Ah, welcome to this little nook of the net. My name is Lauren, and I suppose I should start with the obligatory introduction post. I hope to use this blog for talking about crafty things. While I do enjoy the dreaming and inventing, I also love to talk about the talented folks I am lucky enough to know or stumble upon who are truly artists in their craft. I hope they don’t mind that I talk about their work! I am so very thankful to have found the beauty and fulfillment in making the little ditties that I do. I enjoy wire weaving, crocheting, knitting, sewing, and learning all about the various crafts that make life a vivid, beautiful journey.
So, how did this gal get started? Well, I suppose the crafting bug began a ways back with my fiery, stubborn Nana. As far back as I can remember, she has crocheted the most amazing things for my family. One year she made me a beautiful pink crocheted blanket, just the perfect size for my 6 year old self. Another year it was a pair of house shoes, decked out in pink and white yarn. She has always loved making such things for people.
Nana and Papa are very special to me because they lived a wonderful, simple life full of love and laughter. My favorite memories of my childhood have always involved them and their little farm, our fishing excursions, swimming in their cattle trough, and endless hours in the old Ford, driving down back roads and listening to wonderful stories from my Papa’s childhood. I find the older I get, it’s the simple times like these that I long for.
If my Nana is a wonderful crocheter, she is an even MORE wonderful quilter. Nana makes all her quilts by hand (no machine is used), and her patterns are comforting and homey. She has been approached by others who have offered to buy her quilts, but she has never sold a one. Instead, she gives them to people who mean a great deal to her. I am fortunate enough to have a few of the quilts she’s made. Here’s an example of a quilt she currently has on her bed:
Now, I have always, always wanted to crochet. I begged my Nana to teach me how – after all, a little girl wants to be just like her Nana! However, Nana was reluctant to sit down with me and teach me. I am left-handed, and Nana never could quite find the right way to show a southpaw how to hold the hook. I always had in my head that one day, ONE DAY I would find a way to make something beautiful via crochet.
Fast forward several years later:
Around the corner from my apartment was a yarn shop. This shop offered classes of all abilities and levels, from beginning knitting/crocheting all the way to advanced pattern courses. I walked in one day and signed up for a beginning crochet course. When asked about my experience with crochet work, I admitted that I was a southpaw and no one had been able to figure out the best way to teach me the basics. I’ll never forget what my crochet instructor told me: “I’m left handed too. You can definitely learn how to do this.”
One two hour lesson was all it took. The rest is history. Since then, I’ve dabbled off and on with crochet projects. While I’ve completed a great many pieces, I also have a slew of unfinished projects I peck at from time to time. I love how versatile crochet really is. I can bring it with me wherever I go (yep, I’m the crazy chick crocheting in line at the DMV while waiting to renew my license!), I can easily multitask with it (now it seems weird to NOT have a yarn and hook in hand whenever I watch TV), and there is always something new to learn. The best part is that it reminds me of my Nana. She is now my only living grandparent, and she is so very dear to me. My goal Is for her to always know what an impact she’s had on me. In a world that is so fast paced and constantly updated with new gadgets and various forms of technology, her simple ways of doing and living will hopefully stay with me the rest of my life.
And there you have it. A bit about me and why I do. What about you?
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