Guest Blogger 104 ~ Mystic Needle

I would like to say a huge welcome

to Nancy Eckert

from Mystic Needle

Aah – CROCHET

Hello all, I am Nancy Eckert from Fishers, Indiana, USA and I am so happy to be here with you today.  

I hope you enjoy taking a moment while sipping your tea and share my interest in Crochet!!  

Just the sound of that word makes me want to squish a ball of yarn 

and make something to wrap around myself or to create a wonderful gift for someone special!!

I was always fascinated with this art form since my childhood 

and use to sit on the floor and watch my grandmother crochet beautiful lace tablecloths.   

I only had one obstacle to overcome and that was being left-handed 

when everyone else in my family was right-handed.  

My grandmother, bless her heart, spent many hours working with me 

and teaching me how to crochet right-handed.    

It was a challenge but I did learn to crochet and to this day still LOVE IT!!  

I design and create many projects with a wide variety of hooks and yarn/thread.  

Probably my most favorite thread is a size 3 

and I really enjoy crocheting with a wide variety of different weights of yarn.  

Cotton yarn is high up there on my go to list and, of course, 

a size G hook is the crème de la crème for me.   Y

ou can find some of my work at my Etsy Shop  -  MysticNeedle.etsy.com.

    

I still prefer to crochet with an aluminum hook, Susan Bates being my hook of choice.   

Though, I have been looking long and hard at some of the newer styles of hooks 

that are out there but just haven’t made that leap.  

It’s kind of difficult when you have two cases full of all sizes of hooks to buy more.   

However, I know it is just a matter of time before I purchase a new one!!  Any recommendations??

I also really like to experiment with different styles of stitches.  

Sometimes taking a regular crochet stitch and expanding the possibilities of how it might look 

and/or what would work best with it.  

One such stitch that I like to use is a Half Treble or Triple Crochet (HTRC), 

US terms, which I crochet inserting through a different loop.  

How to Make a HTRC:   In my example, I begin by crocheting a chainless foundation HTRC stitch.  

Here I completed 20 stitches.    Chain three (3), turn your work.

To make the actual HTRC stitch, you will wrap your yarn twice around your hook, 

insert your hook through both top loops, wrap yarn around hook again, 

pull your wrapped yarn through these loops, wrap yarn and pull through first two (2) loops on hook, 

wrap yarn and pull through last three (3) loops on hook.  Completing a Half Treble Crochet.

 What I do differently is where I insert my hook.  

I do not go through the top two loops but insert through the single loop 

that is directly below the loops that form the very top edge of your work.  

Then I continue making the HTRC exactly like the instructions above.   

By inserting my hook below the top loops, I get a cool looking ribbing affect. 

    

It’s perfect for a scarf or whatever you might want to design and create!!   

I hope you will give it a try the next time you pull out your hooks and yarn and CROCHET.

I really want to thank Susan for inviting me to be a guest blogger on her site 

and I hope you all enjoyed visiting with me.  

You can read more about my passions and interests on my blog stitch4ever.com.  

or check out Ravelry.com and follow me as Mysticmeems!!

Thank you ever so much Nancy!

Thanks for showing us how to do a HTRC,

it's not a stitch I've used before but I'm

looking forward to using it in future projects :-)

I hope you'll all thank Nancy and check out her sites!