Category Archives: Crochet

Crocheting is Hard

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I love crocheting.

I think about patterns and yarns when I am washing the dishes and stitches and multiples when I am folding laundry. I have dreamt about crocheting.

I don’t know exactly how this started. One moment before my obsession with yarn and a second before I learned how to single crochet, I would have never believed you even if you had just returned from the future and told me I had ‘a yarn stash’, 42 sizes of crochet hooks, books of vintage patterns or completed multiple gift-worthy projects. One moment, I was a non-crocheter and the next I had produced an octagonal, spiderman-themed blanket for Sean.

During my first project, I learned several different stitches, how to change colors, increasing, decreasing, attaching with a seam and working in the round. Might as well dive right in!

Many times, I have tried to learn to knit. I come from a family of prolific and talented knitters – but it didn’t ‘stick’ and did not acquire a knack for it. Crochet stitches make sense to me and I like how it feels to make them and I love how they look when they are made. Except for hats. I dislike crocheted hats.

I distinctly remember most upticks in my skill set – when I could vividly spot an error (an fix it!), the first time I noticed a pattern was poorly written, and when I finally understood crochet diagrams (those beautifully perfect little mathematical buggers).

I have always been a fidgeter, with nervous habits like biting my nails and picking my cuticles. Phooey, such an ugly habit. Now my nails are neatly manicured and I have not had a problem with these habits in a loooooooong time.

I know for a fact that crocheting decreases my anxiety and I believe that reading through a pattern and learning a new stitch have both taken my mind off of something stressful or upsetting. I have been in situations where I regretted not having a crochet project with me, but it is not always appropriate – but I sure wish it was.

It is NOT HARD to find blogs like this, and this and this to inspire me and fuel my dreams and aspirations for future projects. I love hearing why other people crochet and who they crochet for. I have enjoyed honing my skills with lessons on Craftsy.

It is NOT HARD to find beautiful yarns that I cannot wait to work with like this, this, this & this. Yum. Anything named “Smooshy Cashmere” is for me!

It is NOT HARD to fill a Pinterest board with new and exciting patterns for interesting and useful gifty-type yarn creations.

It is NOT HARD because of the intricate stitches, math-based patterns or all the strategies and skills that allow you to produce near-perfect specimens of lovely, soft fabric.

It IS HARD but because crocheting calls to me and I don’t know how to answer it.

What IS HARD, oh so hard, is to find time. It’s hard to grant myself permission. There are pressing chores and tasks to tick off the list. Life rolls at a certain pace around here and the laundry waits for no one. Meetings, phone calls, paperwork and regular life often consumes the minutes and hours until there are only tiny scraps left with which to do the things that bring me the most pleasure. I often save it for car rides and late nights watching Dateline. Crocheting seems like a luxury and I don’t give it its own line item in my trusty bullet journal.

Crocheting is hard.

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Be A Ghost

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When Ethan is in a particular mood, on most afternoons after school, he perseverates on a certain topic.

‘You die mom?’

‘Mom, your dead. Be a ghost.’

‘Mom? Gonna die, mom?’

‘Mom? Mom. I love grandma. I love dad. I love Gabby-boy. Not you – I ‘X’ you.’

Then he makes the sound you would hear if you gave an incorrect answer on a game show.

Peals of laughter commence – only from Ethan, of course.

He goes on and on about me becoming a ghost and haunting our present house. He maintains that it will then become a ‘Spooky House’. He tells me that I am ‘old’ and ‘yucky’. He rarely expresses this about Dennis – and he is old and yucky too!

Sometimes I ignore him – to the extent that it is possible to ignore Ethan. If he chooses, he can keep this up for hours. Sometimes I respond.

‘Yes, E, we are all going to die.’

‘Yes, E, if given the opportunity I will definitely haunt you.’

‘Ethan, if I die, who is going to make the food and do the laundry?’

He says he’s going to take over. Maybe he could start that now?

He has expressed these sentiments from the time he was very young. We can come up with no good reason for this particular behavior – or so many like it. It is inexplicable – like so much about him.

It is a hobby, a habit, a compulsion. My mom is often concerned that it upsets me. It does not. I recently had a compassionate friend concerned that it is hurtful. I am not sure why it does not bother me. I don’t believe that he secretly hates me and also, a lot of what Ethan does is confounding. It is far from the most difficult facet of his quirky self.

It’s fine. I love Ethan enough for the both of us. And if it turns out that it is, in fact, possible to haunt him or become a ghost when I die – I’m in.

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“It’s how you ride the trail that counts.”
~ Dale Evans (Rogers)

Did you know that Roy Rogers and Dale Evans had a baby girl with Down Syndrome? This book is a little beauty.

Indoor Activities

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We are busy here. I think we are trying to move. Strange words to use in a sentence about moving – ‘think’ and ‘try’. But it’s true. The market is unpredictable and there are not too many houses that I would leave our current house for. Right now, the count is at 1 – and it is in town. But, we are cleaning, culling, redecorating, carpeting and painting none-the-less. Let’s see what happens.

Otherwise, I would crochet all day if that was possible because it is one of the rare times that I can think in a straight line (or in rounds). It just feels good. Late at night I get a chance to  sit down and here are some products of that stress-relieving activity. DSC05066 DSC05069 DSC05067 DSC05071 DSC05074 (1)The patterns are here, here and here.

There are other mundane activities and way to many of them are occurring within my own four walls.

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Teeth

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I LOVE Ethan’s artwork

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My very 1st Kombucha brew. I received a SCOBY as a gift from a friend

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He insists the cat loves him

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Serious ‘Poke’ play at The Only Game in Town

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King & Queen of the Hill

10 days until Spring. I hope it’s not a rumor.

What If?

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DSC04562What if I want to spend my whole day crocheting?

I did not know this could happen to me when I picked up a crochet hook a year ago. Now that I have been through the basics, one of my New Year’s resolutions is to improve my skills and take this hobby to the next level.

What if this book is igniting a stitching passion?

The way Erika Knight talks about yarn has inspired the least-artsy person around? I even visited a ‘real’ yarn store and I am really starting to ‘get it’. I am working through this gorgeous book and loving every minute of it.

What if a dishcloth can be ridiculously beautiful, completely meditative and very satisfying? It can even dry the dishes.

DSC04565What if my New Year’s resolutions are on an actual piece of paper, pinned to the kitchen wall, and were edited by my friends and family and I am now very attached to it?

DSC04566I wrote it for myself and mistakenly took it out of my drawer during our annual New Year’s Eve party. I wanted to look at one entry and accidentally left it on the counter. Not only did I expose my secrets and silly wishes – but left them open to being altered.

What if I want to do them all? Stay tuned.

What if I am beginning to suspect that something I hold really near and dear – a holy cow of sorts – a way of life, even – was suddenly or not so suddenly working for one of my kids?

What if what *I* want does not line up with something that one of my beloved, little cherubs might need?

What if even putting one foot in front of the other, while investigating the possible ways to mitigate the things that are not working, is terribly uncomfortable?

What if…