Confessions

Saturday, I was picking up the husband from work, but he had a few things to finish up. Knit & Pearl, the new local yarn shop, is right near his work (this could be dangerous), so I popped over to drool over some yarn.

I ended up buying a couple notions and this is where my first confession comes in...

I bought my first gauge. Yes, my first.

I've been crocheting for years and I've never owned (or used) a gauge. First, it was because I didn't really understand the significance of using one. My grandmother had taught me how to knit and crochet and I don't think she ever used one. Second, the things I usually made were without a pattern (you don't really need a pattern to make a scarf), or wouldn't really be messed up if the gauge wasn't quite right (ie: an afghan).

My second confession...

I don't hold my hook properly.

Now, my grandmother first taught me to crochet, but I re-learned it again later on (and taught myself the English terms since I only new the Dutch ones, and learned how to read a pattern). I eventually got The Crocheter's Companion as a tool to help me in learning new techniques, etc.

But I never paid attention to the "how to hold a hook" parts since I already had that down. But at knit group last Thursday, I noticed that Sierra (the other gal crocheting) was holding her hook completely differently than I was and she teaches crochet. So I got to wondering whether there is a better way.

I check online and I found these two different styles on the Lion Brand website:

This is closest to how I hold a hook (the "pencil" style), but I actually hold it more like you'd hold a spoon:



This is the way Sierra was holding her hook, and the way I saw most websites show you how to do it:



I may try changing how I hold it and see if it is easier on my wrist. Otherwise, I may just keep doing it the way I do it since it works for me!