A Gift of Expression

What A Day!

Imagine that you have just had a terrible day. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. You just want to slip under the covers and stay there forever. After slogging home and feeling weighed down, you grab a cup of your favorite drink, a hook, some yarn, and your small bag of notions. Your notions bag contains the essential scissors, stitch markers, and measuring tape needed for a project to come together. This ball or skein of yarn is soft, squishy, and a beautiful shade of purple. As you begin to think about the project that you want to create, your mind is engaged and your excitement is elevated.

Then the yarn speaks to you. "I should become a shoulder wrap." Yes, yarn can speak and tell the creator what it needs to be. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Then you get to rip it all out and start again. Getting down to business, you start your foundation chain and away you go. With the rhythmic movement of the stitchwork, the smooth glide of the yarn through your fingers, you see the piece begin to take shape.

You can feel the tension release from your neck and shoulders. Your mind is no longer racing from one thing to the next. Your phone is set to do not disturb and is not notifying you of anything at all.

Some may take a look at you and think about how their grandmother or aunt used to do crochet and how old school it is. Others may think that it's just a waste of time. All of that noise doesn't bother you because you know about the power of expressing yourself through the art of crochet.

The next thing you know, you take a look at the clock and it's been two hours. It's so easy to get lost in the creative process. Time to wrap things up for the night. But you also notice that your husband put his dirty clothes inside the hamper, you no longer want to ram into the back of the car of the person that cut you off in traffic, and you don't want to tell your mother where she can put her latest criticism of your parenting.

How One Gets Started On This Journey

Although I did not have a loved one show me, instruct me, or guide me in the way of crochet. The very few in my family that knew how to do needlepoint, crochet, or tatting have long since passed. No, I am a newbie to the fiber arts world and am self-taught through none other than online tutorials. I started out learning to knit because I thought it would be easier. Boy, was I wrong. I treasure the few knitted pieces that I have because once I discovered crochet, I never looked back.

Devouring every video I could online, I found myself learning the lingo, buying all of the things, and all of the yarn. You could say I have a yarn habit.

The Best Part Of The Art Of Crochet

Now comes the end of the clever journey with your beloved yarn and hook and you have to sew in your ends so that there will not be any hanging strings or unraveling of any kind. The question becomes, will you keep it for yourself? Or will you give it as a gift to someone else? It's beautiful and it turned out just the way that you wanted. There were no compromises or mistakes that you could not repair. The yarn did not split nor were there any knots to contend with. It's perfect!

No, you get out your tissue paper and gift bag stash. You carefully lay the piece out and begin to wrap it. Then you slide it into a cute bag. It's ready for its new owner. A smile has been on your face the entire time. Ah, the transformation is complete.