When I was in elementary school, I joined a crochet club that met on weekdays at lunch. It was an old women who worked at the school that first introduced me to the art of crochet and I have been fascinated ever since. As life got more hectic, I found less time to actually work on my skill but have been wanting to get back into crocheting. At this first crochet workshop, I was surprised at how quickly I could recover the muscle memory of chain stitches and slip stitches. It showed me that just because you haven’t done something in a while, it doesn’t mean you’re not capable of picking up the skill or interest again. You’d be surprised at how quickly out brains and bodies can remember your talents and skill.

Going into the workshop I was a bit nervous because I really wasn’t sure what I would remember from the past. Once I started crocheting, I remembered how relaxing it was for me and I kind of regretted letting it go as a hobby when I was younger. The color of the yarn was an ombre of blue and white and it made me more excited about crocheting. The SA was also very accommodating and encouraging which made the experience more enjoyable. She stopped for people who were confused and didn’t mind replaying the tutorial which was so helpful.

I was so excited to do this crochet workshop. I have never crocheted before and have always wanted to try but never had the guts. This was a perfect opportunity for me to try. Going to pick up the materials in my locker I was relieved that I got a green yarn. Green is one of my favorite colors. A lot of the other students in attendance also had never crochet before so it was an inclusive experience and learning environment. We slowly watched the videos and learned a lot altogether. I was having issues even identifying the crochet hooks, and when, where, and how to use the different components that came in my bag. Overall a wonderful experience.

I’ve had experience crocheting and really like it. I didn’t bring any of my supplies with me this semester though, unfortunately. I missed doing it, so it was great to get back into it. Usually it’s hard for me to find time to work on creative projects, but it was nice to set aside some time to work on something fun at the workshop. We were making cowls today; I haven’t made one before, so I was excited to try out a new project. It reminded me of a scarf my mom and I crocheted together a while back that was fun to make. The yarn I got for this workshop was a nice shade of pink that matches well with all the cherry blossoms outside.

My mom taught my sister how to crochet when we were younger.  Being the younger sister, I also wanted to learn, but lacked the fine motor skills to do a good job of it.  My mom let me start off with chaining, but I never got past that stage.  There were a few times that I tried picking up crocheting again, but I never succeeded in getting very far, especially since all of my stitches were very uneven, making my creations flare in and out as I tried to adjust for my lack of control over my stitches.  Over this past Thanksgiving, I picked up knitting.  I successfully completed two projects with even stitches, impressing my mom who was not a big knitter.  When this workshop was offered, I jumped at the chance to try crocheting again.  Since I was able to have even knitting stiches, I was hoping my success would transfer over to crocheting.  And it did, sort of.  My stitches are a lot more even this time around, but they are still uneven to a certain extent.  But it takes practice, and practice I will.

The first week of the crochet workshops was so much fun. I got a beautiful skien of blue yarn in my mailbox and a bunch of supplies. I made a Crowl and  I have crocheted before when I was little and my grandmother tried to teach me, I have knitted before. I actually found the crocheting quite peaceful and more relaxing then the knitting once I got in the hang of it again. I am really looking forward to the next workshop. I went out and bought some more yarn so I can make more things!

To make the point short- it is relaxing! I had learned from my grandmother to crochet when I was younger but had then stopped and almost forgotten all of the skills I was taught. With this workshop when I saw the opportunity I was looking forward to getting back into it and I am glad I was able to attend. I got sidetracked from the original project and started making my own project, but it was more fun this way because I could move at my own pace. I am hoping for a part 2 of this crochet series!

When I was younger, I used to love to knit. I would never have thought I could be the person who spent hours just knitting, but I found it generally relaxing once I got the hang of it. Just one row after another, without having to think too hard after the pattern was designed. However, when my schedule got busier with school and activities, I forgot about knitting and how much I enjoyed it. When I saw the event on crocheting, I was reminded of all of the projects I made. Mostly small, simple items, but I also used to make knit animals with my mom’s help. As the event started, I was definitely frustrated because knitting experience definitely does not translate to crocheting; this was an entirely new skill. But I kept trying. While I definitely have not yet mastered crocheting, I am happy to say I quite enjoy it. With several prelims this week and next, it was nice to have the time to relax and be able to reassure myself by accomplishing something concrete. A couple of rows of crocheting might not seem like much, but I could look at it and say, I did this. I’ll definitely be making my friends a few things in the next few weeks!

So I was pretty exciting to get into the crocheting workshop. I have knitted before which was fun and have also done macramé in the past which I really enjoyed, but somehow had never done crocheting. It certainly took some time to get going and past the initial learning curve of what is even happening. But after getting the hang of it this is tons of fun. It is also almost addictive in a way. “Just one more crochet” over and over until suddenly an hour has passed. And the feeling once you get the movement for a certain pattern down and can do it fairly fluidly is always fun. Not to say it starts out that way. I have restarted my project 4 times so far after getting the loops so tight that I couldn’t really move forward. Perhaps that is even self reflective of my stress level with school, being wound up all tight. Anyways, I am now on my fourth iteration of this cowl project, and I am decently happy with how it is turning out. I sadly don’t have as much time to devote to it as I would like, but I can see my self doing this in the future and look forward to a part 2 workshop whenever that happens!