I'm thirty-one years old. I was taught how to crochet somewhere between fifteen and seventeen years ago and dropped it shortly thereafter due to holding the yarn wrong & causing myself considerable pain and fatigue in my hands.
Last year or the year before, I bought some crochet hooks to weave in the ends of my knitting ( I do both), and I decided that crochet was something I truly loved and decided to figure out a way to do it. Not that I like knitting any less, I just find crochet more satisfying overall, and quicker. This is important when you have a toddler, everything must be quicker and easier than before. Streamlined, if you will.
I sat down with a scrap of yarn and spent a while figuring out how to hold it so it wouldn't hurt to crochet while still maintaining tension. I landed on the way I currently hold the yarn. I then went googling for some simple patterns, then decided to try some more complicated ones. I made a lot of scarfs and samplers at first.
I went to YouTube when I didn't understand how to do a stitch, and I found a good online resource for the abbreviations. Then I found Ravelry.com which has both knit and crochet patterns for free while I was searching for a pattern for some baby booties. Ravelry is now my go-to for patterns, and I've even contributed.
My mother-in-law sent over a big bag of some various cream, white, and brown skeins and scraps of yarn at one point with a message, "I want a throw blanket, please." And that started the first blanket I've made. I'm still working on that blanket, which I only started this past spring, but the summer was so hot, and my air conditioner was broken for part of it. I didn't want to 1) sweat all over MIL's blanket, 2) overheat. The blanket drapes over my lap now, I'm on the 2nd of 3 skeins for the main color.
Between starting the blanket and now, I've made several headbands, several barrettes and bobbie pins, a few pairs of slippers (another pair on order), and two sets of matching hat and boot sets for a couple gals at work who are expecting. Not to mention I have an order for about 15 wash rags that a friend wants to give out as gifts.
It's been a fun journey and I hope to continue to grow and learn. I've found I have a real knack for this yarn work. I've been able to fudge an ear flap hat without a pattern just by having a picture in my head and trying the thing for fit on my son every so often to make sure I was getting it right.
**crappy cell pic**
After learning how to properly decrease in single crochet, I learned that I did my decreases all wrong in this hat, but hey, it works. And my son loves it. That's the fun thing about crochet, You can end up doing things a little wrong as far as is generally accepted and still turn out an awesome product.
I get a lot of compliments on some of my products that I wear. Sometimes I've been asked where I bought the item. Not often, but sometimes. It's rather satisfying to be able to say, "I made this." when given a compliment.
I hope to be able to continue crochet and other crafts for a long time. Maybe at some point, I'll open a store online, but until then, I do it just for the fun of it and the joy of sharing something I enjoy with other people.
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