I am a hooker.

Did I get your attention? LOL If I didn't then you probably don't know me very well.

I've a new hobby. And no. It does not involve standing on seedy street corners. It involves hooks and yarn. Yes, I've ventured into the realm of crocheting.

I've wanted to learn for awhile now, ever since Abby was given a crocheted baby blanket and I was told: "Every time I worked on this, I prayed for her." That was just so special to me and I'd like to pass on that gift.

So, I took my 40 percent off coupon to Michael's when I saw they had their yarn marked half off. With the coupon, I bought a beginner's book that included hooks and some other gear (left hand instructions included -woohoo!) and some yarn. That evening, I curled up on the couch with my new book and hooks and yarn.

Quickly, I realized that it is a skill, meaning it has to be learned (duh!). So I struggled over looking at the hand diagrams and figuring out how to make the simple chain. Then, I needed to give the girls a bath, so I brought my gear upstairs while they splashed and sat on the toilet and tried to figure out how to manipulate my hands, the yarn AND the hook......I threw the stuff down and finished the baths and got the kids into bed.

Downstairs, a little later, I had an epiphany. Youtube! Everything is on youtube, right? And sure enough, there are wonderful instructions with close up videos of how to manipulate everything in order to get the result you want - left-handed. By the end of the first night, yes, I could make a chain! Yes!

The next night, I again started from the book and then went to youtube and learned how to do a single crochet stitch. I did a few rows of those stitches. Then I learned how to double crochet later that week.

Now, what am I doing? I am working on a baby blanket. It has the "shell" pattern look to it and it is very basic. I had originally tried to make a blanket with granny squares but unfortunately they looked more like granny trapezoids. I haven't ventured into the realm of triple crochet stitches but I do know how to join new or different color thread to a project. So, indeed, I feel that I am a hooker. :) And maybe, soon, every time I pick up that project I can pray instead of concentrating so hard my eyes hurt....