Crochet Sling Bag

I first learnt to crochet many years ago after my kids were born. It wasn't out of boredom. I really wanted to crochet. When I was still in primary school, one of my sisters, possibly Elaine showed me how to chain stitch. I remembered it was during a period when my older sisters and cousins would craft with great passion - making heaps of yo-yos. I was only tasked with menial tasks like cutting out circles. During a particular period, I saw my sisters crochet with raffia. But all I learnt then was chain stitches. Anyway, my sisters soon stopped crafting and I used their abandoned crochet hook to fool around with raffia even though all I knew was chain stitches. It would exasperate my mother because she would say the crochet hook was a waste of money and I was also wasting her raffia.

During the period when my kids were little, I had small pockets of free time and I used the time to learn to crochet using books borrowed from the library. I'm guessing the first book I learnt from uses American English crochet terms because I do single crochet. In British English crochet terms there is no single crochet. Here's a comparison if you're interested.

The thing is I didn't know that. I didn't know there is a US and a UK crochet terms and what happened later really frustrated me. After I knew how to crochet the basic stitches, I became interested in making items from very old crochet patterns. For some patterns, I simply could not get it right. What I made never looked like what it was supposed to in the pictures. Also, I started to get confused about the stitches as there were so many other stitches to learn. I thought I had learnt all the 6 basic stitches required. The frustration and taking care of my kids eventually led to my stopping crocheting altogether. I don't remember when it happened but one day I finally discovered the missing link - UK and US crochet terms. Of course it finally made sense then and I started making crochet bags. For some reasons which I can't recall now, I had the habit of not completing the bags. I did complete around 5 crochet bags which are hung here and there in my home but I had a few in storage in a work-in-progress stage. It's quite possible my interest in fabric bag making hijacked my progress in crochet bags.

I found these in a forgotten container while clearing out junk recently. Looking at it I can see right away I had made a mistake in the pink yarn. It is thinner than the maroon yarn so the end result is the bag tapers at the bottom. A rookie mistake. Apart from that the bag looks in good shape.

This morning I decided I would finish the crochet bag. I had to redo the handle as it was too short. I wanted to carry the bag cross body. I thought about putting in a lining but the entire bag is constructed in single crochet so it's not holey. (I'm always going to use US crochet terms because it's in my DNA now)

To attach the handles, I just threaded the yarn through a needle and sewed whip stitches.

As for the closure, I used a covered button. It fitted perfectly.

I haven't actively crocheted for a while so I wondered if I still knew all the moves. It turned out I do. Once the crochet hook is in my hands, I just knew what to do. How to hold the thread and the hook. It's programmed in my brains. Which isn't an entirely good thing because as I grow older, I become more conscious of how I use my hands. I'm very wary of overusing them or simply creating bad habits. During the period when I was suffering from my muscle pain, there was one specific muscle starting from the neck which affected my elbow, wrist and hands. I had tenderness and numbness issue in these areas for a long time. Right now I no longer suffer these symptoms but the thought of them returning is frightening. That is why I worry about how I should hold the crochet hook.

If I wish to crochet for a long period, I think I need to retrain myself to hold the crochet hook differently.

Right now, I hold my hook like I hold a cleaver. See my pinkie is curled over the hook? Over a long period of time, I foresee I will suffer some problems with my pinkie. I think the best way is for my last 2  fingers to have as little contact with the the hook as possible.

I know most people say there are no right or wrong ways to hold a crochet hook. But to me, this is not a good way.

Today I tried holding the crochet hook like a pencil. I am able to crochet this way. I think this way is less straining because it's a more natural pose and thus there's less strain. Also the parts of my fingers touching the crochet hook are trained and built to hold stuff.

I really can't think of any other better way to hold the hook. Anyway, just to hold the hook the pencil way, I have to consciously tell myself to do it. Otherwise I'll just revert to the cleaver way.

It's strange how I am able to take to crochet much more easily than knitting. My guess is knitting requires 2 hands much more than crochet. My left hand is quite useless. Except when typing on a keyboard like right now. I wonder if most knitters also crochet. Although they're both yarn related, the techniques used are quite different.

the perks of being a wallflower

When I was in primary school (aged 7 to 12), I was a complete wallflower. Every year I had a new best friend - the person who sat next to me. Who would also be the only person who spoke to me the whole year. Occasionally I was noticed by one or two persons who would make attempts to speak to me. But it would make me jump and that would be the end of the conversation.

Then I went to secondary school. The first year I was a complete wallflower. Not only did I not speak to anyone, I barely moved from my seat. Not even to go to the toilet. I would go during the break. Not even to throw something into the waste bin. I would stash the rubbish in my bag. Yes, even the pencil shavings. If anyone tried to speak to me, it would make me jump. The second year I found a friend. Or rather, someone I thought was really cool invited me into her world. But that was the second year. The first year in secondary school I really had a horrible time. It's awful spending hours in school and not speak to anyone. I had a lot of thoughts in my head but no one to say them to. So let me tell you this. There are no perks of being a wallflower.

But you know there are perks of being parents of teenagers? You get to know what the cool books and songs are! Well, you have to be careful though and not let on you're all interested. How horrible to know your parents read the books you read and listen to your songs.

A few months ago, my girl had her birthday and she has reached the age where she pretty much knows what she likes and wants although these likes and wants change quite frequently. But one thing she kept on her Want list was this book - the perks of being a wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. I didn't really pay attention to this request because I had already obtained a cool jacket for her so I was safe. Anyhoos, on her birthday she opened her presents and she did not get the book she wanted. Later, she discovered a copy of the book, I think either under her pillow or on her bed. I forget.

Anyway, it turned out her brother had gotten her two presents - one that she opened and a secret one - the book which he knew she really wanted because she kept going on and on about it. It made her very happy.

I was quite curious about how my son had gotten the book because where we live, the bookstores are unlikely to stock this book. So I asked my son where he had bought it and he revealed or should I say, came clean that he had one day, after school, without getting his lunch first, taken a train all the way to town and gone to Kinokuniya book store. Once there, he used the in store online system to locate the book, bought it, took the train all the way home and said not one word about his adventure to anyone.

Now this may seem pretty ordinary to most people but my son has never "gone shopping" on his own in town before. His life revolved around school and home. Shopping which is more a hubs' thing is considered a punishment for son. Also, for him to go to such extent for another human being is quite remarkable. I was very touched by his gesture and yet did not want to go overboard with my feelings as I did not want him to think it was okay to just go wherever he wanted without telling his parents.

So this book was now on my radar because two human beings I gave birth to cared so much about it. I decided to start by watching the movie. Interestingly the movie was screen written and directed by the author himself.

Here's the trailer.



Usually before I watch a movie, I like to find out as little as possible about it. I like the story to be told to me fresh without anyone else's reviews or opinions in my head. If you've never seen the movie and would like to see it one day, it's best you stop reading. 

The perks of being a wallflower is a coming-of-age movie. I learnt this term from wiki. It revolves around Charlie, the wallflower who we know something bad happened but we aren't told what. We get lots of hints through flashback. He is nervous about starting high school especially since he has no friends. School does turn out bad for Charlie with the typical bullying and social awkwardness and he finds himself alone. Then he strikes up a friendship with 2 seniors step siblings Sam and Patrick. Unfortunately, Sam and Patrick in letting Charlie into their lives in some ways contributed to Charlie experiencing with drugs. The drugs and Charlie's own crazy mixed up suppression almost ended badly. Eventually Charlie got better with the help of doctors and we are finally told what happened to Charlie that made him so screwed up.

Oh, I almost forgot. Charlie tells his thoughts through letters he writes to an unknown person. Apart from his two new friends, his English teacher is a big influence. He gives Charlie books to read and encourages him in his writing.

What excited me about this movie is it had this song "Come on Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners. I get very excited when I know the songs in movies. This song came out when I was 18 and we would play this song in class a lot because there was a girl in my class named Eileen. She was amused a couple of times but got really sick of the chorus which my classmates would sing.



Another song, "Heroes" by David Bowie is featured but this song I'm not familiar with. In the movie, the song is played twice. The first time, while driving through a tunnel, Sam stands up in the car or pickup I forget and opens her arms like in Titanic and she feels free and wild as the wind beats her face and her clothes swirls all around. The second time the song is played, it is Charlie who does the standing up because he has freed some demons. Okay, maybe he felt "infinite".

Another thing that got me excited in this movie is the first book the English teacher had the class read was To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper Lee. I read this book many times when I was a teenager.

After I saw the movie, I asked my girl to lend me the book. This is something I like to do - watch a movie and then read the book just to see the differences. In this case, since the author of the book also wrote and directed the film, I thought it would be even more interesting. I usually prefer to watch the movie first followed by the book. I find that I'm less critical this way.

Oh, did I mention I've begun to notice the actor who played Patrick. His name is Ezra Miller and I first saw him in We Need To Talk About Kevin, a very disturbing movie also adapted from a book which I've borrowed but not yet read. (it looks like a difficult book to read - also told via letters) I think Ezra Miller  played Patrick to the T.

Surprisingly, I find that I like the book and the movie equally. It's almost like the movie is not based on the book even though it clearly is. What I mean to say is I could appreciate the movie as a movie. And the same for the book. This is quite rare for me as I would often nitpick and question why this or that was left out. The book explains a lot more about Charlie and how he came to be alone. The parts that were left out of the movie I believe were mainly to avoid getting a restrictive film rating.

I could not find the song "Come on Eileen" in the book even though I read carefully. But another book I've read before was mentioned a few times in the book but not in the movie. It's The Catcher In The Rye by JD Salinger. For me, this was my coming-of-age book mainly because I read it when I was at the right age. Of course when I read the book, I thought I was the only one who had discovered the book. It turned out the book is quite famous! And my coming-of-age movie was Breaking Away. I saw it with my BFF and you know how coming-of-age books and movies are. You emerge changed, filled with hopes and possibilities, and believing you're somebody. At least that's how it was for me. Once the movie was on TV and by then I was a mother with kids and I found I couldn't watch it at all. I guess you had to watch it at the right age and right decade.

The only criticism I have of the book is the writer for some reason chose to let Charlie be very vague when expressing his feelings about his fall into depression. He felt bad again. That was how Charlie would tell the recipient of his letters. Maybe Charlie himself could not articulate his feelings. I hope that was it. Otherwise, not a bad book and if you read it at the right age, it might be your coming-of-age book.


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Lacy Keyhole Scarf

Oh, look what the cat spat out. Yes people. I've finally completed my first project in the Craftsy Knit Lab class which I signed up for.

I decided I should model the scarf. Perhaps it'll make you smile or laugh. I'm not accustomed to taking photos at this hour in the morning so I can't get the lighting right. Yes, that's me in my home wear - $5 tee and $5 shorts. And yes, I colour coordinate. Alright. Next time I'll pretty myself up. Promise.

Here's a closer look. I've left in the mess in the background in the name of keeping it real. Alright, I was too lazy to retake the pics or crop.

It took me a long time to knit this thing. I'm finding it hard to call it scarf. I think it's quite hideous. When it's worn, it's not too bad. As I never really learnt to knit before, you could consider this my first knitted project.

This scarf is knitted in two parts and joined in the center. One half of the scarf has a small hole to insert the other end of the scarf. I did not block the scarf because I think this kind of scarf is meant to be curly. Alright, I was too lazy. Besides I don't think I'll ever wear this scarf. I used a yarn that I already had in my storeroom and it's probably not the best yarn to use for such a scarf. It's scratchy and too thick. Also, I don't like to have anything so tightly wound round my neck. It makes me feel like I'm being slowly strangled to death. I can't even wear high neck tees.

This is just my opinion but if you go into this Craftsy class without any idea how to knit and no one around to help you and you dive straight into the first project, you're likely to have a lot of problems. I would suggest you practise your knits and purls first.

For those of you who are also following this class, I have a couple of tips for the Lacy Keyhole Scarf. When you make the first half of the scarf (without the hole), you should follow the written pattern all the way. If you knit along with the teacher (Stefanie Japel) and reference the written pattern at the same time, you're likely to think she's not following the pattern. But she kind of is because the end result is the same.

But for the second half of the scarf, I thought it was better to knit along with her for the purl ridge and keyhole section. I couldn't tell if she followed the written pattern because honestly, I really got lost. Sometimes the teacher makes mistakes but she corrects herself so you really have to follow what she's saying. Anyway, the difficult part in the second half was to create the hole. Even though I watched the specific lesson over and over again, I still ended up with an extra stitch right in the middle of the hole. I wished she had slowed down in the binding off. Anyway, even though I had followed the lesson faithfully, I still ended up on the wrong side when I reached the lacy part. I decided I didn't give a damn and just added another row of knit. It solved the problem for me.

I learnt a few things from this project. Well, I didn't learn how to do them. I learnt I lacked a lot of skills. Firstly, I need to be able to visually tell which is a knit and which is a purl stitch. Right now they all look like interlocked noodles to me. Secondly, I need to be able to fix dropped stitches. Right now I just do whatever I think is right which usually turns out wrong but you won't know until later. Lastly, I need to be able to "unpick" stitches to fix an error. Without these skills, my knitting will always have mistakes.

I have two more projects to go for this class. They look a lot easier!