Segment 2

I Hook By Night -- a Crochet Soap
© Copyright 2000, 2001 by P. June Diehl

Segment 2

Hitting the send button, Janice finished the last work assignment for the morning. "Ah!" she sighed, "I'm free for lunch!"

Getting up from her desk, she grabbed her bag and headed for the door. Her mind was working away as she stepped outside. She walked quickly to her car, her mind planning the best route for her rendezvous.

Driving to the Village Mall, the lunchtime traffic was heavier than normal. Janice glanced at her watch repeatedly, watching the precious minutes she was losing. Maybe I should have scheduled a late lunch, she thought to herself, as she finally turned into the mall parking lot.
She parked, grabbed her bag, and walked quickly toward the mall entrance. I'll only be a few minutes late, she thought as she hurried into the crowded mall.

She arrived at the food court and looked around, trying to spot the person she had arranged to meet here. Standing to one side of the information booth was a woman, short, lean, and blonde, also looking around. They spotted each other and Janice waved to the woman. "Hi, I'm Janice. You must be Alicia."

"Oh, so nice to meet you, Janice. I was afraid I was going to be late, with the traffic and all!" replied Alicia. "I have been so excited all morning I could barely think to do my work. I have not told a soul about meeting you. Just like you said, I am keeping this our secret!"

Janice looked around and said, "Let's find a quieter place to talk." She grabbed Alicia's elbow and moved away from the food court, guiding Alicia through the people and towards the far end of the mall. There were fewer people here and they were able to find an empty bench. Sitting down, Janice dug in her bag, pulling out yarn and a crochet hook. "This is worsted weight or 4-ply yarn and a G hook," she began. "We will be working on learning the chain and single crochet stitch today."

Alicia just nodded her head, in awe of what she was about to learn, and reached for the hook and yarn. Janice showed her two different ways she might want to hold the hook telling Alicia that she could choose the one which was the most comfortable. Then Janice showed her pupil how to hold the yarn and how to make a chain. Alicia was smiling as she chained away. "Oh, I can't wait to make my first crocheted piece!" Alicia exclaimed, as her chain stitches became more and more uniform. Janice pulled out some crochet of her own to do while Alicia practiced. After about 20 minutes Alicia showed Janice her work. "I love this already!" Alicia declared.

"Your chain looks good. Now for the single crochet." Janice stated as she slowly showed Alicia the next stitch she was to learn. Alicia was a fast pupil and worked away on the single crochet until she got to the end of her chain.

"Now, what do I do at the end of the chain?" the pupil asked the teacher.

"Turn the work over," she began, as she showed Alicia what to do, "and now, make a chain stitch. This chain stitch must be done at each new row. Then single crochet in each of the previous single crochets."

Alicia watched Janice with a look of wonder on her cute, round face, and then followed her instructions. Three mall shoppers, two women and a man, walked by the consumed couple on the bench and stared at them, unnoticed. The three shoppers whispered to each other as they walked on their way, glancing back over their shoulders at the two women.

Janice watched Alicia as she worked and nodded her head. "Take the yarn and hook home with you.
When you have some free time continue to crochet rows of single crochets. Remember to do the chain stitch after you turn your work. Bring this back with you tomorrow. Can you meet me at 1:30 PM? The mall might be lest crowded then."

"1:30 sounds good. And I'll practice as much as I can tonight. Am I ready to look at some patterns that I might want to try?"

Janice laughed gently and nodded her head from side to side, her long brown hair moving in rhythm around her face. "Let's practice a couple of more stitches tomorrow when we meet and on Wednesday we'll take a field trip!"

Alicia's face lit up, framed by her short, curly blonde hair, and she nodded her agreement.