Can you keep a secret?

Here it is...

I'm a switch-hitter. I go both ways. Say it how you want, I'm bi-stitchual.

I like knitting AND crocheting.

There! I've said it. It's a weight off. I feel freer now that it's out in the open.

Some of you who know me pretty well could probably have seen this coming. You could probably see right through all those nasty comments I used to make about crocheting and crocheters.

"ONE stick?! It's not natural. Two hands, two sticks!"

"What's up with the hook? Wimps."

"The bible explicitly says...."

Blah blah blah, you get the drift of my former mentality.

You, who know me, could probably tell that I was just masking my true inner tendencies - to walk both sides of the fence. Now I can see the error in my ways, how truly closed minded I was being. If I love the process, the materials, the yarn passing through my hands, the ability to produce fabric from string...what difference does it make if I use one needle or two? What's so wrong with a hook? The bible shouldn't be read so literally.

Truth be told this desire to dabble in the other stitch has been boiling in me for some time now. I'd asked my friend and mentor Mette several times to teach me the way of the hook, since I know she has great experience in these things. But when it just didn't feel right I wrote off all her wisdom and kindly direction as, "well, of course she's into crocheting...she from that generation of 'fiber liberation' and 'free-crafting' and all that. Not for me!" I'd tell myself as I ran from the hook and back to my TWO, STRAIGHT needles.

So, last week, in a fit of pure stitchual frustration (the rag rug) I picked up the crochet needle. I ripped out the shredded sheet from all those unsatisfying knitted stitches and I chained. As I began to relax a little with myself and the hook, I startled trebling - half trebles, whole trebles. I was doing it all! And why not?! It felt good.

I know what you're thinking...I've just been alone too much on the side of the mountain. It was just an isolated incident, acted out of pure desperation. Or maybe I was drunk. Wrong. I like it! I finished a crocheted bowl this morning. I've been experimenting with all the yarns in my stash. I've been playing with all the needles I've had hidden away, too embarrassed to display them like my beautifully paired knitting needles. I've been trying out different sizes - does it really matter when crocheting? Yes it does, I've discovered.

And the rug...friends, I've almost gone all the way with this one. And let me tell you...you'll hear me when I'm done.

Don't get me wrong...I still love knitting, I love my smooth straight double needles. In fact I'm working on a pair of lovely socks as I type. As a dear friend of mine once said, "just because steak is my favorite food, that doesn't mean I don't want to eat a pizza every once and a while."

So, if you'll excuse me now, I've got a date with the hook, the rug hook - the big one.