How I started
all thanks to my Grandma Fay
I began to crochet about 11 years ago. My grandmother always crocheted. She made lots of blankets and what not. She lost her eye sight as she got older and couldn't crochet any more. She gave me her crochet hooks and said I could keep them as long as I learned how to use them. A few months later I bought the book The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Book of Needlecrafts (this link isn't to the edition that I had, but I would think this edition is just as good). I love instructional books with pictures: cookbooks, craft books, all that stuff. This book is FULL of pictures. I was able to teach myself how to crochet, and how to read a pattern from this book.
I crocheted for a few years. First I did a bunch of hats, purses, and blankets. Then I found a magazine called "Crochet Fantasy" (which I don't think is in print any more) it had lots of great non-blanket, non-doily crochet patterns. It had shirts and skirts and sweaters and what not. Granted, some of them were a bit scary - but there were some REALLY great patterns in there.
Then I got bit by the bug -- the I-want-to-make-cool-things-with-yarn" bug. And there were just SO many more patterns out there for knitting then there was for crochet. So one evening I grabbed my handy The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Book of Needlecrafts and taught myself how to knit. Initially it was much more frustrating than crochet. But the number of available patterns was a huge motivator.
I remember my first knitting project was WAY out of my league -- but it was a good challenge and I learned a lot. I made tried to make a a sweater jacket for my sister Di. I'm sure its fallen apart by now. I should try making it again... well.. once I get through the massive list of projects that I have on my wish list.
This little historical glimpse into how I got into this whole thing is really just a way to say I owe it all to my Grandma. Knitting and crochet have become a huge part of my life. It's my past time, its my creativity, its my passion, and its my way of keeping myself busy while still feeling productive. I love it.
My grandma died last Saturday. If I remember the date correctly, she died exactly 27 years and 1 month after my grandfather died. She was 96.
I love that I was able to tell her all about my knitting and crochet projects whenever I'd go to visit. I love that I have that connection to her. I'll miss her.