Practising Tunisian Crochet

Last night I had a little practise with my new Tunisian hooks. Although I do find the short hook attached to a cable a lot easier to manage than a long rigid Tunisian hook I still have a long way to go. At the moment although I can do the basic stitch I am struggling with the purl stitch and my tension is far to slack at the moment. I think it's a bit like when I learned to crochet. It's all about holding the hook and the yarn at the right angle and getting the tension right. I think that I will need a lot more practise before I embark upon one of Kay Jones patterns.Once I have finished off the things on my 'to do' list then I will have more time to have another try.

I managed to finish off the Triangular Shawl for my sister in law's 70th birthday party. It is from the Contemporary Crochet book by Sys Fredens and is so quick and easy to make. I used approx 300 grams of James C Bretts Marble Chunky that I bought from Abakhan on Thursday. I have added an edging to the shawl as I think it looks a bit bare without one. The shawl is on a 12mm hook but I had to use a 10mm hook. Not only do I crochet a bit loose I find overlarge hooks hard to grip as I have arthritis in my hands.I think that is another reason why I am struggling to get my tension right on the Tunisian crochet.

I have started a sweater from a Kay Jones pattern 77 that I bought this week. I am using the Robin DK that I also bought from Abakhan this week. I have changed the stitch as the pattern uses a half treble stitch for the main body of the sweater and it was turning out too loose with the way that I am crocheting at the moment. I am using the pattern for size and shaping but am using an alternating treble and double crochet stitch which is closer crochet. I never used to crochet loosely so I am blaming my arthritis and the fact that I cannot grip the hook as I used to. I compensate by using smaller hooks but some stitches still come out too loose for me.

Another sunny day today but as I haven't yet been outside I don't know if it is warm. Our weather is deceiving. I can dress for a sunny day and then go outside and it's quite cold. I will stand outside for a while before I decide how to dress for the party tonight. I am, at the moment, quite sedentary I do tend to feel the cold more than most so I will be taking a cardigan with me no matter what.

I hope that you have a good weekend. I am hoping to be able to get to my monthly Knit Out tomorrow but it all depends on how the old knees hold out tonight.