Granny Skills

I learned to crochet when I was five years old. I remember my mom teaching my sister and I the basic chain stitch while we were sitting on her bed, each with our own hook and ball of yarn. She would get us started and we would make chains as long as our hand. Then, chains as long as our arms. Then, chains that were as tall as we were. And at one point, I remember racing one or both of my siblings to see who could make a chain as long as our entire house first. We would frantically crochet, then measure, then crochet, then measure again, then crochet some more. (I just can't imagine any 6 year olds that I know today having a crocheting race...)

Once chaining wasn't exciting enough, I would start to choose patterns from my mom's crochet magazines and we would sit together, me with the hook and yarn, and my mom with the book, reading the instructions to me so that I wouldn't lose my place. I don't remember the things that I was making at this stage, but I definitely remember needing my mom to read the instructions to me. In this way, with my mom at my side, I learned a few more basic stitches too.

When I got a little older, probably around 10 or 11, I figured out how to read the instructions to myself and follow them without losing my place. At this stage, I started my first afghan (which is quite misshapen due to missed and added stitches) and made other things like doilies and hats. I found crocheting such fun and never thought twice about how "granny-ish" I must have looked all those evenings with the hook in one hand and yarn in the other.

As time progressed, I started to understand more and more how to put stitches together to make different shapes and patterns. I remember looking at some dolls that my great-grandma (Oma), my mom's mom's mom, had made from scratch. I thought it looked fairly simple, so, since we had the plastic faces that were meant for these types of dolls, I fashioned a doll for myself, complete with dress and bonnet. This was one of my first tastes of crocheting from my imagination. I liked it. I would also make stuffed animals (I specifically remember two white rabbits I made, one with a yellow dress and undies, and the other with brown overalls).

Over the years (almost 20 now since I started crocheting), I have made countless afghans, and my fair share of toques, mittens, scarves, belts, doilies, stuffed animals, dolls, and many other things. I really enjoy the smooth rhythm of the hook going in and out while I am forced to be still and at rest. I have come to the point where I have more toques than I ever wear, I have more afghans than I know what to do with (but they match different rooms in different seasons) and I feel no need to decorate my home with doilies (at least in this stage of life). But every once in a while I find a project that keeps my fingers moving and my mind challenged with something new...because you never know when having granny skills could come in handy...