My friend and fellow author, Susan Schreyer, met me for coffee last weekend and we started talking about our works in progress. First it was stories, but then that quickly moved on to fiber projects. She knits; I crochet. Is one better? Is one easier?

Me: Only one hook. Lower risk of stabbing your eyes out.

Susan: I’ll give you that.

Me: How the heck do you control thread, yarn, tension, when both hands are busy manipulating two needles?

Susan: Not so hard! You wrap the yarn around your fingers – either in the left hand or right, depending on if you’re a picker or thrower. Of course, if you knit with the Portuguese method, you wrap the yarn around your neck. Oh wait. I may have to give you this one, too. It does require some figuring out.

Me: You lost me at ‘either in the left hand or right…’. Counting is easier with crocheting, right? The stitches are only on one hook.

Susan: Counting is counting. And if you use circular needles, the stitches are on “one” needle, anyway. To be really honest, sometimes I don’t think I can count at all. I have to use “hacks” to make sure I’m accurate. Talk about feeling like you’ve failed kindergarten!! Jeez!!

Me: I still don’t understand how a knitter can make something longer than the length of a needle. With crocheting I can just keep going and going until I have a chain long enough to wrap around the whole family plus the dog.

Susan: Well, you just keep going with knitting, too. I can make a scarf as long as I want, and wrap around the family and cats! Back in the old days of using only two straight needles (instead of circular needles), you’d knit the pieces of a garment and then join them like you do with sewing. Come to think of it, you can do that with crocheting, too.

Me: Crocheting is holy. Well, okay, holey. You can make lace with crocheting but can you with knitting? Can you? I think not. Plus, you can say out loud that crocheting is holey and people will think you mean there’s a spiritual connection between you and the hook.

Susan: Too funny! As for lace: Yes! I can make lace via knitting, too. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between knitted lace and crocheted lace.

Me: Honestly, I have seen knitted lace and it’s beautiful. I suck at choosing colors that go together. I have no eye for that. The best advice regarding color that I ever received was from you when you said to not worry about whether something goes together and just choose colors that speak to me. That, I can do!

Susan: Aw, thanks! Choosing color for a project is a great way to express your personality. I love color. The way it can be used is endlessly fascinating to me. I’m a very visual person, which is odd considering I have no ability to close my eyes and imagine anything, much less color. On the other hand, maybe that’s why I find what is in front of my eyes so interesting.

Me: And yet, you imagine stories and turn them into books. That’s interesting though, and we might have to chat about this one day – the difference between what we see in our minds and what we see in front of us.

Me: I wonder which came first, crocheting or knitting. I think I’ll say crocheting so my craft feels more ancient than yours, even if you can make warm clothes for cold winter nights.

Susan: I think it was crocheting that came first, although there is something else called ‘Nalbinding’ that predates both. It uses a needle with an eye and short lengths of fiber.

Me: I have to look that up. I’ve never heard of it. Maybe we need to learn yet another fiber craft.

Me: Who in the world looked at fiber and first thought, ‘what would happen if you wrapped that around a hook? Heck, let’s make it harder and try two!’

Susan: Seriously, right??!! I often wonder, when working on a project, how did someone figure out the particular technique? I don’t really think knitting is harder than crochet – it’s just different. Regardless, the people who have come up with all the associated techniques had to have remarkable brains – real engineers!

Me: The whole concept of creating a pattern is beyond me because it’s so mathematical. Last week I watched a friend knitting this absolutely amazing blanket-size piece of fiber from a classic painting. She had spun the wool, dyed it, and was creating the piece as she worked rather than having a pattern. A river, trees, landscape.

Me: Yes, there’s counting and yes I need a pattern to pay attention to, but crocheting is oddly hypnotic and allows for daydreams and new story ideas. Maybe it’s the repetition, or simply keeping hands busy that allows the brain to disassociate from daily stress. I find it incredibly relaxing.

Susan: Me, too. Very meditative, which is good for your brain and your health.

Me: And let’s not forget the paraphernalia! All sizes and types of hooks. Cool containers to carry them in. Fun bags and baskets for the works in progress. Stitch counters with beautiful beads or charms. Beeswax in fun shapes for thread and needles. Notebooks for patterns. The perfect chair. The perfect cup for the perfect tea. The right music, or even finding quiet. And of course, patterns. So many, many patterns to try. Not to mention events like annual fiber shows with even more paraphernalia for sale that you didn’t even realize you needed. My baskets full of paraphernalia are your fault, for taking me to my first Fiber Fusion event.

Susan: It’s addictive. And people are so brilliant to come up with all of that.

Me: And of course, the friends. The circle of companions with fiber moving through their hands, old crafts with history and tradition, and the beauty that comes as a result.

Susan: Well said. Fiber arts, regardless of one’s niche, is way more than just something to do with your spare time.

Me: Spare time? With so many projects waiting for our hooks and needles? Good thing winter is on the way.