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Thursday, January 6, 2011

Project: Learn to knit/crochet/sew (maaybe)..

From this moment forward I will never take the every day clothes I wear for granted.

I've never been one to scoff at someone's hard work and/or craftsmanship but at the same time I also have never taken into consideration the amount of time, concentration and in general how nimble your fingers have to be in order to sew/crochet/knit! You crafty seamstresses are hard core, and my hat's off to you!

Growing up with high levels of undetected attention deficit disorder I never had the time nor the patience to sit and learn an actual project (especially when it came down to school). At the age of  nine  my grandmother taught me the basic chain stitch for crocheting. I thought I was the absolute "bee's knees".  I would crochet the longest single chains ever seen! When she tried to sit me down to show me the next step, I declined. I felt like I was a-okay with making single braided strands into long thin rope.   Little did I know that the amount of yarn I was wasting would one day want to be turned into a scarf.

Today I took my four year old to the craft store (which I highly do not recommend if you've been depriving yourself of crafty projects- it's as dangerous as going to the supermarket while hungry). The moment I entered the store it was like the heavens opening a whole new world of possibilities for me.

"I could make this...'so-and-so' has a birthday coming up.. we can create worlds! ..so much cheaper than..." all of these thoughts raced through my head.

I stopped by the yarn section. Flashbacks of being wrapped in long thin strands of crocheted chains with gigantic smiles on my face flooded my memory. My childhood was merry but at the same time could have been a bit more if I had applied myself to finishing real projects.  

"How ridiculous did I look?!" I thought to myself.   "If I want Emily to ever complete a project, I should start with leading by example. I should expand on my very basic knowledge of crocheting. I'll make a scarf for her."

So, with a very special yarn she had picked out, the correct needle size and one of the items we went in  to purchase we headed toward the car. (Due to the ADD we had to run back in to purchase the other item I had forgotten we initially went in for.)

After a very vigorous cleanup of our classroom at home we sat down to start on our craft project. I began my chain. Like riding a bicycle, I remembered and picked it up easily. Then came time to start a new row. I picked up the instructions and at that moment realized I was in for more than what I had bargained for.  

"Yarn over hook? The yarn is all over the hook!" anxious thoughts poured through my head  "Stitch upward? Loop into what? Why is it starting to look so small? Oh no, wrong size! Cruh-"

"How are you doing mom?" Emily interrupted "Oh mom, it's beeautiful!"

Trying to play it cool I smiled and slyly replied.

 "Because it's such a new project I'll make Betty's first for practice, then yours."

She smiled and nodded with content then went back to her project.

Coming from Miss Super Snob herself, to you all who know how to be crafty- you are all rock stars! It's something that really needs to be taught. In the meantime I will not give up on Emily's scarf.



(..oh and thank goodness for two children.)

2 comments:

  1. Hey, that's a valient effort! I just started to learn to crochet too, I found YouTube to be really helpful! I also just bought "The Happy Hooker" from Amazon, and can't wait for it to come! It's supposed to be a really good tutorial. I posted some youtube links on my blog if you are interested :)

    BTW, in case you were wondering, I found your blog in Google search. I was trying to find crochet how-to's and your blog popped up. Good luck! Drop by my blog if you need help, that is until you surpass me ;)

    xo
    Candice
    www.theoldladyatheart.blogspot.com

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  2. Your blog is fabulous! Can't pass up a name like "The Happy Hooker", I will definitely look into it. Thanks so much again!!

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