First Things First...

Hello to anybody who may read this. My name is Anna and I hold my hands up, I'm a total crochet addict, going on nerd.
I've been crocheting now for 6 months, and it has been an eventful 6 months to say the least, but my love for hookin' has just grown and grown. I've never thought about crochet or knitting before at all, until a post-Christmas get together with some friends, where one of them was showcasing her amigurumi creations! I was instantly taken, I never thought those lovely stuffed toys could be made by your very own hands. After a very brief conversation about how hard/easy it was to get started, I decided to give it a go.
Now I've given many things a go over the years, but when it proved too difficult I lost interest quickly...I'm remembering guitar various times. But there was something about crochet. I'd have proabably laughed at my friend at the thought of her 'knitting' if I hadn't seen those little stuffed animals! Maybe I have softened since I have become a mum (Yes, my little daughter, P, now 15 months old) and the cuteness of those woolly creations just got to me.
I took a trip to a chain craft store, which I love, and repeatedly state I could live in, and sourced some crochet hooks, yarn needles, stitch counters and most importantly, the wool, or as I now know, yarn. And I don't do things by half. So I chose by colour, and softness, and came out with a few balls of 'Sublime Baby Cashmerino Silk DK'.... at £5.99 a pop this was not economical.
So after a fortune spent on yarn, I sat down to read the book my friend had suggested to get me started, Debbie Stroller's Happy Hooker. I followed the simple instructions and diagrams and voila, a chain! Well this is easy I thought...
Doing anything with the chain then tested my stayability with the new hobby. I tried at many attempts to 'get in the chain' and when I finally did, I just didn't understand! I found it very difficult to see the stitches, and I now know that the yarn didn't help, for all it's lovely softness it was very splitty and fuzzy.
I'm not sure why I kept going and didn't give up at this point, but something had me hooked already. After many failing attempts and crocheting a single row, I thought I'd try a granny square. I used the pattern in the Happy Hooker book, and with that and some online tuition in the hands of Crochet for Dummies and YouTube, I made my first square. Once I got the first bit, it all seemed to fall into place.
After 4 squares I decided I was ready to try my first amigurumi. I had purchased Super Cute Crochet by Nikki Trench, and was taken by Squiddly Dudley. By now I had also sourced safety eyes and stuffing, totally ready for toy making!
The bug then really hit me, I was already stacking up the list of animals I wanted to make, buying and trying different yarn and trying to fit in a few stitches in any few spare moments I had, and with a very clingy 9 month old daughter, there wasn't many of them! It was prime crochet time when she had her afternoon nap, and still is, an hour and a half (very variable!) of happy hooking time.
So I already neglect duties, I mean, my daughter gets fed and well looked after, but when she is asleep or out, I can't put the hook down! I know I'm addicted, but I keep reassuring everyone that I could be addicted to worse things. I love the creative part of my brain being enlisted into action again, after such a while away.
As if I wasn't addicted enough, when searching Ravelry.com for a tote bag pattern, I stumbled accross the infamous Attic24 blog, and then there was no turning back! What Lucy creates there sums up what I love and want to do. Bright, cheery, modern but very tasteful items to create, just what I was looking for. I wanted to do this! I was never keen on all the brown and grey dreary jumpers, and the boring coloured blankets, I wanted bright, and finding the Attic truly unleased a new dimension on my thoughts on crochet.
I was now obsessed. I pretty much wanted to make everything on that blog! I'm working my way through! I started with the stripy bag, then the birdie decoration and the happy flower, then the summer garden granny square blanket and my latest venture, the granny stripe blanket!
So I would love to thank Lucy of Attic24 for creating her blog and sharing her creative mind with the world... although some of my friends and family probably won't agree!
I thought I'd just add a couple of pictures of my creations so far:

The Stripy Bag from Attic24

The Summer Garden Granny Square Blanket, also from Attic24