Therapeutic Crafting

I think it goes without saying that I've been quite down lately. I've still got Dan's gloves to finish (just the fingers left, though) but I've felt like that project requires a bit too much thought for me to deal with at the moment. So instead, I've fulfilled my need for distracting crafting by doing something simple: magic potholders.

I've done two other magic potholders and they were quite easy but really nifty and delightfully functional. My mom mentioned when she saw mine that she'd like one, so I figured that this need for simple and distracting crafting would be a good opportunity to fulfill that request.

This is the first crochet project I've done since I taught myself to knit. It was kind of strange... the process felt a bit clunkier and not near as smooth as knitting. It was really weird and a bit unsettling. After all, I've crocheted for years (and years). It shouldn't be supplanted in my craft-love by the newcomer of knitting. And yet...

Due to a variety of factors (the need for more mindlessness, a decent stash of cotton yarn, the urge to go back to the smoothness of knitting), I made a second potholder but this time, I knitted it. I didn't have a knit pattern for the magic potholder, but I figured it wouldn't be too hard to make something up as long as I could get the cast on right. I found a cast on for making socks toe-up, did a couple of kfb increases at each end, knit around and around (and around,) then grafted the open end closed.

The yellow with cream stripe is crocheted, the red/beige/cream one is knit

I think next time I will cast on more stitches (maybe 90 instead of 80) to make the potholder closer to 9" at the corners (it's currently 8"), but I really like the results of the knit version. The material is still nice and thick but it's a bit more flexible and supple than the fabric created with crochet. I think that's just the joy of knitted fabric since the hook/needles were the same size and the yarn is the same size and material. Which makes me think that knitting kind of wins all the way around.

I'm not saying that I'm going to eschew crochet. I actually have plans/hopes to use some of the lovely thread I have to make a doily or two and, while there are some nice knitted lace doilies, I haven't really found ones that speak to me as much as some of the available crochet ones out there. But I am kind of thinking that knitting might be on the way to officially becoming my favorite craft style. I just have to get over the feeling that I'm treating crochet like a red-headed step-child.