26 January 2012

Why do we crochet?

Some people love being creative and find fun ways to express themselves through stitches. Others find it saves money around the house. Many appreciate the workmanship, time, and love that goes into something homemade. Everyone has a story of how they got started, whether it was from a person, a book, or youtube videos.

For my part, it started out as something to keep myself distracted during a long road trip. Reading makes me carsick, but working with yarn does not! My aunt taught me, and it started with basic granny squares and shell stitches. I made a few blankets, made either from one very large granny square or a few largish granny squares put together. For a while, I thought that's all there was to crochet (I wasn't using the internet for more than talking to friends, at the time). I didn't even learn about single crochet stitches until a few years later.

Over the years, I've had pauses and spurts of crochet in my daily life. School and general busy-ness often pushed me out of it, as all of my creative juices and energy were being put into more academic pursuits. I started up again this past year in order to make Christmas gifts. In fact, I made gifts for 20 people this year. I even created a couple patterns (and this blog with which to share them). We saved a good bit of money and everyone got something personalized and full of love. My partner's mom even called on Christmas to gush at how pleased and impressed she was with the gifts. I was happy to make them, but it's really special when somebody demonstrates that they recognize and feel the love in the work.

Since the holidays have ended, I've at least started working on a couple things for myself, the house, the dog, and my partner. I joined a couple Crochet Along (CAL) groups on Ravelry, and I'm meeting with a group of ladies once a week where we crochet & knit items for charity.

Crochet is craft, art, and gift.

What inspired you to pick up the hook and yarn?
Do you remember when and how you learned to crochet?
Is it part of your daily life or does it happen in spurts?
Do you remember a time when someone showed you how much your gift of crochet meant to them?

2 comments:

  1. Hi Jessica! It'a my first visit to your blog and I really enjoyed this post about why we crochet. I have been crocheting off and on since I taught myself back in the early 70's. When I take it up again, like I have for past year, I become totally engrossed in it or maybe I should say totally obsessed. In either case I totally love it. No one in my circle of family and friends crochets or knits, so no one understands my passion with crochet. I made all of my Christmas gifts this year and all seemed to appreciate them. I crochet everyday and for hours each day. I am retired now and can spend my time doing anything I want and I choose to spend it crocheting.

    Anyway, I enjoyed seeing this blogs entry about why we crochet. Like you said, everyone has their own story about their crochet experience, and I enjoy reading about it online with people like you.

    I just started my own blog where I hope to keep track of my crochet. Come visit sometime.
    www.crochetandstuff.weebly.com

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    Replies
    1. For a long time there was nobody else crocheting or knitting in my group of friends. In college, I knew two people w ho knit, but they kept wanting me to knit with them instead of crocheting, like my craft wasn't cool enough, lol. Now, I've made crochet friends and even encouraged a couple of my crafty friends to take up crocheting. I think that'll make it a more regular part of my life instead of being quite so off and on.

      I'm going to be starting a series of posts on Crochet as Spiritual Practice soon, about how crochet can used as a meditative technique and how making gifts with our hands is a beautiful (and often spiritual) thing. Thanks for stopping by, hope to see you again!

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