Hello...My Name is Nicety & I'm Hooked on Crochet

It has been said that the first step is to admit your addiction. Well, I'm addicted but I don't need a cure...I'm hooked, I tell ya, I'm hooked!

When I was about 8 years old, my mother taught me to crochet and to knit. That was a challenge for her since I'm a lefty and she's right-handed. My grandfather (her dad) sat across from us one day as she taught me to crochet. Mom, a rather impatient woman, was exasperated by the way my stitches looked to her. Finally, Grandpop said "V, what she's doing is a mirror image of what you are doing." She got up off the couch, looked at my work from his vantage point and you could see the lightbulb above her head come on. From then on, she showed me how to do the stitches and I followed along...she with her right hand and me with my left hand.

She had several vintage crochet books (they were old when I was 8 years old!) that she still keeps in her window box. Most of them are patterns for doilies but some (if memory serves me) are of afghans and such. She and I stuck to granny stitches for blankets and scarves and single crochet for scarves and caps. She didn't display many doilies when I was young but she did keep much of her work in her window box.

My aunt used to crochet whenever she was seated. She'd pull out her work and just do it. It was her way of relaxing in between sewing projects and cooking. People would come by to visit and gossip while she sat, crocheted and listened. If the gossip was good, you might hear her chuckle. :-) I would sit across from her, amazed at how she could crochet so quickly and keep up with whatever was going on. She crocheted mostly blankets, some of which were draped over her couches, others she gave away to friends and family.

I started to crochet again some 2 years ago. I found it relaxing. I started on an afghan for my father but didn't finish it before he passed away December 2005. I did make a shawl for a friend as a Christmas present and she loved it. That made me feel good. However, I never picked that afghan up again, nor any other project until a few months ago when I came upon my stash of yarn. Since then, I've been crocheting like crazy.

Because I liked crocheting so much, I decided to start my own "sit 'n stitch" at work in the fall of 2007, which I call "The Hook Up". The invitation was sent out to my fellow union members who crochet, knit or cross stitch. One crocheter joined me in the lunch room and we sat for days, stitching and giggling. I've known her name for as long as I've been on the job (18 years at the time) but we've really gotten to know one another over the past few months. Soon, people would come around and see what we're working on. A knitter joined us and two other women - a novice and an former knit and crochet instructor - will be joining us when we reconvene next week. Our knitter is a member of many "stitch 'n bitch" groups in the area and she showed me how to do a cable stitch.

One of my online friends told me about Ravelry, an online knit and crochet community . Our knitter, "B" is also a member and she loves it. I don't blame her, it is a cool community and great way of keeping track of current and upcoming projects, learning new things and meeting people.

I hope to use this blog as a way of posting my completed projects as well as sharing with and learning from others who love yarn work. I'll be posting pictures, tracking various websites I enjoy and just sharing my love for the work.

Keep coming back to see my projects and to share yours. This should be loads of fun!