I used to crochet. My mom did all the time – it was a practice of prayer for her. I showed so much interest in her craft she taught me how to do a Granny Square. I was hooked. I made scarves and vests and simple skirts and blankets. They were all made from that granny square stitch.
I didn’t think about it as a meditative or prayerful practice but it must have become that at some point. I took my crocheting to school during winter indoor recess and I taught anyone who wanted to learn.
As I grew and got busy with other things I stopped. Completely.
This year I found myself in need of calming practices to keep fear and uncertainty at bay. I have picked up my crocheting again. I am using a kit to make a blanket of sorts and learning new stitches as I go.
As I wait for the next step of the kit to arrive I am freestyling with some yarn I fell in love with while shopping for my hooks and marker pins.
So far I have made a scarf which I undid because it was too heavy. I turned it into a different granny square scarf and, unhappy with that I have rewound the yarn once again. I think next I‘ll try a simple jacket of sorts.
What this reborn skill has done for me is given me time to imagine what I might be able to create with my time and these yarns and needles. And I imagine turning other things into useful creations to share with family and friends. It’s a process and even if my skill is ‘rusty’ for some time yet, I find the imagining of possibilities to have value just the same.
~Lydia Patrick
I have always found needle work of all kinds to be extremely meditative. Aline has recently taken it up, as well