for a coffee, and then of course we were late and had to run to catch up with the rest of the group. The course was held above a nearby Italian restaurant and the day began with (more) coffee and and our essentials for the day - wool, hook and instructions.

There were ten of us altogether, some total beginners who had never picked up a crochet hook before (like me) and others who had some limited experience but wanted to refresh their skills. All women, ranging in age from twenty to sixty. We were shown the basics such as how to hold the hook and yarn, and the different stitches. I found it all incredibly hard to begin with, and it didn't really click with me until it was time to go home. I can knit, although I wouldn't call myself a knitter, but I didn't anticipate how much the way I hold knitting needles and wool would affect how I crocheted. My stitches were at first impossibly tight, then I overcompensated my making them much too loose, but I eventually found a way of crocheting that seemed to work. 

We ordered a delicious lunch from the restaurant below...

and afterwards continued, learning how to read a crochet pattern with the aim that by the end of the afternoon we would be able to make our own granny square.

How to increase and decrease was covered, but I don't remember any of it. It was an awful lot of information to take in at one time, and I was exhausted when four o'clock came at it was time to leave. We walked back to Baa Ram Ewe for a browse and a bit of shopping. 

If I'm not very careful, I think that yarn shopping may become a dangerously expensive past time for me. I was like a child in a sweet shop, wandering dazed from one display to the next. My main thoughts were "Gosh, yarn is very expensive!!" and "I want everything." Since the course was a birthday present from John, I was able to make some purchases, but I need to think very carefully about what I want to make so that I get the most from the beautiful yarn I chose.

And here is my first granny square. Wonky, with dodgy tension and lots of mistakes, but finished all the same.

Now I need to practice lots more granny squares on cheap wool, before I decide what to do with this lot: