A Bash at Broomstick

The sun has been belting down for days on end meaning little sleep and little energy, that's OK though, it's not that taxing crocheting all day!

My cushioneering all done for a while I have been messing about with bits and pieces all week trying to decide on what to make next. It is definitely too hot for blanket making so my current blanket WIP has been put away for cooler times. I fancied doing something small, lightweight and fun!

A few years ago, just before I got totally hooked (excuse the pun) on crocheting I had a half-hearted attempt at Broomstick crochet, or Broomstick lace. I really wanted to have another go at it, I love learning new stitches and ways of crocheting so that would definitely fit my 'fun' criterion. If you are not familiar with it, it is made with a normal crochet hook and a large knitting needle or piece of dowel, historically I expect a broomstick was used, hence the name.

So last night at Knit and Natter I bought myself these enormous comedy knitting needles:

I am not a knitter, I can do the basics and that's about it. I have no idea how anyone could knit with these huge unwieldy things, my hat off to all the amazing knitters I know who would be able to manage with them no problem.

I decided that if I was going to try to make something half-decent in Broomstick I should get some nice yarn to work with. I have had my eye on a selection of hand died skeins in the wool shop so treated myself to this pinky-yellowy-purply wool:

Ah so pretty! No good like that though, so I dusted off my yarn winder and set to making it into a ball. My winder lasted all of two minutes before it broke - well it's not exactly broken, my husband has since fixed it but this morning, with wool draped all over me in an effort to not tangle it, fixing gears and winders was a bit beyond me. I hand wound until I had to stop due to the huge knotty mess that it had become.

It took so long to untangle, at least 3 hours I think in total but I managed not to throw a hissy fit, kept calm and persevered.

Hurrah! I got there in the end.

Finally, I could have my first proper attempt at Broomstick crochet, and this is the result:

I absolutely love the colours! For wool it is surprisingly soft and not at all scratchy. I know, making a scarf in the middle of summer seems a bit odd but it really is fun :)

I have a few issues to work out but I am getting the hang of it as I go. Tension is a bit of an issue, I am having to adopt my Tunisian tension method (holding the yarn differently to make it looser) and it seems to be working, it is getting neater as I go. I really like the lacy, loopy effect too, and OK, I'm not that quick at it yet but that doesn't really matter, it's not like I desperately need a scarf right now!

XXX