It's a blog hop!

It is my very great pleasure to be starting off my first EVER blog hop*, organised by the fab team at Stitch Craft Create.

*A blog hop?

For those not in the know, it's where a blogger writes a post with a special theme and then nominates other bloggers to do the same. Those bloggers write their posts, each nominating more bloggers...and so on. Soon, bloggers from all over the world are joining in and sharing stories.

Sounds good, eh? And what I love about this hop is the theme; to share stories about beginner crochet experiences..

Good AND bad. Let's call it Beginner Win, or Beginner Fail.

Hehehe.

So let's kick things off....

Let me take you back to early 2011. I had taught myself to crochet a little bit, using books. Mostly, I had made lots and lots of boring stitch samples in horrid yellow acrylic yarn. Why yellow? I have no idea. They were so awful, I didn't even keep them (FAIL). 

Anyhoos, being thoroughly bored to pieces over making said horrid yellow samples, I decided to make cute toys for my little boy. It took a few attempts to get the hang of working in circles, counting stitches and all that malarkey, but I did it!!

And I created my own version of the Octonauts TV characters! (WIN)

I had to dig them out of the boy's room and was impressed to see they have survived- a little squished perhaps - Captain Barnacles Bear has evidently lost his jaunty hat, but pretty much in one piece.

But, and this is a big BUT.

Can you see the total crochet FAIL??

I see it every time I look at these little fellas and it makes me cringe!

Got it?

They're all inside out!!!!! 

Yes, as a beginner, no book I had ever read told me that there is a right and a wrong side when you're working in the round, so my little creations all ended up inside out.

I don't suppose it really matters and my boy has loved them all the same, but still, it irks me...

I'm glad to say, my amigurumi making has improved somewhat since the early days and still remains one of my favourite projects to crochet. And happily, none of my more recent makes are inside out!

So that's enough from me. If you'd like to enjoy other people's beginner crochet stories, then here's the wonderful bloggers I nominate:

Sarah from Crafts from the Cwtch,

Shelley from Spincushions,

Chrissie from Chrissie's Crafts,

Marianne from MaRRoseCCC,

Heather from Pink Milk,

And Maria from Dinki Dots Craft.

These bloggers will be posting in the next few weeks. To find out when, head over to Stitch Craft Create's Blog where you'll find the complete list of international bloggers who will be taking part.

And if you have a beginner's crochet story you'd like to tell, why not share on Twitter or Instagram, using the hashtag #crochetconfession. We'd all love to read your tales of newbie crocheting!

Don't forget that if you'd like to learn to crochet, I have a written a rather super book called Beginner's Guide to Crochet (bet you didn't see that coming), which tells you, amongst other things, which is the inside and outside of your crochet when toy-making. You won't make the same mistake I did!

And if you need crochet and yarn supplies to get you going, have a look at my curated shop here:

Have a great weekend, and enjoy hopping to all the other blogs...I'll see you there!

Sarah xx

P.S.  I do hope I'm not the only one with a beginner crochet fail...