New to Tunisian Crochet!

Just finished my first project AND learned a new skill!   While it was as easy as I had expected, I did have to refer to one book and one YouTube video to get me through it.  The pattern I used was Tara’s Tunisian Scarf with Sirdar Snuggly Baby Bamboo DK yarn in turquoise.  OK, it doesn’t look EXACTLY like the picture, but close enough.  After all, I'm not a perfectionist and 'Close Enough' is one of my mantras...  it makes life so much easier!  One side of the scarf is much stretchier than the other which gives a somewhat diagonal look (I actually kind of like that) and the reverse side is every bit as nice as the front - bonus!  All in all, I’m very happy with the results.

So here’s my take on Tunisian Crochet…

1    1)  It’s super easy, especially if you already know how to crochet, although it’s a bit more complicated (but not much). 

      2)   It’s a bit monotonous… you crochet stitches onto the hook, you crochet them off of the hook.  Kind of like wax on, wax off for Karate Kid fans.  But does the monotony come from the Tunisian Crochet technique itself or because it was a scarf and scarves are typically boring?  This may require more investigation. 

      3)  It’s super quick!  Once I got the hang of it I flew through the project.  And the best part is that if you screwed up, you just had to rip it out to the beginning of the 'wax on' row where you only had one stitch on the hook and take it from there.

      4)  I love the look and the weight, heavier than knitting and more dense than typical crochet.  I blocked it last night (well as much as you can block bamboo) and added some beaded fringe to jazz it up a bit and really love the results.

My conclusion?  I need to break out the Tunisian Crochet book I bought and try a pattern that’s more challenging. There's an afghan in there with several different stitches and a sweater that I absolutely adore.   Someone at our knitting group last week said that she had great results doing Tunisian Crochet Entrelac, but I’m not sure I’m ready to try that.  Mostly because I don’t want to spoil the fun of the knitting Entrelac class that I’m taking at the end of the month.  I know that makes absolutely no sense since they are two different techniques, but somehow it would feel like cheating.

So now what?  Well, I have a trip to Boston in a couple of days and trying to navigate a new subway system seems like enough of a challenge so I'll be 'chasing butterflies' for awhile...  Maybe just grab one of the hundreds of projects I have in my stash to take along.  (Of course if my husband is reading this the number would be much lower.) Needless to say, I've already mapped out a couple of local yarn shops to visit in Boston where I intend to make purchase of my typical yarn souvenir.  At first I thought I would just peruse the aisles, petting the yarn and purchasing whatever spoke to me in the softest, dreamiest 'voice.'  Then it came to me...  I need to get some red fingering yarn.  Yep, I'm going to knit a pair of Boston Red Sox!  :-)

 Photos are taken with and without flash.  The flash shows off the color better but I think the stitches are more distinct without it.