Why I crochet..

[LadyyOftheOak]

I was asked on another discussion board (totally non-crochet related) Why do you crochet and how do you find the time? I work full time, have 7 horses at home and various stages of baby making and training, have 2 children at home and one in college plus volunteer for 4-H as well as the Alabama Arabian Youth ASsociation.. so it's a good question. Here was my reply.. can anyone else relate to this in this way? Caution it's a little long

 

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I don't sleep lol

 

Seriously.. I work fast.. it's skilled work and I won't try to kid anyone into believing that it's easy work... anyone can learn to do it, but not everyone will take the time. It's taken literally years to get to this point where I can just about crochet with my eyes shut.. as long as my wrists hold out I'll be good lol

 

Alot of people think it's an old fashioned thing and it is!! But it's also a dying art.. or was until the recent renewed interest in it.. there's so many different and exciting kinds of yarn and thread out there now that it's just limitless the possibilities.

 

Then you get the people that think there is no skill involved in this.. their grandma did it so it can't be "cool".. well my gramma did it too and the more I learn the more I realize how much skill it involves and how few out there take the time to learn something ... before they pass judgment they need to learn for themselves... otherwise they are making themselves look like fools to those of us that do know lol

 

I have a goal to learn tatting as well.. knitting I've done but very little. I need to perfect that a bit more as it gives a nicer drape to yarn for things like sweaters.. but tatting just fascinates me.. Think making lace out of sewing thread..

 

I've had people walk up at craft fairs and turn their noses up at something hand created and that's fine If they would rather support the cheap labor in overseas countries so that Walmart can sell a cheaply made scarf for $9 that's their perogative.. the things I make will truly last forever if taken care of properly.. there is a huge difference Some people see it.. some don't.. The ones that don't are no skin off my nose lol There is no such thing as a crochet machine that does intricate work.. they have them but they are very limited. The "crocheted" things you find at places like walmart are made by some little oriental lady or child working for pennies an hour somewhere.. and they aren't made well at all

 

I had a long talk with a lady at a craft fair I went to just walk around at that was selling these huge doilies for like $20 I was shocked!! I know the work that goes into them.. I hope I made her feel better about her craft and what she should be charging for this work.. it was beautiful and she did a wonderful job.. but she should never ever cheapen her talent like that... It made me sad that she had become convinced that's all it was worth by people who didn't know any better.

 

Alot of my work is done in the car driving to and from work (not while driving tho lol) some is done at lunch when waiting.. really can be done anywhere at all that you have a few minutes to kill. I do a ton sitting at home in front of the computer or watching a movie.. I have been known to take it to the theatre with me tho this doesn't work well with dark thread as it's too hard to see Vince has learned that my bag goes with me everywhere and I've gotten alot of orders just from people passing by, seeing something I'm working on and asking me about it It's gratifying to see people receive things I've created or made unique and one of a kind and to watch them enjoy and appreciate it. For years and years I gave a ton away to folks lol I still do sometimes But I'm using it now to help support my horse habit and it's been very good to me.

 

Everytime I make something, whether it's a baby cradle toy for a child, a stuffed animal, an afghan, a dress, or even a wedding bible cover set.. everytime I finish something I think of Nana.. and how proud she would have been. She was very creative and very artsy and so much of what I have learned and come up with links back to her somehow. It's truly an ongoing tribute to a very great lady who is much loved and much missed by her granddaughter

 

From the 100 year old doily I repaired for the elderly gentleman, whose wife had died the year before.. it had been a wedding present from her grandmother who had received it from HER grandmother on her own wedding day... he cried when I handed it back to him repaired and nearly as good as new... I cried with him when he hugged me To the lady who wanted something special for her children to remember and have into their adult years and for their own children, an heirloom baby afghan in her own specific colors and design... to the grandmother who could no longer crochet due to arthritis and bad eyesight, watching her face light up when my mother gave her a beautiful cream color afghan ever so soft and laying it in her lap as a birthday gift on her 90th birthday To the new mother and watching her face as she opened baby's very first present....and then carrying a newborn infant home from the hospital in something handmade and precious on the way home from the hospital... All of these things have happened and are one big reason I keep doing this... I enjoy sharing this craft with others

 

Next on the agenda among other things are some really fun Easter Eggs and baskets... They are something Nana and I made when I was little and I've never forgotten them.. filigree and very beautiful they make great centerpieces for Easter and are a ton of fun to create. I'm looking forward to making them with Megan (and Shauna too if she's home )when they come up on the list

 

Probably more information than anyone wanted lol but this craft.. and it is a craft is almost as important to me as my horses.. it's a skill passed down thru generations and one I hope to pass down to my own children and grandchildren as well It's relaxing, it's gratifying, it's satisfying and it's a whole lotta fun!

[losingmymind2]

Thank you for sharing that Donna

[jimbo]

This is a top notch post! Well done, Donna, and well said! Thanks.

[BY&BH]

From the 100 year old doily I repaired for the elderly gentleman, whose wife had died the year before.. it had been a wedding present from her grandmother who had received it from HER grandmother on her own wedding day... he cried when I handed it back to him repaired and nearly as good as new... I cried with him when he hugged me

I cried when I read this.

 

I crochet because it relaxes me, it is my creative outlet, Gram did it and I love making and giving gifts.

[Chrome Kitty]

That part made me cry too.

[PoisonApple]

That was really b eautiful...I am still crying. Very very well written.

[LadyyOftheOak]

[memflag]

That was very nicely said!

 

 

Elizabeth

[xmaystarx]

Wow, that was lovely. What great writing coming from the heart to describe your pasion and reasons. I was captivated!

[LadyyOftheOak]

Thanks everyone.. It tended to ramble a bit, I kept thinking of things to add lol

 

It's not something everyone would understand, when it becomes part of you it's no longer a hobbie, it's part of who you are and why you are. It's part of what makes me... me I knew you all would understand

[Gran]

Thank you for the beautiful writing. Crochet does mean connecting to those who have gone before. We are their posterity. The spirit of our time seems to be of coveting instant gratification and pride in what one gets for oneself.... Crocheting is a way to honor my foremothers, to give, to put one's openness and one's love into a job well done. I often think, "Would our great-great-grandmothers be proud of us?" At the end of each day, or the end of my time on earth, I want to be able to stand before them and have them say, "Well, done." Crocheting is part of that continuity. Your words reveal that heart.

[LadyyOftheOak]

Thank you Gran Beautifully spoken.. now you've made me cry

[liz31]

I have goosebumps...that was truly beautiful and I'm sure we can all relate

[craftybutterfly]

I liked it. I always like to say "those not of the yarn, do not understand the things of the yarn". Crochet is my sanity on a skein. Other than giving birth, nothing else in life has given me the pleasure and the gratifying feeling of "Look what I did!!" like crochet.

[Nadine]

So beautiful and poignant, you really got to the heart of what we do

[grrlsmom]

Beautiful! Crochet connects me to a Grandmother I barely remember. I still have some of her doilies, a couple quilts and an afghan. She has been gone almost 50 yrs. now - I'd like to think I am continuing the tradition.

[pidot]

thanks for sharing. I enjoyed reading it.

[Hounddog]

Thank you for that wonderful explanation for the way we all feel. My friends think its wonderful that I crochet that I am talented haha, but I tell them anyone can do this if they want to learn. I really love it when I give something for a gift and they can't believe I made it. LOL It makes me feel good too.

[pampsmom]

My mother taught me to crochet when I was very small. I can remember chaining forever when I was around five. Of course I had a relapse in my teens, too busy for Mom and crocheting, but returned to my favorite art form in my twenties. My mother developed a brain tumor when I was twenty three while she was working on a dress for my oldest daughter. That was the last thing she did. She finished it the nite before her first surgery. I have passed that dress down to my grandchildren. Her nightmare lasted five years. She struggled thru more surgeries and declined gradually. During that time I spend many days and nights with her, sitting by her side trying to do all I could for her. While she slept, I crocheted. I couldn't tell you what I made anymore for it was so long ago. But it kept my hands busy while my heart broke. I have never quit since. It is my everlasting link to my mother. I guess that is why I named my shop the Everlasting Crafty Creations.

[mommagoincrazy2]

This is so wonderful reading all these meanings to everyone. I loved it choking back tears of my own. As I have just learned myself a little over a year ago. I love the feeling I get of the joy and happiness it brings. I gave my first BIG project to my daughter's teacher and when I saw the look on her face I knew then that it was for me. It was a wonderful feeling I almost cried. I have a new love other than life and family CROCHETING. Thank you for sharing what it means to you. I love this place.

[itsnikki!]

I crochet (and knit) because I can't stand to be still. Even for a second. Even when I'm sleeping, I'm active. (I toss and turn all night) I have to be doing something, and filling up every minute of my day. I have to feel productive. It's the only way I don't "beat myself up" for taking time out to watch a movie, or go on the 'net. And, even though it really does'nt sound like it, from the way I'm explaining why I do it... it relaxes me. And it makes me happy to know that I made something MYSELF with just a hook/two sticks and some yarn. It makes me feel creative. I seriously went, like, one week without crocheting/knitting/crafting of some sort and felt empty, lol. I think I'm ADDICTED!!

[aussiecrocheter]

Thanks for sharing , made me teary. My nana taught me to crochet, knit, and sew also. It is so nice to read something written from the heart.

[badrhinogillett]

My Grandma passed away when I was seven. She could knit and crochet anything. She didn't live long enough to teach me, but I crochet, in part, because she lives still when I do.

 

Most of my memories of her now are of me as a child at her knee listening to her whispering numbers while she would knit. I would start to ask her something, and she'd quietly say, "In a minute, I'm counting." I didn't know what there was to count, but I knew that when she would whisper, I should be quiet so she could do it.

 

Now, when I crochet, and count my stiches under my breath, I am instantly back at Grandma's knee listening to her. It's a connection with her even to this day.

[LadyyOftheOak]

It's gratifying to see so many others with such a love of this craft:manyheart It's like coming home to others that understand just how you feel when something beautiful is created.. even something simple.