October 20, 2017
Dear Everyone:
Breaking News!!!
I have found a wonderful new destination for my
crochet projects.
I enjoy crocheting. It is
soothing to the nerves, as are many handcrafts and hobbies.
Lots of people knit, embroider, make model planes, trains and
automobiles, create unique jewelry, paint pictures on a multitude of
surfaces, form flowers out of just about anything, and generally fill a
need to produce something.
There is a former
professional football player who is as famous for his
needlepoint as
for his gridiron prowess.
Crochet gives me something to do with my hands, especially while
watching television, and is more productive than playing
Solitaire or
assembling jigsaw
puzzles. It could be
expensive, except that I usually limit myself to using lower-cost
materials, a holdover from my somewhat-impoverished youth.
The only real drawback is what to do with the finished projects.
Let’s face it: One can only
use so many
afghans, no matter how chilly the weather becomes.
One can wear only so many sweaters at any given time.
(Although, a fictional character in a
famous
British murder mystery was once described as having reached a
particular level of “onionization” due to his many layers of sweaters.)
There’s always the great-nieces and great-nephews to make things for.
But babies have a way of growing out of their clothes on a
regular basis. And the
nieces and nephews simply cannot be expected to go on producing babies
just so I have an excuse to make adorably cute tiny sweaters with
matching hats and booties.
For a while, I was making 9-inch-by-9-inch squares for
Project Chemo Crochet.
But that gets a bit tiresome after the third or fourth boxful.
Squares are nice because they finish in a short time, but they
never get any bigger either.
That limits the sense of accomplishment when snipping that final thread.
In the meantime, “Jeannie” found a group of people who gather at the
Martinez Public Library
every other week or so, to knit, crochet, sew, etc.
The leader of the group, “Marni”, told me about another group in
Martinez
who meet at the
Senior
Community Center every Tuesday.
These “ladies of a certain age” use a large multi-purpose room for a
“workshop”. While there,
they make items to be donated to the Center, which in turn sells them at
various fundraising bazaars.
This is a serious concern.
There is one set up tables surrounded by knitters and crochet
enthusiasts. And someone
sorting through bags of buttons.
And someone else marking price tags on a multitude of
already-donated handcrafted products.
At another set of tables, you can hear the steady “vroom- vroom” of
electric sewing machines running along stitching together many, many
tiny pieces of fabric. These
are the quilters,
who bring their own machines with them.
Ditto ironing boards and irons.
The Center provides the power strips.
“Marni” spends a great deal of time arranging items in a display case in
the lobby, where people can pick something out to purchase at any time.
There’s even a jewelry display on the counter at the Front Desk,
which does a brisk business.
Most importantly, I was assured that anything made for babies would be
scarfed up at the next bazaar, if not before.
Doesn’t matter what.
I immediately went to work on some yarn leftover from a previous
project, whipping up a tiny sweater and hat, with booties to match.
The only real response was, “Do you have any more?”
Wait a week. Maybe two.
Baby blankets are easy to make and take very little time.
Meanwhile, the nieces and nephews, and everyone else for that
matter, can breathe a sigh of relief.
Love, as always,
Pete
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