Suggestion from Reader: Try Knitting Looms

I love hearing from my readers and website visitors. While I was away over the summer taking the kids on various college tours and visits with family, I received quite a few emails from you! Thank you!

One of the emails I received was from Kate. She wrote the following, encouraging me to continue with my knitting adventures:

I enjoyed reading about your forays into knitting with needles! When I was a child, a babysitter tried to teach me to knit, but my brothers would unravel whatever I did, so I never got to learn to cast off. I gave up. A few years ago, I saw some knitting looms at a dept. store chain and bought some. I found using them to be much easier than trying to knit with two needles. I was looking for a nice way to finish off my pieces, so learned how to do a crochet edging. That began my exploration of crochet over the last few months. It was so much easier to learn, I thought, than knitting. I have done some Tunisian crochet and Cro-hooking, in addition to regular crochet. I am still very much a beginner, but enjoy learning it. I was thinking that you might like to try using the round knitting looms and the knitting boards. Knitting boards, as you may know, allow formation of an interesting two-sided fabric ("double knitting"). You can work up big blocks and lengths of fabric, which you could then surround with your lovely crochet techniques.

Kate, thank you for the suggestions. I have tried some of those knitting looms and boards, but for me, I find them a tad slow, mostly because I can't help but compare it to the speed of my crochet stitching which I have a "tad bit more" experience with. However, I do like using my Singer Knitting Machine, especially when I'm looking to craft up some fabric to do some felting with. Turning a crank to bang out several knitted stitches in mere seconds seems to be more my speed; lol. Does this mean I don't have an interest in eventually conquering my fear of the dual needles?  No. Just like with my crocheting, if I keep giving it a try, eventually the lessons will sink in. And who knows, maybe in time I'd actually grow to enjoy it!

I love that you are branching out in learning new things about crochet. Cro-hooking and Tunisian crochet are cousins, relating the worlds of crochet and knit together. Some find that after they master one or both of these crochet techniques that it is easier for them to knit. I would like to add that trying the Amazing Needle technique (now more well known as Knooking) is also a good way for crocheters to give knitting a try.  Thanks for writing in! :)