I thought I’d start Technique Tuesdays, where I purposefully watch some videos about new techniques I’m not familiar with. Not to necessarily do a post on a Tuesday about it, just to try to learn something new on Tuesdays.

On Tuesday those clever spybots read my mind and Google suggested I may like to watch a video about mosaic crochet (ok I’d googled mosaic knitting earlier in the day). Anyway I’m still to learn mosaic knitting but it suggested mosaic crochet so I went with it.

In fact, the video it suggested was one by Tinna Thórudóttir Thorvaldsdóttir, who turns out to be the designer of the Havana pattern that I recently got the pattern to in Ravelry! (Sometimes these spybots are helpful, with a touch of spooky).

This is a pattern I’ve been lusting after ever since my blogger friend Maria made two for her daughters. Link to Maria’s first Havana and second Havana.

I’ve shown Tinna’s photo above, as I’m unofficially advertising her patterns so assume she wouldn’t mind. I actually prefer some of the other makers colour combinations but didn’t feel it appropriate to use their photos.

Oh my goodness, I have now learned how to do the mosaic crochet stitches that go into making the Havana blanket and some of her others. It doesn’t seem as hard or as complicated as it looks.

Of course with my shoulder pain I couldn’t crochet along but I watched her 4 videos on mosaic crochet for beginners and watched some others too. Then I joined her Facebook group and had a look in the gallery there of peoples Havana blankets and immediately wanted to buy yarn for my own…but I did resist. (I’m not sure if Facebook gallery link will work, or if you have to be a member of her group to see it. If you can’t and have any interest in crochet then join…oh my goodness the patterns are all amazing).

Tinna’s first video for beginner’s guide to mosaic crochet is here and from there you can find her others.

https://youtu.be/HTigdTvdTLQ

They are in English and she uses US crochet terms, which I guess is what I’ll go with because my Minion was in US terms too. Her videos are really good, she has some small samples you can crochet along with her. She also has one pattern free on Ravelry called Hope and there’s an accompanying YouTube video where she does it real time so you can crochet along. It’s a coaster sized project.

I have a Very small box of acrylic yarn I got free, that has various colours in, so once my shoulder is better I’m going to have a go. For my actual Havana, I’m thinking I will first make a waist to toes sized one for when I’m sitting in my rocking chair. I’m not keen on using acrylic for the real blanket but fine with using it whilst learning techniques. So I need to find a brand of wool or wool cotton mix that I’ll use. Then one day I’ll make a mahoosive one for our super-king sized bed, but I’ll need a lot of saved up Christmas money to buy the yarn for that monster!

On Wednesday I woke up with right shoulder impingement* and wasn’t able to do any crafting at all, so my technique learning continued and I suspect will for a while until my shoulder repairs a little. I switched to doing the weaving tutorials on the course I signed up to, but I’ll blog about those another time.

*I think my shoulder pain was maybe caused by a combo of things I did on Monday and Tuesday with my arms raised…being on a ladder and lifting and twisting behind and above me to store some items in the garage loft (attic), some other jobs in the garage lifting my arms, cutting back my sweet peas to lower them in the strong winds we had to hopefully stop them all falling over. I don’t think it is weaving related as it’s too many days since I was at the loom, so the raising my arms seems most likely, based on extensive google research of course and self diagnosis. No doubt those spybots will start recommending some physio videos and pain relieving gel next 🕵🏻‍♀️