The Knotty Momma: Crocheting

Over the last few months I have become the nester of all nesters. I have been cooking and baking to stock my freezer, cleaning and prepping all rooms and items related to Peanut. I have also taken up crocheting, something that is clearly more in my blood more than I realized. I say this because I come from a long line of yarn artists (you could always find a knitting and crochet needles in the hands of my Mother and Grandmothers), but as a young gal, every time I attempted knitting but was left with twisted, gnarly work and the desire to hurt people with the needles, rather than create with them. I was forever frustrated and after numerous tries I vowed to toss the knitting fantasy aside.

But a few months ago the urge returned to me, clearly engaged by the pending birth of my first child. I wanted to make something for them, something that was full of love and warmth. Knitting came to mind and visions of beautiful blankets, afghans, sweaters and caps flooded my visions. So I wandered the isles of Michaels one day, looking for inspirations. The knitting needles make my blood boil as soon as I saw them, but the crochet hooks caught my interest. Hmmmmm, maybe all this time I had just been forcing the wrong method and that there was some yarn artist in me after all …

So off with a massive ball yarn, a shiny new set of crochet hooks and patterns I went. I read through the patterns trying to make sense of the shorthand and was almost immediately frustrated and convinced I has just made a mistake and had visions of my frustrated breakdowns of years past. But damnit, I was determined to at least try. And over the next few weeks and with the wonders of youtube I did and I was able to make up my first ever baby blanket, complete with contrasting edging. While it is far from perfect, it is filled with love and devotion, and that means more to me than extract gauge and stich counts. This is something that I made with my own hands and heart, that my child will use to keep warm and safe, help them feel secure and loved.

I have also found serenity and joy in my new hobby and catch myself eagerly looking forward to the times when I can crawl onto the couch and curl up with my hooks and yarn. P was shocked to see just how fast I progressed and expressed his encouragement in my new adventure. He jokes that there may be more potential in my hooking (ha!) than I give it credit and wonders if there is not a new career on the horizon - I see relaxation and unwinding and nothing more. I envision years of gifts for family and friends made with love, not potential income, but hey we can let the man dream right.

I have now progressed beyond blankets and onto baby caps and booties, with adult beanies and other clothing items on the horizon. I have a few goodies set aside for friends that I am keen to see their response to and plan on making my little Peanut loads of fun and creative bits and bobs over the years to come.