I go through phases in my crochet.

I have had a crochet cookie phase, a crochet dotghan phase, a crochet pig phase, a practically perfect crochet purse phase, and the list goes on. But one of my more memorable, but not as well documented phases is my hyperbolic crochet phase.

Inspired by an article from WIRED that someone had put in an envelope with my name on it and slipped under the door of a coffee shop I frequented, I found myself emailing the creator of hyperbolic crochet, Daina Taimina. Her book, Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes was still years away from being published, so the only way to find out how to make them was to contact her.

So I did.

She got back to me quickly, and within hours I was ready to embark on what was for me a new crochet phase that resulted in a number of hyperbolic planes including this long forgotten crochet two-tone hyperbolic plane crocheted around a point:

hat I discovered while sorting through the various boxes and bins that house my crochet past. At this juncture in my hyperbolic crochet phase, I had been experimenting with color changes, and this view of the interior of the plane gives some clues as to what was going on in my mind:

But that crochet plane was not my only experiment with color. There was this hyperbolic tawashi:

Along with this Tetris inspired crochet plane:

As well as the inimitable work, “Anatomy of a hyperbolic crochet plane”

The truth is, when I pick up a crochet hook, I never quite know where the adventure will lead me, but I’m always delighted to go, moving forward one stitch at a time.