Way back in school, I had a teacher who broke our knuckles if we didn’t get our sewing right. I grew up with a mother who believed that hands are given to keep working.  She was a great one at embroidery, sewing, painting and all sort of craft- making. Her cross-stitched carpet on a gunny bag is kept safely by me despite it coming apart at the folds. Her sari with Sindhi-stitch, is still with me.  But then, we three sisters were great at stitching words together and spent hours talking! Except for my eldest sister, who was the only one who closely followed my mother,  none of us could equal mom’s penchant of trying her hands at various projects consistently and passionately.  I never graduated beyond hemming or doing some long stitch.  I see my teacher’s face as I hem or attach my Saree fall to date and that continues to be my all-time favorite as far as any kind of sewing is concerned.

Over the years, I had tried my hand with knitting when in Lucknow but that too fell by the way-side. So it was as I inched towards 60, I felt the need to activate my left and right brain.  It was in 2023, soon after a surgery, I tried my hand at crocheting.  I tried my hand at single crochet, double, half-double with the left-over yarn from my mother’s basket. Yarning and unravelling, I was left with six different colours and shapes of coasters and I beamed with pride!

I don’t subscribe to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s views when he said,  “Don’t say things. What you are stands over you the while, and thunders so that I cannot hear what you say to the contrary.”

Well, I say it loud and clear and very soon, by word -of-mouth, a group of us who wanted to crochet came together and we erroneously thought that we could start with making knockers. After a few trials and errors, we realized that making knockers isn’t that easy. It needs proper tension, counting needs to be perfect and  for now we thought we would keep that project in abeyance.

But then, knockers or no knockers,  I was hooked.   I went ahead to buy a few yarn just going by the colour and didn’t worry my head about the plyness of the yarn.  I tried my hand with a talposh after abandoning a couple of projects for I did not know how to identify the spot where I made a mistake and ended up unraveling the whole darn project.

Then came the stoles and multiple work- in- progress.  I keep crocheting as I watch TV, go on drives. Frequent trips to Chennai and back was indeed very helpful. It kept me quiet and my husband happy. It also calmed me in ways that I never thought possible.

As my confidence grew, I  continue to take up small and big projects and to make matters worse, I try and follow those designs I like irrespective of the language that they speak and often enough keep unravelling.

The best part of the whole hobby is the fact that I am now meeting strangers who are all fellow- crochet enthusiasts and we are connecting in ways that we never thought possible. So, when my friend forwarded me this,  I could not help nodding and agreeing with her though I do not have 12 WIPS at present. Need more years to reach there!

My mother must indeed be pleased with me considering that I am keeping myself very busy.  More that that, it keep me tethered and the thought of working on more and more projects just enthralls me.  Being a Gemini, I get often bored with doing the same thing again and again. But, I think me and my crochet bag are going to remain pals for long.

For all those who wonder what can one do with the finished projects. Well, there are a few individuals who crochet caps and scarves and donate to soldiers. Some work on knockers for breast-cancer survivors. There are groups that crochet granny squares and donate the blanket thus made after stitching the squares together.  I also came across a few people who just leave beanies at bus-stops for those who need them.  I guess, the worry is not what to do with the projects but just to take them and continue working with your hands.

As I crochet sitting in my rocking chair ( though no cat by my side!), I completely agree with Frost when he said, I have miles to go before I sleep.  In this case, I have miles to go before I perfect the art but at present am happy being an enthusiastic novice.

This blog post is part of ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’
hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla.

Featured image credit: Photo by Merylove Art on Unsplash