Also known as Maltese crochet

I know, I know: I need to be more consistent in posting blogs here. But lately, I've been too busy living life off the computer. Oh, that and spending all my free internet time on ravelry.

Anyhoo, I decided to plunge into hairpin lace at last. I received a handful of looms on a bulk hook purchase on ebay - someone obviously cleaning out their dead relatives stash online - but have been staring at them nervously for months.

I've seen some delightful patterns around, in Interweave Crochet and on StitchDiva.com, but I've felt just too intimidated by having an extra object involved in my hands while I crochet. Finally, I just gave it a try. I have no idea if I'm doing it correctly, cause I feel I am not getting the whole picture from an online tutorial.

So, I'm starting a simple beginner pattern from StitchDiva.com, called Convertible Wrap by Jennifer Hansen. It calls for 4 strips of basic hairpin lace which are then crocheted together with a sc. Which to me, means painful finishing. What am I thinking?! Har! I hate piecing things together!!

The free pattern is here:
http://www.stitchdiva.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=FREE001
and has a link to a helpful tutorial.

Also, I don't have the correct sized loom, I'm using a slightly smaller one, so instead of 4 strips I might go for 5. Maybe. Or I might just make this into a scarf :) I am using a K-hook for the actual crochet part.

I am using Berroco Zen in a sort of shimmery apricot color. 55%Cotton, 45%Nylon. As I of course purchased this yarn for a different project, I may need to get a similar or contrast ribbon yarn in order to do the joining. We'll see how far I get with what I have in stash. For now, I'm just excited to be trying a new method and learning as I go.



and a closer look: