Crochet Yourself Jaunty

As if I didn't have enough projects on the go, I've decided to teach myself to crochet!

(Nevermind the fact I've only done one-and-a-half woolly slippers, nevermind the semi-finished painting and paints sprawled across my floor, nevermind the rubber stamps and inks on my desk, along with a half-made birthday card for my grandma, nevermind all that! I want to learn something new!)

While I was in England a month ago, my grandma gave me a set of crochet hooks that used to belong to my great-aunt. We only stayed with her for a night or two, so we didn't have time for a quick lesson, and I came back to the US with my hooks and a plan to learn how to use them later down the road... but... yesterday, I got a parcel, and in it was this beauty:

A beginner's guide to crochet from, I'm guessing, the 1970's! (A lot of the models look like they could have been in ABBA) It's all the knitted-waistcoat, brown-and-orange, loose-and lacy fun you could hope for!

However, I'm not really 'hooked' yet... it's hard. The instructions are all right-handed, of course, and I haven't really gotten the hang of it well enough yet that I can turn it round and use my proper hand. I do like it, and I'll keep trying, but so far, I'm not blown away.

The best bit, really, is reading through the 'First Steps in Crochet' pattern descriptions. Some of the phrasing, I just love. They use the word 'jaunty' like it's going out of style... ah, yes, I guess they predicted that one. Here are some of my faves:

• 'Try this zippy fashion idea' (The idea was to have scarves you could wear all year round... so another good prediction)
• 'Snappy accesories strike a chic fashion note'
• 'Curved stripes on a teapot cosy make this gay rainbow design'
• 'Next stage-- make a jaunty beret!'

I showed it to Justin, and said that perhaps I'd make him a dashing little tie:

... but his reaction was less than impressed. At least he admitted he wouldn't wear it before I bothered making it!

But yes, my goal is to make something similar to this wonderful scarf I saw the other day, by missindie (who just has the most fantastic range of crocheted beauties... necklaces, scarves, glovey-type-things):

Gorgeous! I love the three colours, I love the twists. I love that it would look amazing with almost anything, in any season. Okay... maybe my goal is to try and fail at making it, so that I can justify buying it. But shhhh... don't tell me that! I have to try first.