Mm. Crafty!
Why we got hooked on crochet
In a way, it's nice to see one of my non-computer hobbies up in the Financial Times and that it's in fashion and all. The other side is that while it's getting press and exposure, it's still a dying art.
I learned crochet when I was very young. I was probably about 8 or so when I learned. My first project, a beach coverup, was made when I was about 13 and I still have it (though the colors and yarn aren't quite what they were). It was something my grandmother and my mother both did. I don't remember my grandmother doing it, but I remember the warm afghan that she had made.
My mother, however, was a crochet queen. It was madness. She did 5 afghans in one year, once. She made all the lace basket centerpieces for one of my sister's weddings. When she got an idea in her head for things to do, her speed was insane. Even now, I don't know how she did it. My hands ache far sooner than hers ever did.
I had put it down for a while, but a computer job and a lot of computer hobbies gave me an itch to do something else. Something that had nothing to do with computers and screens and technology. Something that I could do outside or in the car. It's an old friend that helps out quite a bit.
Along with poker, rummy, blackjack, and horseracing, crochet taught me numbers. By itself, I learned some amount of patience. I learned things about dyes that would be helpful later in art classes. Same for fibers.
It's a shame it's a dying art. Then again, so many things are dying arts these days, that I'm not surprised.
Maybe if my job ever vanishes, I should just go get a textiles degree and use crochet as my full-time hobby. It worked for computers, maybe it would work for my hooks. ;) Besides... I did a camoflage knitting/crochet pattern book in West Virginia. Yehaw!
In a way, it's nice to see one of my non-computer hobbies up in the Financial Times and that it's in fashion and all. The other side is that while it's getting press and exposure, it's still a dying art.
I learned crochet when I was very young. I was probably about 8 or so when I learned. My first project, a beach coverup, was made when I was about 13 and I still have it (though the colors and yarn aren't quite what they were). It was something my grandmother and my mother both did. I don't remember my grandmother doing it, but I remember the warm afghan that she had made.
My mother, however, was a crochet queen. It was madness. She did 5 afghans in one year, once. She made all the lace basket centerpieces for one of my sister's weddings. When she got an idea in her head for things to do, her speed was insane. Even now, I don't know how she did it. My hands ache far sooner than hers ever did.
I had put it down for a while, but a computer job and a lot of computer hobbies gave me an itch to do something else. Something that had nothing to do with computers and screens and technology. Something that I could do outside or in the car. It's an old friend that helps out quite a bit.
Along with poker, rummy, blackjack, and horseracing, crochet taught me numbers. By itself, I learned some amount of patience. I learned things about dyes that would be helpful later in art classes. Same for fibers.
It's a shame it's a dying art. Then again, so many things are dying arts these days, that I'm not surprised.
Maybe if my job ever vanishes, I should just go get a textiles degree and use crochet as my full-time hobby. It worked for computers, maybe it would work for my hooks. ;) Besides... I did a camoflage knitting/crochet pattern book in West Virginia. Yehaw!