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My Journey to Crochet

I always wanted to be able to make my own things, but never had a knack for the traditional arts of drawing or painting. I became interested in tactile art in high school (thanks to a boyfriend who took ceramics classes). I started out with a textiles class. In this class, I learned to batik and macrame. It was like a brief intro to the hippie arts and being able to make hemp necklaces was a handy skill in the late 90s. Once I could take ceramics, I spent as much time as possible in the arts wing, including lunch, and also scammed my way into transferring my free and study hall periods there. Unfortunately, making pottery is a time-intensive and expensive hobby, so it didn’t continue post-graduation.

After a long distraction from these interests (due to a combination of boys, jobs, and growing up), and after quitting smoking, I figured out I needed a stationary hobby to occupy both my attention and my hands – so, I decided to learn how to knit. With the help of an acquaintance, I got an abridged lesson in knitting and dove all the way in. However, I hit a snag before the habit was formed – she never got around to showing me how to finish a project. Fortunately, I made a new friend through work who was able to show me how to finish and then offered to teach me how to crochet.

At first, I almost quit as the change in equipment, moving from needles to hooks, and the vastly different process was maddening. Despite the initial frustration, I took it all home and just kept starting and restarting the pattern she had given me. It wasn’t clicking, so I quit on the pattern and just started winging it – and then it all worked! I got into plotting my own patterns with the limited stitches I knew how to make; each one would take a couple of false starts to get the structure dialed in, but then I was off to the races. Now, crocheting is truly a hobby I enjoy and I continue to experiment with building out new patterns and learning new stitches.

Organizations I Love

I’m constantly working on projects and not all of them have an intended recipient. I decided that if they are being created anyway, even as experimental projects or a project to use up leftover yarn, then they needed a place to go. And, where better than a place that does important work and makes a difference? This is where my research began. I found My Stuff Bags Foundation. By donating to them, I can make sure that my work is going to children coming out of bad situations, and hopefully, be part of their safer new beginning.