old dogs and new tricks

do you notice anything different about this knit stockinette swatch?

how about now?

something a little different about the needle, right? like the fact that there's a hook on either end?...well, that's because this 'knit' stockinette swatch is actually tunisian crochet! ooooh, ahhh...astounding, right? yeah, yeah, i know, whoopee ding dong...but hey, it excited me...i learned how to do three different tunisian stitches, thanks to kim over at crochetville, who offered a free online tunisian class....which i actually missed (because the older i get, the more i forget) but the text is on her blog and i learned just by reading it! this stitch pictured is called 'tunisian knit' stitch, which was the one that blew my mind because it looks so much like knitting...she also taught the 'reverse afghan' and 'afghan' stitch....it's a little funny, because while knit stockinette tends to curl in from the sides, this tunisian knit curls horizontally from the top and bottom...but that could be because i'm just learning, and i'm told that tunisian tends to be tighter than regular crochet, so it could just be my beginner attempts...the back of it is also a lot more bumpy than knit...the reverse afghan stitch resembles garter knit. i love to learn new things, so i was really psyched...and i just learned that the majority of times i type the word 'stitch' i actually type it 'stich' and have to go back and correct it....i should point out that the hook in the picture is not a 'tunisian' hook, but something called a 'cro-hook' or 'double-ended hook', but it worked all the same...a tunisian crochet hook has one hook at one end and a stopper or knob at the other, but is longer than a regular hook...of course i think one or both of the hooks is also called an 'afghan hook', just to make things more confusing...

at least someone was excited for me:

um...

yeah....

that's..

um...

really...

great...

got any snacks?

some progress on the tamale sock....it would seem to me that i'm over the 'hard' part, or more like the most confusing part, which for me was the heel...so far i am really enjoying knitting socks, and have been eyeing other patterns to try....cee thinks that's pretty weird, since i don't normally wear socks, but you never know, this red beauty could adorn my pudgy little foot someday, and he might--probably--just end up with a pair or two... gee, those double pointed needles look quite intimidating, don't they? rather like they belong with the accoutrements of a torture chamber...'fetch the dpns, boris...i'll make him tell me where the microfilm is!!'