New skill - New year aims

I haven't even finished the RBTL yet but I'm making plans to make the crochet version (CBTL). The first step in those plans is to learn how to crochet (luckily that was already one of my aims for the year). In actuality, the first step has been choosing which colour combination to use for another shawl, which I think I've nearly done.

It's not likely that I'll be finishing the RBTL any time soon but I'm not sure how long it'll take me to get good enough at crochet to want to own a shawl I've crocheted so I've started learning now.

With a combination of a nice, clear DK crochet book, YouTube videos and hints from my sister I managed a crochet chain.

It was then suggested, before I tried anything more complex, that starting with sock wool may not be my best move. So some acrylic yarn and larger hooks were purchased and I've continued practising...

...and continued practising...

The increases are intentional

I think I now understand all the stitches I need to make the shawl I just need to continue practising and try using finer yarn.  So far so good and it's quite enjoyable (until the fiddly final stitch), fingers crossed it's still enjoyable when I start a large shawl!