Before I learned to knit, I learned to Crochet. I was a small kid, sitting in my mom’s bed while she was expecting my brother and I needed to keep busy and quiet. She taught me to crochet, starting with the simple chain and with some acrylic yarn. I crocheted chains for what seemed like a long time and long length… and when I lost interest that was exactly where I left it.

10 years later and a few less memorable lessons with my mom and Granny Jane, I had managed to learn to single and double crochet. I made a wrap and maybe crocheted a little blanket for a doll, but that was the end of my time crocheting.

Last Fall, I offered to crochet some swatches for Lindsay at The Fiber Seed and was quite bitten by the crochet bug. It was different and didn’t feel like work. Crochet seemed like a special something that I could do just for fun.

Now fast forward to April, and the kickoff of “Crochet-pril” hosted by my friends at Stix. Watching the Stix instagram feed and that lingering tickle that had persisted after crocheting swatches and I was ready to try my hand at creating a full something in crochet.

I was just getting back into traveling for work, and stopped to visit Carriage House in Kingsport, Tennessee. Terri shared some of the most achievable and approachable projects using fun and affordable yarns like Queensland Perth and Rainbow Beach. I was unbelievably motivated to try to make something that I could share with fellow yarn lovers who just don’t knit.

I dove into my sample yarns and dug through my notions bag to find the spare crochet hooks that hung out for seaming knit sweaters. I had a reasonable combination on hand, so I started on the UBE pattern from Ravelry. This free Double Crochet, half granny triangular shawl would show off the color changing summer yarn Brighton Beach, also from Queensland Collection exceedingly well. And after a few days… I had a brand new shawl. Not the normal week or more for working on a knit shawl. It. Was. Fast.

The crocheting has not slowed down since… spurred along by the glorious Kristy Glass and her “Crochet in May” … I have made 5 shawls, dozens of granny squares that will eventually be assembled into sweaters and even a few buttons. There is so much to share, but each project deserves its own post. So here we go, I declare this the Summer of Crochet. Interspersed with knitting and travel, I will be sharing all my crochet adventures and successes along with a heaping portion of tips and tricks that I have picked up along the way!