Crochet

When I was 8 years old, my mom taught me how to crochet. My mom is very crafty. She loves to sew, crochet and quilt. Mom patiently showed me what to do. There were lots of rows pulled out and redone on my first projects. It was frustrating, but I kept at it. My practice project was made using the most hideous brown yarn. After that project was to mom's satisfaction, I was allowed to start a new project with prettier yarn. I picked out a beautiful baby blue yarn. It took me about a year to make a throw pillow. I was so excited when that last stitch was complete and my pillow was stuffed. Then, I stopped crocheting. I learned to cross stitch and knit but I really preferred to be left alone with a good book.

Fast forward 37 years. Out of nowhere, I had the urge to crochet. I found afghan patterns online, then I went shopping for yarn. I was amazed at the variety of colors and textures! In my excitement, it several hours at 3 different stores before I found the yarn for my first afghan. I wanted everything to be as perfect as possible for this afghan. It was a gift for my daughter, who was 17 years old at the time. She wanted the yarn color to be a surprise. I did get her approval of the yarn before I started her afghan. I didn't want her to feel disappointed with the final product.

I watched a tutorial video to refresh my memory of how to crochet. It was like riding a bike, I picked up right where I left off when I was a child. It was easier because I fully understood what I was doing. It was amazing to me how familiar it was to wrap the yarn around my fingers and work the hook in the proper sequence creating a rhythm. I soon realized that crocheting was very relaxing for me. I was able to get out of my head and focus on creating something for my "baby." Counting the spaces and stitches was repetitive, yet soothing. Crocheting also gave me a sense of purpose.

I rediscovered crochet days before everything shut down for the COVID pandemic in March of 2020. I was planning to crochet as I watched the many basketball games played by men and women in the NCAA tournament. I was quite disappointed when the tournament was canceled that year. However, I was able to focus on my project, so I wasn't as anxious about all of the changes that were happening on a daily basis related to COVID. I binged watch a variety of TV shows and movies. I enjoyed that time to myself.

I finished that first afghan in less than a week. I was surprised that I finished it so fast. My daughter loved it. I made several more afghans over the next few months. I made afghan's of varying sizes, colors and textures. I even crocheted some baby blankets for fellow co workers. I was living in my happy place.

My current project is a multicolored afghan, which I started in July of 2020. It is for a little girl who is near and dear to my heart. I took a long break from crochet due to an autoimmune disease, which causes me to have chronic pain throughout my body. That pain severely effects my hands and fingers at times, especially when I crochet for hours. I miss the feeling of peace and relaxation I have when crocheting. I look forward to picking up my yarn and crochet hook so I can finish that afghan and visit my happy place.