Why do you crochet?

[crochetstepmom]

We've had a rough few weeks in our family. I was crocheting the other night after a particularly bad day, and DH said, "Why don't you put that away tonight and just relax?" I tried to explain to him that I AM relaxing when I am crocheting. Other than those few moments just before I drift off to sleep, the most relaxed state I have is when I have a hook in hand.

 

He couldn't understand that. I think it's because he does woodworking, and that can sometimes be very physical. Yes, he enjoys it and it helps him to relax, but it's also very demanding if it's done for a very long period of time. He also concentrates on just that when he's working with wood (otherwise, he might injure himself.) When I am crocheting, especially a simple pattern, I can watch TV, talk, think, plan, etc. I also found it very helpful when I quit smoking a few years ago. I had something to do with my hands.

 

That conversation with DH got me thinking...what do I find so appealing about it? I think that it satisfies different needs at different times. Relaxation, accomplishment, enjoyment, peace, distraction...what else?

 

What makes you crochet?

[Nevie]

I was going to say it keep me away from shopping ... LOL ... but after looking over all my recent pattern purchases and ebay sniping, that's not true either ... LOL! I guess I love making things for others.

 

[Gran]

Well, I could say, what else would I do with those hooks? But, it is calming. I like the feel of the yarn or the thread in my hands. I like the simplicity of it; just a small hook, not even a moving part on it. It makes no noise, except for the occasional squeak. The hooks look pretty, too, like flowers, blooming there in their little vases on my bookshelves.

 

I like feeling my fingers wrapping around the thread and the hook. I like making knots and having them come out to be even and smooth. I like it that it's practical, pretty, and I don't have to do it if I don't want to. It's extra, necessary, useful, and indulgent, simultaneously. Hmmmmm. Sounds nice, doesn't it?

 

I like having half a closet stuffed with yarn and thread, colors and textures, just waiting for me when I want them. Delicious and soothing, full of promise and decency. I like seeing those supplies, all sorted by color and thinness, smiling out from the shelves. It's an insurance policy against, well, whatever is it is that makes us keep such a supply on hand.

 

It gives me a connection to my mother and her handwork. Although hers is magnificent and mine is minimal. It connects me with my foremothers and their care for their families, their prayers, their thinking thru all of life while working with a needle in hand. It connects me with women of all time, around the earth, caring for their loved ones. It connects me with hopes, with love, with sustenance, with giving, with others who love all these things and the things of needles and threads I haven't jotted down here. I'm sure others will add many beautiful things.

 

If I had to move across the country in a covered wagon, along with my Bible, my prayer books, my seeds, my tea and household things, there would be hooks and thread, and some yarn.

[MaryPat]

My husband does not understand how one can do 2 things at once -- like watch TV and crochet. The only thing that annoys him more than my crocheting while watching TV is doing logic puzzles. When I'm feeling snarky, I remind him that I'm not the one that falls asleep and then keeps asking, "What happened?":lol

[crochetstepmom]

It gives me a connection to my mother and her handwork. Although hers is magnificent and mine is minimal. It connects me with my foremothers and their care for their families, their prayers, their thinking thru all of life while working with a needle in hand. It connects me with women of all time, around the earth, caring for their loved ones. It connects me with hopes, with love, with sustenance, with giving, with others who love all these things and the things of needles and threads I haven't jotted down here. I'm sure others will add many beautiful things.

 

Gran, I love that! I get that connection too. That's a great feeling.

[Michaels Gram]

I crochet for a lot of reasons and the first being like everyone else I love the feel of the hook and thread in my hands. But more than that I love creating beautiful items (well beautiful to me ) and giving them to the people I make them for. I love the look on their face when they say "you made that for me" or "I was hoping you would make me something" and hearing the words that we all want to hear "oh, its so beautful I love it" or "I'll treasure it forever". I walk away with a feeling of accomplishment and my ego got a nice boost too which puts me on . A friend and I had a discussion once and we both agreed we do it for the recognition as much as for the fun and enjoyment of making them.

 

I made a blanket for my neice with the baby's name on it and when the oxygen man delivered oxygen he saw it and said it was beautiful, he told me he and his wife were having a baby and I asked if he knew what it was and he told me a girl and her name was going to be Grace. Well I made him one and the next time he came to the house he told me that he mentioned it to his wife and she said to ask if I would make them one and they would pay me for it. I told him I wouldn't take money for it and went to the table and when I opened the box and he saw it his eyes welled up and he said "I have to give you a hug" ~ his wife sent me the most beautiful thank you note I have ever received , is that a great reason to crochet and surprise someone with something they will treasure forever How rewarding to know you made someone so happy.

 

P.S. You can see it in my album if you want to take a look.

[PBLKNP]

Let' see...

 

It is a great boredom-reliever. I can keep my patience while waiting in a doctor's office, or watching some inane show on TV which was NOT my choice.

 

The Yarn Harlot talks about the process knitter vs. the product knitter. I'd say I'm definitely a product crocheter. I love having the finished product to wear or use or give as a present.

 

I find it's a wonderful way to unwind after a long day. My idea of heaven is to come home, curl up on the sofa with some hot chocolate a good TV show or movie, and a crochet project. Granted, this time of year, I'm more likely to have seltzer.

 

I find, if I bring it to work to do during lunch, it relieves stress. It reminds me that there is more to my life than just work.

[chessie]

I crochet because it is very relaxing and I love to be able to see a finished project that I have made even though someone else may have designed it. No one in my family that I know of ever crocheted. I am a self taught hooker and was bound and determined to learn this craft.

I always say crocheting is the best nerve pill in the world.And besides....

I kiddingly tell my DH it lets him live another day.

[mellybelly]

I enjoy it because I find it soothing. (UNLESS I'm trying a pattern that turns out to be a nightmare. LOL But, thats easily solved by putting it away for another day and working on something else.) I think, plan etc also while I crochet, but at the same time, it keeps me from thinking TOO MUCH, if that makes sense. AND, I can't stuff my face with ice cream and other after-dinner treats if my hands are busy with yarn and hooks!

[gail0483]

Crocheting helps relieve the pain from rheumatiod arthritis for me. Everyone looks at me funny and all they can say "so young yet so much pain". People in my family have quit asking me why I crochet after seeing that if my fingers, wrists, and feet aren't moving they hurt; the pain wakes me in my sleep especially my hands and I have to reposition them, grasp my pillow repeatedly or sleep with a squishy ball in each hand. Its either crochet or cooking/baking, my brother will tell you that he'd rather see me crocheting than cooking because he gains 10-15lbs when he is here on leave then has to work triple time to lose it yet doesn't complain when he is stuffing food in his mouth lol!!!

[crochetmom2]

I love to crochet because it keeps my mind busy, yet relaxes it. I had a very stressful job for a long time, and this was my only relief to stop thinking about work in the evenings. It stops me from worrying about needless things that I can't do anything about because my mind is busy with what I am crocheting--therefore, no worrying. I guess I would have a bad case of anxiety and would need medication without crocheting but feeling the hook and yarn is better than any medicine:hook

[LeahB]

I crochet because I find it relaxing. For me it is almost like meditating. When I get into that groove, the rhythm of the hook and the yarn making the stitches has a very calming effect.

 

I also crochet because I like a challenge. I am self taught and I am often seek out patterns that have some exciting new aspect to them that I haven't tried. I love the satisfaction of frogging and frogging and then finally getting something and having a wonderful creation to show for all of your hard work.

[pamshooked]

You hit the nail on the head with you explanation of why you crochet - dittos from Pam

[sandra2469]

I work through many of my work and personal problems while I crochet. I gain new perspective and feel invigorated afterwards.

 

I love to make things for my friends & family - but this is only a small part of why I love to crochet. I never feel like I'm particularly creative when it comes to artwork, decorating, etc., but I do feel something alive in me when I watch a project "come to life" in my hands. It's a truly amazing process to watch the way something unfolds from a pattern or my own head.

 

Finally, it connects me to my mother whom I lost this year - she loved the craft and was so great at it. In some small way I can still hear her talking about it & the things that she loved to make for her. It draws me closer to her in a way that few other things can.

[basjordan]

For me, crochet is a great way to connect with great people. When I'm waiting somewhere with a WIP in hand, all sorts of people come to me, and share stories of grandmothers, sisters, mothers, aunts, friends, and how important certain projects are to them. I love that it's so useful. And I love the ego boost when people say all the right things about my projects.

[craziebunny]

crochet to get away from it all. to try and relax.to calm me down from the kids.. umm husband too:lol

Plus its getting to hot to be outside and besides the walls to look at rather look at some yarn:cheer

[Miss Crochet]

For so many reasons... primarily because it relaxes me. For a long time I had to put up with people saying things like "You never sit still. You're always fidgeting. You ought to do yoga. You should try meditation." And I did! But they stressed me so much : lying there on my little mat, this was what was going through my head:

"Am I doing this right? Am I relaxed now? Is this relaxed? The woman next to me looks more relaxed. I'm supposed to think of nothing, right? How do you think of nothing? Is this nothing? Am I still thinking?" etc.

 

So I returned to crochet. I like the rhythmic motion: hook through stitch, yarn over, hook through, yarn over again, draw through two stitches, yarn over, draw through two stitches... So much so that when I am in bed at night and my mind is racing, I visualise myself crocheting and repeat the stitches like a mantra: hook through stitch, yarn over, hook through, yarn over again, draw through two stitches, yarn over, draw through two stitches...

Oh dear. I can't believe I just wrote that. I sound like a lunatic (go on, admit it: it's something you've all long suspected, haha)

 

And Gran: you have a poetic soul. It's true, the craft does connect us to our foremothers. My great-aunt Christina - an educated, independent lady who was a spy in the Irish civil war (!)- taught me to crochet and that skill is my inheritance. If I have ever children, I'll be able to say, "A long, long time ago, when I was a little girl in Ireland, your great-great-aunt Christina taught your mam how to crochet..."

Isn't that lovely?

[crochetstepmom]

So I returned to crochet. I like the rhythmic motion: hook through stitch, yarn over, hook through, yarn over again, draw through two stitches, yarn over, draw through two stitches... So much so that when I am in bed at night and my mind is racing, I visualise myself crocheting and repeat the stitches like a mantra: hook through stitch, yarn over, hook through, yarn over again, draw through two stitches, yarn over, draw through two stitches...

Oh dear. I can't believe I just wrote that. I sound like a lunatic (go on, admit it: it's something you've all long suspected, haha)

 

I like that rhythmic motion too. Also, I have OCD, so I have a these very strong urges to count. I also have to do things in sets...for example: If I am working on 3 projects at a time, I'll do three rows of one, two rows of another, and one row of the third...and that's a "set." I have to do a "set"

before I can move on to something else.

 

DH was worried when I started crocheting again that due to the repetitive nature of crocheting that my OCD would get worse. It has actually gotten better...at least from his standpoint. You see, my compulsions seem to always be about maintaining order. I used to have everything arranged in a certain way, and if anyone messed it up, I had a hard time dealing with it. Since DH doesn't count the rows along with me, my compulsion doesn't impact him. I have been able to reduce my number of compulsions greatly because I have one that no one complains about. Since it's mine, I can focus on that, and I am able to relax about everything else. So now, if he gets the spices in the kitchen out of alphabetical order, or puts the forks back in the drawer facing the wrong direction (yes, I know how weird that sounds ) that's fine. I don't worry about it, because I have my crochet to worry about. It's GREATLY cut down the stress level in our house.

[eurolyons]

My kneejerk response was, "Why not?" But to elaborate further, it's not so much relaxing for me (although I've always thought it was...) but it's a sense of accomplishment...whether it's working on someone else's pattern, or designing something myself...it's a sort of gymnastics for my brain...figuring out how to take yarn or thread and make magic with it with nothing more than a hook. And it's always been that way.

 

You know how when you were a kid with crayons and blank paper and you'd just sit and color away, totally engaging your imagination...that's what crochet is with me...the equivilant of crayons and blank paper...but with yarn or thread and a hook. It's fun and I'm all for fun.

[eurolyons]

Let' see...

 

It is a great boredom-reliever. I can keep my patience while waiting in a doctor's office, or watching some inane show on TV which was NOT my choice.

 

The Yarn Harlot talks about the process knitter vs. the product knitter. I'd say I'm definitely a product crocheter. I love having the finished product to wear or use or give as a present.

 

I find it's a wonderful way to unwind after a long day. My idea of heaven is to come home, curl up on the sofa with some hot chocolate a good TV show or movie, and a crochet project. Granted, this time of year, I'm more likely to have seltzer.

 

I find, if I bring it to work to do during lunch, it relieves stress. It reminds me that there is more to my life than just work.

 

 

I like this...I think I'm more of a product crocheter...but I do like the process, especially the designing part of the process.

[Tina M.]

I love to crochet because it is such an escape for me. Nothing else exists except me and the hook and yarn. This can also be a dangerous thing, too. Ha! I also love art and I think crochet is such a great form of art.

[ArielManx]

I started crocheting because I wanted to make things for my home, but I've found that what I really love is making things for the people I care about. What's the saying... "A gift from the hands is a gift from the heart." I love the whole process of picking a pattern, and a yarn, and the colors, to make up the perfect gift for someone special, and then creating that gift with my own hands. I feel wonderful giving those handmade gifts that I've put so much thought and love into.

 

Crochet is like my secret identity - scientist by day, hooker by night. It's one of the ways to satisfy my artistic side.

 

And it is very relaxing. I love the way the yarn feels sliding through my fingers, the repetitive motions of the hook, the whispering noise the yarn makes when pulled from the skein and the tap of the hook against my rings... I can get in a groove and just lose myself for hours - at least until my fingers and forearms start cramping up and screaming for a stretch! LOL

[jura2908]

crochet=sanity

[Cherokee2]

I crochet because I cannot just sit and watch t.v., I have to be doing something. I don't have a job to go to, and I get bored with housework every day, and can't sit at the sewing machine for more than 30 minutes at a time, so.... I crochet. I was doing cross stitch for a while, but it hurt my eyes, so had to quit that. I've stopped crocheting for a few months, occasionally, but always go back to it. Now that I've accumulated a stash of yarn, I will have to stay with it until that's used up.

[TIFF705]

I crochet because I love it. It is relaxing to me also. I love the feeling of completing a project and giving it to someone.... feels great!