January 22, 2016
Dear Everyone:
I believe I have mentioned in the past that I like to
crochet.
“Jeannie” likes to
knit.
I like crochet. Both
usually involve yards and yards of
yarn, or thread, and
either pointed sticks or a hook, which are used to wriggle the yarn, or
thread, into seriously convoluted combinations of intentional tangles
which ultimately result in a finished “project”.
A Project can be anything from a washcloth to a full-length
sweater to something in between.
Last year I made crocheted
slippers for just
about everybody for
Christmas. Originally I
had planned on slippers just for the ladies, with a fun-looking target
game for the guys. But a lot
of
news stories involving death and destruction from actual guns kind
of took the fun part out of it, even though the game involved foam darts
rather than bullets; and that convinced me to just stick to slippers
this time.
Most of the slippers were done in a sort of “Fair
Isle” pattern. This
meant changing the color of the yarn every two rows.
In this way every pair of slippers was unique and therefore
special to each recipient.
To that end, I had acquired yarn in over a dozen different colors.
Once the slippers were done I had a lot of leftover yarn.
In over a dozen different colors.
No problem.
Last year I had discovered something called
Project Chemo
Crochet.
This is a group of volunteers who stitch together knitted and/or
crocheted squares into individual blankets for people who are undergoing
chemotherapy.
Where do the squares come from?
From volunteers like me.
Each square is nine inches by nine and made from washable material.
That’s the only requirement.
You can do any pattern you like, using any size needles or hooks
you prefer. As long as it
comes out to nine inches in each direction and can be thrown into the
washer and
dryer, that’s
all that matters.
It doesn’t take that much yarn to do nine inches.
So that takes care of the leftovers from any previous projects,
as long as I used washable yarn, which I nearly always do anyway.
Who want slippers that have to be dry-cleaned?
And it’s a great way to try out a new pattern to see if I like it before
committing to who knows how much time and materials.
The only problem is: A
nine-inch square isn’t very big.
This is true of any project that is a compilation of pieces
called
motifs. On the
plus-side: They don’t take
long to finish. You can
frequently complete one or two in an evening.
On the down-side:
There’s very little feeling of accomplishment.
After hours, or even weeks, of work, all you have is a bunch of
nine-inch squares. They
never get any bigger.
Sure, I’ve mailed off whole boxes filled with squares to the Project
Chemo Crochet people; but it still feels like not much accomplished.
Then I found out about another Project:
Project Linus.
This is another group dedicated to providing blankets, like the
one Linus
from the
Peanuts Cartoon
strips was so addicted to, for children who need a “security
blanket” for whatever reason.
Again, the actual makeup of the blanket is up to the volunteer, from
starting with some “baby yarn” and a simple basket-weave pattern, to
something more advanced for an older child.
I can pretty much make up whatever I want, within the
organization’s requirements (non-smoking environment, no pet hair,
washable-washable-washable.)
And why do I like crocheting?
Because it’s easier for me than knitting (no aspersions on
knitters.) Because it’s
soothing to the nerves, as many psychiatrists and psychologists know,
which is why they recommend needle work for their patients.
And because it gives me something to do with my hands that’s much
more productive than playing
Solitaire or
assembling a
jigsaw puzzle.
Try it yourself some time.
Love, as always,
Pete
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