The Two-Toned Blanket That Made Me Fall for Crochet

At the moment, I'm working on the Christmas chaos blanket that I'm doing with a coworker. We're having a crochet-along, so I'm so excited to finally have a coworker who knows how to crochet and is just as much of a geek about it as I am.

Tonight I have to do six rows of the bean stitch. I'm excited to do the bean stitch because it's so pretty. I'm also working on a few other projects. A moss stitch in a square blanket, the honey milk throw for my son and daughter-in-law, and a few others.

I really enjoy the variety of the chaos blanket, and it's fun working with Christmas colors. I think it's going to turn out really cute.

My Cat Chasing My Practice Chains

My mom taught me how to crochet a long time ago. I was, I believe, between the ages of 10 and 12. My mom used to crochet a lot, and she taught me how to make a chain. I spent a lot of time just making endless chains. I would run around the house with a big, long chain, and my cat would chase after it and play with the yarn.

I believe she taught me single crochet next. My mom was a very patient teacher and spent a lot of time teaching my sister and me how to crochet. She made so many beautiful blankets and other things. I wanted to do it just the way she did, and I didn't like the fact that it took patience and practice to learn.

The Blanket That Came Out Two Toned

I believe my first project was just a square. Maybe it was a dishcloth. I can't remember for sure, but my edges weren't straight; it was kind of wonky-looking, but I was proud of myself for doing it.

I continued crocheting for a few months, and then, as a lot of young people do, I got bored and moved on to something else. I didn't pick crocheting back up again until I was 40. I decided that I wanted to relearn and start making things.

So I got some yarn and a little booklet and decided to teach myself. That was helpful, but I got a little confused about how to hold the hook. So I went on YouTube and watched a tutorial by Marly Bird on how to crochet. She had a way of explaining things that I could understand. She's a great teacher. I practiced with my chain and single crochet, and eventually learned how to do the double crochet stitch; then I decided to make a blanket.

My mom helped me figure out how much yarn I needed, and I ran to the store to pick it up. I didn't realize that some of the yarn had a different dye lot. When I got the blanket all done, it was two-toned. Half of it was a little darker than the other. But I was so proud of myself; I had created something!

I had tried sewing, and that had left me frustrated. Crocheting was hard at first, but I stuck with it and really found it quite fun, almost meditative. That blanket kicked around our house for years. I kept it on the couch in our family room, and my kids would use it to lie down on or put over themselves while they were watching TV.

It was well loved. Unfortunately, when my husky dog was a puppy, she ate some of it, so I had to throw it out. She ate everything at that age. That was about seven years ago.

Getting Hand Yarn Hook All In Sync

When you're learning how to crochet, it's a struggle. It's hard to know how to hold the yarn, get the proper tension, hold the hook, and do all of those things in sync. It just takes time and patience. I'm not sure exactly how long it took me, but I know it took a lot of practice, probably a few months of constant crocheting.

Carpal Tunnel Took Crochet Away For A While

There was a stretch where I quit crocheting for a while. I work as a medical coder for my day job, and I'm on the computer a lot. I developed carpal tunnel, and it became too painful to crochet for a while before my surgery.

I really missed crochet. It's almost like therapy to me, but I just couldn't do it. Once I healed from the carpal tunnel surgery, I was able to pick up crocheting again, and I've been going nonstop ever since. It feels so good not to have pain anymore.

A Year In Before I Called Myself Good

I think I realized I was getting better at crocheting and would call myself good around a year into it. I felt confident that I could tackle most patterns, but there are still some to this day that stump me, and some that I don't even want to bother with.

I have a TikTok channel, and I've done a few videos on learning how to crochet. I've had so many people comment that it's just too hard. My advice is to stick with it. Practice makes perfect. It isn't necessarily hard. It's about developing the muscle memory, and that takes time. But with anything in life, practice helps, and crochet can become a beautiful thing in your life.

Don't quit. Keep trying. There's no perfect way to do it. Everyone holds their hook or their yarn differently. Whatever works for you is the right way.

Finding Wabi Sabi In Every Stitch

It's OK if it's not perfect. That's the beauty of handmade items. Remember I told you about Wabi Sabi? It's the art of finding beauty in imperfection. My crochet pieces are Wabi Sabi. I'm Wabi Sabi. We're all Wabi Sabi.