Knit & Crochet Blog Week

I saw this on Chan's blog this evening & thought I'd join in.

How and when did you begin knitting/crocheting? was it a skill passed down through generations of your family, or something you learned from Knitting For Dummies? What or who made you pick up the needles/hook for the first time? Was it the celebrity knitting ‘trend’ or your great aunt Hilda?

I know my Grandmother (Mom's mother) taught me to crochet when I was little. I made long chains & some single crochet, but that was about it. I decided to pick it up again about 14 years ago, all I remember is that I wanted to make an afghan. That was somewhere around the time that my wonderful Grandmother passed away, I think in a way I wanted to honor her by continuing her craft. I remember helping my Mom clean out Mawmaw's home, there was a closet full of afghans that she crocheted. Probably about 40 of them! Enough for everyone in the family to get one. And I can say that I received the very last one that she finished, I had asked her if she would make one just for me & she made me a lovely sunny yellow afghan, she gifted it to me about a month before she passed. I cherish it to this day & always will.

So, with a need to learn I called on my other Grandmother (Dad's mom, I was blessed with two wonderful women as Grandmothers. Actually 3 if you count the hubby's dear one.) to teach me. This is "SO" my Mawmaw! She showed me how to make a chain again & showed me twice how to make a single & double crochet. Then she gave me a book from the 70's (you can imagine the patterns! LOL) that had printed instructions on the stitches, a crochet hook, & then sent me on my way. She expected me to basically teach myself, I was a smart girl she said. ha ha! I just love that woman to pieces!

Well, I did teach myself! I proceeded to crochet 11 afghans in the next 2 years as Christmas presents for family & friends. I was so proud & happy the day I gave my Mawmaw her afghan that I crocheted. :)

I then went on to have several original patterns published in magazines & books. I really should try to get my designing mojo going again, it's been a while.

To make a looooong story a bit shorter, one of the afghan's that I designed won the Juvenile division of the Herrschner's afghan contest. I headed to WI for the awards & tour... the Knit division winner talked me into purchasing my first knitting needles. Knitting always mystified me, one too many needles! Well, I got home with my new knitting needles, went online for some instructions, purchased some books.... the rest is history. I've even had a few small knit patterns published.

Even though spinning isn't part of this topic I thought that was worth mentioning too, for those that don't know that story. My pal Chan was taking a class on spinning. Spinning yarn? Why would you spin yarn when you can buy it? Famous last words! I watched & read about Chan's experience, I got curious, purchased a spindle, wasn't long before I bought my spinning wheel. Now my spinning fiber stash rivals my yarn stash! LOL

I have been blessed with wonderful family & friends who have helped & encouraged my creativity through the years. Thank you to all.