I need a new hobby
I need a new hobby. Sleeping is no longer going to be as easy to do as it has been the last week and a half. (Cue sighing)
I’ve always known how to sew. I have a beautiful sewing machine my sister gave me that I make good use of. I learned how to sew (stitch, mend…the basics) on my own when I was about 10. My mom gave me an old sewing machine and I figured out how to use it pretty quickly. You know how sewing machines run when you press the pedal with your foot? Well, I can’t really do that (the whole…paralysis thing), BUT that didn’t stop me. I set the sewing machine on the floor and set the foot pedal close to my right elbow. I operate the pedal with my elbow and guide the fabrics in with my hands. Easy as pie! (I can make those too!) I would make rag dolls, doll clothes, pillows, etc. I would also stick the sewing needles into the floor (where I had my sewing machine) and then retrieve it when needed. I’d never used a pin cushion…although that would have been a SMART thing to do. Instead…on the floor it went. I forgot one of the needles was there, and crawled over it. My legs didn’t register pain…nor did it bleed. I was 10…keep that in mind…
About three years ago, I ended up in the ER with a toe injury from my wheelchair. The doctor took an X-ray of my foot and guess what they found? A little stowaway in my foot! Did they remove the needle…nope. Now I’m known as “needle foot”…clever name, don’t you think? BTW…I still have my toe! (HURRAY!)
I took up knitting in college. However, I’ve always wanted to learn how to crochet. I had no idea how to do it, but bought the materials for it anyways… (last year).
1. Yarn (lots)
2. Crochet needle (size 4)
3. “How to Crochet” magazine (black and white, I might add…)
4. Motivation…determination….inspiration… (that was free!)
Then, I got distracted. I started up school, work, interpreting, traveling, blogging, etc and forgot I bought all the crochet fixin’s (as my dad would say)…until this Monday afternoon. I was cleaning out my side of the closet in my (fine…”our”) office. I found my knitting stuff and thought…I should knit little Zoomie a blankie. I realized that with school starting soon…and my time being spent on other things (grading, lesson planning, tutoring, tearing out my hair…) that I would not be in much shape to actually knit. I ended up digging further and finding my new, still in the package, crochet needle and magazine. SCORE! I am TOTALLY going to knit. (Time…SHMIME!)
I took the crochet needle, magazine, yarn and of course…the motivation, determination and inspiration out of its package and got to work. Step one…READ THE INSTRUCTIONS.
Page one…make a loop. Well, I can make a loop. DUH!…
Place the crochet needle inside the loop and swirl (yes, the book used the word…swirl) over and then into the loop and bring out. HUH…?
Sigh…this is going to be harder than I thought.
I need to be shown…I can’t learn from a 2-d picture (black and white), and instructions that I have no patience to read. YOUTUBE! Loving the YOUTUBE…
It was an older woman who gave step by step instructions on how to do a triple swirly loop followed by a triple lux. This lady was not only talented with the crochet needle, but flexible and bendy too. I might also add that her “beginners” speed….was so quick…she had to actually add a “slo mo” segment. Alright…alright…if you have to play your video in slo mo so people like me can see what you are doing, wouldn’t you have SLOWED DOWN to begin with? SIGH.
So…I browsed through more websites and stumbled across a simpler pattern. Didn’t really get much out of that either, but suffered through the very painfully dull video none the less. CLICK (the was the light bulb in my head going off). Got it! (It kind of felt like the moment when Trinity was hooked into the Matrix, instructed the operator to download the program for the helicopter and VOILA! She could fly the helicopter? Like that! Only…less dramatic and PAINFULLY time-consuming and boring.
I started little Zoomie’s blankie on Tuesday and completed it this morning at 2am! GO ME! It’s actually not too bad, considering it’s my first project. I’m on my second blanket now.
"It's a handmade crochet blanket...and I helped!" -Sydney
Crochet-0 Holly-1
myhollydays 
When I was waiting for Leslie to come from Korea, I had this great idea that I was going to make a crib-sized quilt for her bed. I got about one square pieced. Sewing was never really my thing, although my mother used to sew ALL of my clothes, all the way through my childhood, teens, and college. But I did like to crochet. It was easy and, unlike knitting, you couldn’t drop and lose those stitches! Congrats on the new skill!
That’s the one thing I LOVE about crochet…there have been a few ADHD moments, and I lost my place. Luckily, you just pull and start again. Did you end up crocheting (sp?) the blanket instead? That’s what I am doing. I have pinned together this quilt for Zoomie, BUT…I haven’t had the time, or energy to devote to sewing it together. Now that I know the sex, I really don’t want the colors I picked. So…I think I’ll go back and redo it when things slow down (snicker…snicker). =)