I finally did it...

Thanks to my mom, I finally learned how to crochet.

I've been knitting for over 5 years and I love it. In general, I had no desire to crochet. Except when I saw crocheted potholders...then I had the urge to crochet. It all stems back to my great grandmother Ruthie. She crocheted potholders and they are the best potholders I have ever used. They are simple, nothing fancy potholders but they really work. I have two that I inherited from my grandmother about 10 years ago and they are abused, but I've never found anything that works as well. Potholders crocheted by Grandmother Ruthie

Anyway, my mom decided she wanted to make some potholders like the ones Grandmother Ruthie made. We tried to teach ourselves, but my results were less than stellar. For her birthday, my brother and I gave my mom a gift certificate to her local yarn shop (or shoppee) so she could learn to crochet. While I was in Virginia, my mom taught me. And I now have three potholders to prove it!


The blue one is my first and it is definitely not perfect; I'm keeping it for myself. The two green ones are "a set" I made for my sister-in-law. They aren't perfect either, but they are better.
Pattern: Pumpkin Pie Potholder by Cylinda Mathews (modified)
Yarn: Patons Grace (1.75 oz/ 50g/ 100% mercerized cotton) With the striping, I think I can get at least 3 (maybe 4 or 5) potholders using one skein each of two different colors.
Hook: Size E
Modifications: Did rounds 1-4 as written with Color A. For Round 5, I changed to Color B. For Round 5, I repeated the directions for Round 4 (1 dc, 1dc, 2dc). For Round 6 (also in Color B), I did 1 dc, 1 dc, 1 dc, 2 dc. For Round 7, I switched back to Color A and did 1 dc, 1 dc, 1 dc, 1 dc, 2 dc. I made two circles (one with a 14 chain hanging loop) and then crocheted the two together with wrong sides facing.