Adventures in Crochet

One slipper was bigger than the other. I'd followed the pattern exactly, yet the two were not alike.

This was to be the story of my adventure.

When the hefty middle aged teacher first brought her craft supplies to the small schoolhouse, I was glad to do something with my hands for a change instead of working long division problems.

The first assignment was for each person to take a completely tangled leftover skein of yarn, to untangle it, and to roll it into a ball. I was born with an extra helping of patience, and untangling it was no problem, simply a matter of waiting it out. She showed me how to roll it, but her magic fingers worked so quickly I couldn't see what she was doing. I asked her to show me again. She did the same thing over again just as fast. I figured it was a matter not of knowing how, but of just doing it. Accordingly, I spun, twisted, and controlled the yarn until by the force of my will it started making a lopsided sphere. Lesson one learned.

The next lesson was to chain. I began chaining my homework assignment, which turned into a masterpiece, fourteen feet long. At our next class I was instructed to single crochet. Let me tell you: single crocheting fourteen feet of very tightly stitched chain with a hook that didn't fit in the stitches was no cherry pie. I doggedly kept at it, however. To my disappointment when we met again the teacher undid my single crocheting and had me do it over. Undaunted and with pluck, however, I charged full speed ahead. Pretty soon none of my classmates could keep up with me.

My skill grew. One day to her surprise my mom found red and green Christmas chains criss-crossing the ceiling of my room like a giant festive web!

We were given patterns for holiday gifts. Mine was to be slippers. This is where things turned out badly, for one was much bigger than the other due to my stitches being uneven. Over time I developed a more steady hand, for as they say, practice makes perfect.

I was learning. Learning to make things on my own. I discovered if you cast off a stitch each time you turn and begin a new row, your creation grows slimmer and slimmer till it forms a triangle point. I did this with green yarn and glued sequins on it, looping the top to make a Christmas tree ornament. One day I learned you could crochet in a circle, and the house became dotted with doilies. A friend told me about making rag rugs, so I got a giant hook, shredded some material, and produced tons of floor coverings. When I watched someone else join two doily circles together and attach a handle, I borrowed the idea and shrunk it down to size to make little coin purses. I dared myself; there was nothing I couldn't attempt, and evidently nothing I couldn't do. I obtained a WW2 picture to look at and made an old war plane out of yarn with a cardboard frame inside it as a gift for an aviation enthusiast. Someone else liked piggies so I made one out of yarn, complete with a perfectly shaped nose. I made little houses, boxes, stars, phone cases, fashion doll clothes, dog sweaters, dog blankets, pillows, shawls, scarves, baby blankets, baskets, footbags, Easter eggs, flower vases, wallets, purses, a costume mask, and anything else that came to mind. If I could see it, I could make it, with one exception: I could not follow a pattern.

I tried. Every time I did something by obeying the pattern's instructions the result was a disaster. I could make things, lots of things, but only by my own method.

It's okay to be different! Whatever you do, whatever you try, be yourself. Break free! There's no stopping you if you can once unleash that creative energy inside you, that with which you were blessed from the day you were born.

Happy crocheting!