can I crochet?

A lot of the time when I'm looking for a pattern for a project I have in mind, I end up finding totally cute crochet patterns. I don't know how to crochet. I've never crocheted before in my life (except the occasional chain for a provisional cast-on). So I thought I'd give it a try.

I got Cozy Crochet out from the library and when Sara came over for a visit, we took the plunge. It worked out pretty well. We did just the beginning of the first pattern, a dish cloth, which involves just making a chain, and then single crocheting (or is it double? more on that later) row after row after row. I was using some waste yarn, so I only got 3 rows into it before I ran out, but by then I felt pretty comfortable with it anyways. Oh, and bored, too, so we tried out another stitch, I think the half double crochet is what it was called. What I find really annoying is that there are apparently English crocheting terms and American ones, and they're really confusing. Because an American single crochet is a British double crochet. And an American double crochet is a British triple crochet. After crocheting some I must admit the British terms make much more sense to me. But this is from someone who insists on calling it "stocking stitch" rather than "stockinette". I hate the term "stockinette". So I guess it's just really important each time to make sure you know if your crochet pattern is Old or New World.

See Baby checking out my progress making my initial chain. More practice will be needed to establish the correct tension for the chain. I think I make it too tight, because the foundation row was very difficult and time consuming.