Attempting to crochet again

I learned to crochet when I was around 7 years old from my great grandmother.  She would babysit me and my sister quite often, and she was the crochet afghan queen.  So, one day she taught me the basic chain stitch and maybe a single crochet.  I just remember being fascinated about how a single string of yarn can be looped together to form something more.  However, being a child, that was the extent of my crocheting lesson and interest.  I was off to play with my Barbie and My Little Ponies.  There was once during a high school summer that I found my mom's old "Learn To Crochet" type book, and I think that too lasted only one or two attempts.

In college I did manage to start an afghan.  It made it to a point of a throw when school got too busy for me to continue for a while.  Once I pulled it back out (after graduation, two moves, and a job) I realized I didn't like my made up pattern or the combination of colors.  So off to Salvation Army it went. 

I didn't pick up crochet again till about three years ago when I had an office desk job that was really quiet, dull, and not creative.  I needed something to do that wasn't expensive since our budget was very tight.  So, I purchased a cheap set of plastic hooks and whatever bulk yarn was on sale at the local big craft store.  Having found out that LionBrand.com offers free patterns and also stitch explanations I was all set to start back up.  One of my first projects was to make a grocery produce sack since the reusable bags were really starting to come out big then.  I found a pattern online, can't remember which one it was now, and started to crochet.  I kept going and going following the directions but it seemed to be a lot smaller than what I thought it was going to be.  So I kept started to make up the pattern a little to make it bigger.  Once I had the diameter I thought it was going to be I started to make the increase for the sides. 

I went a little farther and then had an epiphany.  I was using a slip stitch instead of a single crochet stitch!  No wonder it seemed so small!  I decided to stop since it was taking forever to get anywhere with it. 

I kind of liked it as a bowl form and so it stayed like that.  Now it holds cat toys, some of which I have made.  When younger kids come over it always seems to become a hat or a frisbee.  I believe there was an occasion or two where a kid to hold a cat in it like a hammock which always did not succeed to well. 

Even if it is not a produce bag or a successful cat hammock it has become quite useful.  I don't worry about what the kids do with it, and after play time it serves a purpose to hold the cats' toys. 

Again, I don't remember which LionBrand pattern it was, but I do remember it is Caron 3/4 Pound acrylic worsted weight yarn.  I loved the ombre color combination but have now found out they no longer make it in this colorway.