Two Newest Crochet Tricks in My Bag

My first hairpin lace still on the loom

Watching the video tutorials yesterday cured my confusion.  I can now cast on and make the loops.  I still have to learn the various ways to connect the strips to make the stunning patterns I've see that motivated me to learn how.

And I'm still clumsy and slow.  May have to rethink one or both of the Xmas gift concepts.  Do only one or choose smaller projects.

Outline squares stitch--the newest trick in my trick bag.

And, tho I just learned hairpin casting and looping yesterday, I've even a newer trick in my fiber arts trick bag--the outline squares stitch.  This was from one of the cards in the Harmony Guides 101 stitches to crochet which I got for Xmas last year.

I almost didn't try it because it requires fastening off at the end of each row and starting the new row above the beginning of the previous row.  This means tails at each end of every row.  But I was fascinated by the bold look of the stitch in the photo and I reminded myself that the baby afghan required a tail at each end of each row as well because I had changed colors every row.

I am so glad I went ahead and gave it a try as I learn several new things by learning this stitch pattern:

• to work the back loop only and how that affects the look of the fabric
• to work right to left only and how that affects the look of the fabric
• to  work a connected quad--that's the stitch forming the vertical lines of the outline square and is worked by inserting hook in the front loop of the four stitches below the row you are working YO each time and keeping the loops on the hook and then taking them off two at a time as in a quadruple stitch.

I was going to get a pic of the back side but my batteries didn't hold out.  I actually got only one shot with both projects in it and then cropped it twice so as to have separated images.

Working the rows right to left only and never turning creates a fabric that does not have the corrugated look of regular crochet.  Working back loop only creates a distinctive pattern on each side.