The first time I crocheted anything I was about 9 years old. A visiting family friend, whose name I cannot now recall, was crocheting dishcloths. Watching her fingers & yarn fly around so quickly was fascinating to me, and I begged to be taught. Given that she was right-handed & I was left-handed, this proved to be a challenge. And after she left, I bought a book with patterns in it, but couldn't make sense of the shorthand, and so I discarded my hook and moved on to other interests, which is easy enough to do at 9.
I've never been a particularly gifted visual artist. Can't draw for a damn, can barely write my own name legibly. Scenic design and graphic arts for the theatre were my nightmare classes, and my sewing sampler for costume design was laughable. Lighting design made some sense to me, but just barely, and the only thing I could master with a camera was point & click. I chalked up yarn crafts in that same category of things that other people would do well, and I could just enjoy & admire from a distance.
Fast forward a decade or so. I'm working a full-time and a part-time job. I'm going to school to pursue a second degree. I'm exhausted and plagued with insomnia and mild depression. In talking about how busy I was, the question was asked of me, "What do you do in your spare time?"
And I drew a blank. It occurred to me that I had no outlet for my stress, especially since I no longer smoked and rarely went out to the clubs & bars that I frequented in my 20s. I had filled my life with so much, and so much of it was good, don't get me wrong. But I had not really found a way to relax.
So I looked into hobbies. And found a crochet book with left-handed instructions. I bought a set of hooks and a couple of balls of yarn. And I was enthralled. I started out learning to make a slip knot, then a chain, then a single crochet stitch. I moved on to more stitches, making mostly dishcloths & scarves. I grabbed a pair of knitting needles, too, which has proven more difficult to master & yet no less appealing. I knit or crochet while waiting for the buses, riding on the trains, during lunches and breaks, while watching DVDs.
It's been more than just something to do. Yarn crafting has taught me a great deal about myself, about my need for perfection, and how stifling that can be. About the value of persistence and patience (seems to be a lesson to be learned & forgotten & learned all over again, no?). About how valuable it is to take a few moments every day for something pleasing, and about the zen of repetitive activity which can help get me out of my bad moments just long enough to let them wash over me. Some hooks and needles, some fiber, a few pattern books, and time and love.
It's just that cool. And the colors are pretty, too. Love it.
-C.
