I used to blog all the time, mostly on my family blog, but it was basically a weekly habit for me. Then I got a Facebook account and stopped blogging because Facebook was easier. Well for the last 6 years or so, I have really missed blogging. So I'm going to pick it up again, but with my crochet projects instead of my family.
Crochet has been a passion of mine for about 20 years now. My little sister, Kim, taught me how to crochet when my husband and I were still just newly dating. Christmas was coming and I learned to crochet a grannie square and thought I'd make him an afghan. Well, Kim started the first square, and since I didn't know how she started it, I just kept going in one big square forever. I ended up making a total of 4 GIGANTIC squares (which Kim started each time) and then sewed them together to make a queen sized afghan. I used two stands of yarn for the whole thing, so it was so thick and heavy that it was basically a burden. It's probably the ugliest thing I have ever made, and the sewing sucks, so it always falls apart. But it's been almost 20 years and we still have it because it was the first thing I ever made, and one of the first gifts I ever gave to Scott. He used it on his bed for years despite the fact that it was so heavy that it pulled all other bedding to the floor if it was ever slightly off center, and it was so hot that he'd wake up with a wet shirt from sweating all night. It now sits in a cedar chest, because we can't bring ourselves to get rid of it.
Anyway, I really enjoyed the calm of crocheting. I could listen to music or watch TV for hours while my fingers worked. I found that I didn't always even have to pay attention to what I was doing, and I could still fly through a project. I eventually learned how to start things myself and started trying different stitches and different things other than afghans, like hats, clothes and toys.
After Scott and I were married and started having kids, life got busy and I would often start a project and not finish it. But sometime after our third child was born, we discovered amigurumi and thought it was the coolest thing we'd ever seen. I started making all kinds of fun things, many of which were featured on this blog, long ago, when I still blogged. Amigurumi turned out to be my favorite kind of crocheting. I got pretty good at and made some things that still blow me away. I look at some of the things I made and think, "I can't believe I made that. It's so freaking cool."
Our third child, Ivy was born with a severe heart defect and spent many hours, days, and weeks stuck in hospital beds and doctors offices. Sometimes as a mother watching your child go through something so traumatic, the only way to survive is to find something that takes your mind off of things. Crochet was like a dream come true. I once crocheted an entire Ariel (the Little Mermaid) doll in a hospital waiting room while Ivy had open heart surgery, so I could give it to her when she woke up. The entire room of other people who were waiting for their loved ones to get out of surgery watched as I worked, and a few asked me for a business card (which I didn't have, since I was an amateur). It felt great to make something beautiful for my little girl while she went through something terrible. And she found so much comfort in that doll when she woke up.
Anyway, as years went on and Scott and I eventually had a total of FIVE children, crocheting went up and down in importance, but now that our youngest is six years old and in school full time, I have more time to do things I love and the crocheting has picked back up. Thank goodness, because sometimes I really need it to relieve stress.
I have always been able to design my own projects in my mind and hardly ever use a pattern. When I do create something new, I get asked for the pattern often but never have one, since I just figure it out as I go. After I crocheted the Skull afghan (from this post) this past fall I had so many people ask for the pattern that I decided it was time I learned to write patterns myself. I'm still learning, but I figured I'd take my blog with me on the journey. My hope is that I will learn more as I try to write these patterns, because I know that is the best way to become an expert at something. So if you're reading this, I hope you enjoy my new approach to this blog after a long 6 years away. I hope I can bring something of value to it, and create some fun things along the way.
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