DC area checking in. They are super popular right now, especially roasted or deep fried. Fortunately, I haven’t seen anyone serving the boiled nasties my mom used to make…

All hail Queen Pepper!

Hey, it’s the only thing I remember from linear algebra! That’s the longest living sheep ever.

Neat! Looks like you are under the ocean.

Yeah, I’m glad they left that one active.

That looks fabulous! I really like the big stitched and the drape. You are all set for winter. :)

Did you manage to finish? Looks like it is going to be a beautiful sweater.

That’s a very beautiful photo. Any idea how cold the water is? Looks like it would be freezing.

I love the bunny kicks. They are so dangerous, but so adorable…

Taffy is very cute! Is that belly a trap, or can you pet it?

Yeah, most of them do double duty with a shop inside. The snacks and drinks usually have a high markup, but there aren’t a lot of free-standing minimarkets except for a few 7-11s.

Then there’s Wawa, which is the weird outlier. :) I think they sell gas as a side business. The inside is all about getting food.

Portuguese style looks really interesting! I learned to knit after learning to crochet, so I’ve only ever gotten the hang of continental.

Whoa that’s a seriously clean back. Very impressive, especially on the black fabric.

Cat cousins!

It looks great! I think it will make a very nice Christmas gift. Don’t forget to give them washing instructions so they can keep it in good shape. :)

It’s good that you are thinking about your wrists. You can absolutely hurt yourself crocheting. I ended up with a shoulder injury making an afghan last year, and my right wrist gets inflamed if I don’t pace myself.

There are a lot of repetitive motions involved, so all the warnings and best practices about repetitive stress injuries apply. Some projects and yarns are harder on your hands than others (eg, amigurumi and cotton). Regardless of your technique, I think it helps to focus on being relaxed, take breaks, and stretch while working on projects. Also try to keep good posture because it’s all connected. I have a bad habit of curling up like a craft goblin… don’t do that. :)

I would play around with how you hold the yarn and the hook. Lots of people have opinions on the “right way” to crochet, but it really comes down to what will give you a good result and keep you in the hobby long term. My suggestion is see if you can get more comfortable with the movements and make a conscious effort to keep just enough tension/grip so you aren’t stressing your hands. You’ll have to experiment. Best of luck!

Nice! The owl really stands out in two colors, like it’s peeking through a tree.

I’ve never made crochet lace. Did you have to block it to get the pattern to open up?