Hookin' It Up

No...this is not an inappropriate post, I just thought it'd be a good idea to talk a little more about my passion for crocheting and how it all got started.

A few years back, while I was in the midst of my graduate work, I learned about a ministry through my church called the "Prayer Shawl Ministry."  I can remember watching these women carrying up to the altar these beautiful knit/crocheted shawls and having them blessed by the priest to be given to people who were ill, home-bound, or those who just needed comfort.  The shawl was meant to symbolize God's love, His peace, embracing them.

Well, I just HAD to be a part of this ministry.  So I bought some knitting needles and some yarn and sat down with my mom and asked her to show me how to knit.  She showed me the two basic stitches, the knit and purl stitch.  And I made my first prayer shawl, just a big rectangle of knit stitches.  I was so proud of myself; finally I was the one carrying my shawl to the altar to have it blessed.  I think the biggest thing I learned was not the simple knit and purl stitches but rather that knitting gave me my own inner peace.  When I was stressed out by my internship/clients and coursework, picking up those needles and yarn centered me and helped cool me down.  What we in the "biz" refer to as, self care.  

After another shawl and a few scarves I decided to try my hand at crocheting.  I had read somewhere that crocheting is unique because while knits can be replicated by machines, crochet cannot.  Sweet, sign me up.

Enter YouTube...Oh, the many things one can learn from YouTube.  What I learned was how to crochet a pair of fingerless gloves.  I stayed up waay past my bed time and made them in one night...and LOVED THEM.  I was offically hooked on crocheting and from there I learned as much as I could.  I made blankets, hats, scarves, dishcloths, leg warmers...any free pattern that I could get a hold of I made.

And so began my love affair with yarn and hook.

Here's one of my most recent project...a granny square blanket for a very special baby girl who is due in July.  I was literally finishing this blanket in the car before the mother-to-be's shower so the pictures don't show the white border (and hence the pictures of the blanket on my bed of all places)...but one can use their imagination ;-)

I am currently finishing a blanket for C in his favorite football team colors - green and white for the New York Jets.  I'll post some pictures when it's done!