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Who inspired you most to start crocheting?


Guest lillian1969

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my granny :grandma used to do granny squares all the time - she even had lots of clothes made from them - and we always had blankets to use when we were sick in bed!! maybe that's not a good memory!

 

anyway i only recently realised you can do other things with crochet too! i'm just experimenting at the mo but getting a bit frustrated cos i can't make things as fast as i'd like

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Actually no one. My mother is a fabulous sewer (seamstress?), but doesn't knit or crochet. I never knew anyone who did. I taught myself during a dark time in my life when I didnt' work for about 3 months. How I decided to buy a hook and book to learn escapes me. But once I picked it up I taught myself a double and single, and started an afghan. I still have it and it fits a full size bed. Crocheting and knitting have gotten me through some tough times!

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My great grama! She died when I was, like, 5, but she she crochet me and my brother baby blankets and a whole bunch of afgans that we have around the house. When I was, like, 10 I guess, I wanted to be able to make blankets, too! (I can't make blankets, because I am not good, but I am getting there!!!)

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My Grandmother, My 2 Aunt's, and 2 Neighbor's taught me to crochet when I was a young child. My Aunt introduced me to stuffed animals. The small stuffed animals that I started out with taught me how to follow patterns. As I got older I was able to work with the more difficult patterns. My other Aunt taught me a shell stitch afghan that eventually became the family afghan. The majority of my afghans are done in this shell stitch.:)

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My Aunt, she had the patients to teach a nine year old lefty how to crochet, she was my godmother, my Aunt, my friend....everytime I make something I think of her..

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The consensus seems to be Grandma and it is the same for me. My Grandma never actually taught me to crochet, but I saw her crochet all my life. She did thread crochet - edgings on linens, bedspreads, tablecloths. So I followed her example and started in thread myself.

 

She is 95 this month and still crochets when she can although her hands are gnarled with arthritis. I don't have any daughters but hopefully I will have some granddaughters to pass it onto.

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My grandmother on my father's side was always sewing, knitting or crocheting. She taught me the basics of knit and crochet when I was about 10 years old. My mom's sister was also a great crocheter and her afghans are still around the house.

 

With that inspiration, around 27 years ago, as a computer analyst, I began dreaming about my work. I decided I needed a hobby! My soon-to-be wife had just been given a granny square from a friend at her work. When she showed it to me, I said "I can do that!" We went out that day and got one of those "Teach Yourself To Crochet" books for a refresher. She soon lost interest, but I continued on. My crocheting has increased lately with my retirement and the arrival of our first granddaughter.

 

I've had many rewarding moments when I would present my wife with a surprise project or one of my kids with a unique hand-made toy, or sharing some of my projects with you fine folks online.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Most people on here were probably inspired by a friend or family member to start crocheting, I am personally inspired by my mom's aunt. She makes so many beautiful sweaters and lots of decorative items for the home. Who is your inspiration? :thinking1

 

 

 

edited 2-22-2005 to clarify post title

 

:hookMY GRAMMAW MOORE. WHEN I WAS ABOUT SIX YEARS OLD I WOULD WATCH HER MAKING PINAPPLE DOILIES AND TABLE CLOTHS WITH WHITE THREAD AND THAT TINY LITTLE SILVER HOOK; THE WAY THE THREAD JUST FLOWED THROUGH HER FINGERS AND HOW THE PINEAPPLE MAGICALLY TOOK SHAPE RIGHT BEFORE MY EYES. I KEPT ASKING HER TO TEACH ME AND SHE KEPT TELLING ME TO WATCH WHAT SHE WAS DOING. I SILENTLY THOUGHT SHE WAS BEING KIND OF MEAN ABOUT IT BUT I JUST KEPT WATCHING. ONE DAY SHE SAID, "HERE YA GO" AND SHE HANDED ME A BALL OF BLACK RUG YARN AND A GREAT BIG CROCHET HOOK AND LEFT ME TO MY OWN DEVICES. I WENT OFF BY MYSELF INTO THE "OTHER" LIVING ROOM AND STRUGGLED AND SWEATED OVER THAT CLUNKY, CHUNKYBALL OF YARN UNTIL I HAD MANFACTURED A RATHER KNOTTY, LOPSIDED, CIRCULAR POTHOLDER-LIKE CREATION. I WAS VERY PROUD OF IT EVEN IF IT WASN'T ONE OF THOSE BEAUTIFUL, SPARKLY, WHITE, LACEY PINEAPPLE TABLE CLOTHS I'D BEEN WATCHING HER CREATE FOR SO LONG. BUT...SHE WAS RIGHT. JUST WATCH AND YOU'LL FIGURE IT OUT. THANKS GRAMMAW. SHE'S BEEN GONE FOR MANY YEARS NOW BUT WHENEVER YOU VISIT ANY OF MY AUNTIES HOUSES YOU'LL SEE SOME LITTLE PINEAPPLEY CONFECTION THAT SHE STITCHED TOGETHER OVER HER LIFETIME.

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my mom!! :manyheart

she forced me to learn when i didnt want to (age 7).. made me do yards and yards of plain chains till i got the tension even! i hated it then... but love it now!! i picked up the yarn again when i was older and appreciated the fact that what was once jus a ball of thread was now something so beautiful.. :c9

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Interesting how many people are inspired by family members. I too must give credit to my grandmother, who had the patience to teach me when I was a little girl.

 

It was love at first knot though, and I have been crocheting ever since. I kept up with it when it probably wasnt the most popular extracurricular activity throughout middle school, high school, college and thereafter!

 

It can be a solitary hobby, which can be nice at times, but it would also be nice to make it a more social event. Anyone have experience forming crochet groups in their local area?

 

Im new to the site, but excited to be in contact with people who love crocheting!

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When I was growing up, I would watch my grandma crochet pineapple doilies and carry on a conversation without even looking at her stitches or her hands. That would absolutely fascinate me! She could look at a piece for a minute or two and remember the pattern. I remember asking her one time if she wanted to write it down. She would smile at me and say "no, I can remember". The next day she would have that piece made. It was so sad that when she got Alzheimer's. We went to visit her one day in the nursing home, and my mom asked her if she wanted us to bring her crocheting. She had this forlorn look and said no, that she doesn't even remember how to crochet anymore. When she died, we were going through her things, and she had a HUGE box of fair ribbons that she had won over the years. Everyone knew that if my grandma made them, they were beautiful. I am the only one now that crochets, so it's up to me to carry the torch and hopefully pass this passion on to my future daughters-in-law or granddaughters.

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i learned to crochet watching a lady that my mother sat with in the evenings. she would make afghan after afghan without ever looking up..... i was fascinated watching her start with a ball of yarn, and finish with a rose, or a granny square.. i knew i had to start crocheting. that was over 20 years ago, and i'm still hooked.

peg

W.I.P.

preemie burial gowns

preemie buntings

numerous hats and booties

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My mum taught me.

 

I must have been around 8 or so and horrid brat that I was I hated the crochet tops she made me. She also made hats and lace collars and doilies.

 

I didn't start crocheting myself until many many years later, long after my mum had passed away, but I remembered with a bit of trial and error.

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My Meme fostered the love of yarn. When I was very young I would hold her skein so the cat wouldn't get it. Then she showed me how to wind it into balls. Then around age 6 I learned to chain I did chains I would work a chain for hours until bedtime. Then she would ripped them out while I slept so I could do it all again the next day.

 

Around age 8 or so she taught me single crochet and I made dolly blankets, and cloths for my dolls. I am guessing around age 10 or so she taught me how to do double crochet and granny squares. I made a giant (king size water bed) granny square for my dad for Christmas when I was 15 (probably took me four years) and was just all her scrapes. She died the next year and I didn't crochet steady again until my daughter was born in 1990. Then I crocheted afghans and clothing .. finally teaching myself doilies and lace to add to her dresses.

 

I Meme planted seed and my children watered my love of crochet.

 

:manyheart

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My dad was the one who taught me how to crochet.. he learned from his grandmother, Nonnie. I learned yarn crochet with him, and picked up thread crochet when I re-taught myself in my twenties.

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i was inspired to crochet by my mom. she is the one who taught me too. if it wasnt for her i couldnt have made clothes and toys for my grandchildren. or for my children. my mom is the greatest and i love her.

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My mother taught me at 7 to make a chain because I was having a hard time sitting still! In fact my first project was to make a clothesline that ran the length of the stairs so my mom could slide clothes on hangers down to me and my sister in the basement!!

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My mom has been crocheting my whole life and has made some beautiful things (she also does needlepoint)..she tried teaching me when I was younger but it didn't go very well....now that I am all grown up...LOL..(I work at an apartment complex) one of the residents here is a stay at home mom and she taught me how to crochet one afternoon and now I am hooked!! My mom is thrilled because now we can share this as a hobby!!!! It is SO much fun!!!

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Back in the 70s when I was in high school many of the girls made vests and ponchos. I wanted to get into it too and my stepmother's aunt taught me. I tried knitting first but I just couldn't get the hang of it. I got frustrated with knitting because I'd drop stitches and it took a lot longer for me.

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  • 2 weeks later...

My grandmother crocheted a lot of doilies and tried to teach me but gave up. Then I had a friend about 30 years ago that taught me to chain stitch, and didn't get around to teaching me more, but my sister taught my mother, and I wanted to crochet so bad! Another friend at work tried to teach me, and then I found a book and finally taught myself! Once I got the hang of it, the first thing I made was a granny square afghan for my grandmoter, who was in the nursing home where I worked by this time. She promised me that when she was gone, I could have it back. She watched me working on it from time to time and gave me more pointers. So I guess you could say that she was the one who inspired me the most.

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My grandma used to crochet slippers, I didn't live near her so I didn't know she knitted more. but before she died, I got a contract to clean out a house bought at a sheriff sale. I could keep anything I wanted as long as everything was gone. I got a bunch of books, steel hooks and string. And I taught myself. I showed it to her and she was so pleased. I continue on crocheting things for all the family including the famous slippers!

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