When I was fourteen, my left-handed aunt taught me to crochet. I’m also a lefty, and while this doesn’t really impact my knitting, I can only crochet with the hook in my left hand. I’ve tried to re-learn crochet several times on my own, but the left/right thing is a real obstacle for me.
I don’t like being thwarted.
It might take month, or it might take many years, but at some point I dig in a little deeper in my search for solutions. (Not sure ‘dig in deeper’ is right for a renewed search for solution, but you get it.) Sometimes I try the same path over and over again in spite of evidence that it doesn’t work for me (looking at you, popular weight loss plan that sounds like Plate Washers), and sometimes I decide the effort might be misplaced as my end goals have changed - but crochet? I know how to wrangle yarn, and I now have access to the expertise of others to move forward in my hooking endeavor.
The Book
I’m starting with this book, thanks to the lovely interlibrary network in Michigan:

I don’t like the charts - but I felt the same way about knitting charts when I first learned, and patterns have text instructions as well. I’ve also ordered a smaller used book that also promises left-hand instructions; that book will arrive late next week.
The Supplies
Like most knitters, I have a few crochet hooks and a small stash of light worsted weight cotton - almost all of it blue. I also have hot coffee, good winter music thanks to a friend’s recommendation, and for concentration breaks I have a bird feeder that, right now, is frequented by cardinals, blue jays, chickadees, finches, sparrows, juncos, and the more-than-occasional black squirrel.
The Breaks
It’s important to break long stretches of sedentary work with movement. Most of my movement this morning will consist of laundry and redirecting the squirrels from the bird feeder to the pile of squirrel food on the other side of the porch. If it warms up enough I’ll venture out to a park for a snow walk - I think it’s supposed to hit 30F today.
I might also take a break after a few hours to head to my local yarn shop for some reward yarn. That’s a term, right?
Setting Out . . .
So, on this snowy Saturday, listening to snowstorm-appropriate music and watching the birds, I’m going to crochet the first of what I suspect will be many small, crocheted washcloths - just the size to fit comfortably into my smallest coffee cups.
Let’s go! The path is reasonably clear.
I plan on sharing each finished cloth here to document the journey; stay tuned.
What a gift public libraries are! I stocked that book when I owned a yarn store 20 years ago, and remember several left-handed crocheters praising the inclusive instructions.