About Me
I began to crochet at 11. Watching the flying fingers and listening to the chatting of an older friend who always sat in the back of the church, I had motivation to learn. I am the youngest of 4 children - the baby and identity seeker - and my older sisters had many friends in the church who I'd tag along with. Talking in church earned you a thump in the mouth or a pulled ear, but ushers and parents seemed to leave you alone if you were crocheting. So, crochet gave me a license to talk in church, theoretically. The talking and busting of chops in the house of the Lord began when I bought a hook and yarn with allowance money. There was only one problem - she was a lefty, and as patient as a bumblebee who has just been swatted. I was just about that patient my own self. Luckily, another close friend of the sisters knew how, and she, like me was a righty, and as patient as a bumblebee gathering pollen. And forget technical terms and patterns. She taught me a rhythm for a granny square that I still use to this day to teach crochet: "over, through, pull, over, through 2, over, through 2.... loop... start again..."
Thrilled at my newfound skill, I began to crochet not only in the back of the church, but in the front as well. Getting to talk in a boring church service didn't matter as much as how many stripes and colors I could fit into my first blanket. Newberry's or JoAnn Fabrics got every dime of my allowance, and if I was broke, I'd unravel a raggedy sweater, cut shirts into strips - anything to get that yarn fix. I would catch the bus in a Portland February to buy some. I had morphed into a premature granny - making a blanket for my newborn nephew (that he couldn't use anyway; I knew nothing about size.) I stole a book from the public library called "A Beginner's Guide to Knitting and Crocheting" by Xenia Ley Parker, published in the '70s. Discolored pages and black/white pictures did not stop me from wanting to learn every stitch known to mankind. And she was black?!?! Someone who looked like me.... I planned my future, as adolescents do in secret - I'd have a handsome husband, huge house, a garden, 2 boys, 1 girl (named Xenia) and grow a huge Fro and crochet all day, selling my goods at a Saturday Market..... but, growing sick of being called "granny" and being told to "put that nonsense down and clean up" - I quit.
Life, however, has a way of bringing you full circle. 10 years later, in graduate school and going insane, I needed something non-chemical to do to calm my nerves! Lucky for me, crocheting is like bike riding - once you learn, you do not forget. I picked it right back up, teaching my sister, niece, daughter, and countless students in the meanwhile. That Lefty aforementioned is one of my greatest creative influences and still like a big sister (Hi, C!!) And while my dream future is not as an 11 year old had planned ( I do have a gorgeous husband and garden- but we're working on the house thing and have 3 girls, none named Xenia, and I have super-processed hair) it is indeed perfect, because the last piece is in place.... I am selling to you, goods made with love.
To all you crafters, please preserve the craft by teaching someone. Don't let it die!
I started this website because I had the same problem lots of folks have - I had just painted and re-decorated, and needed the perfect green throw for the foot of my bed. At a chain store, I saw the perfect hand-crocheted blanket in a different color. Curious, I checked the price. $195? Ha!!! Searching every department store in the Greater Portland Area, I was unwilling to look any further for a stupid morbidly-overpriced blanket, when I could just MAKE MY OWN. It would a) be how I wanted it to be b) be more affordable and c) be fun to make. So I took advantage of a yarn sale, and had the perfect throw in 3 days. A poncho followed. A beach bag. Socks. A brimmed hat to match a Bob Marley tee. Hats and scarves for the kids for winter. Backlogged on requests, I decided to turn to the trusty Info-net, and here we are!
Thrilled at my newfound skill, I began to crochet not only in the back of the church, but in the front as well. Getting to talk in a boring church service didn't matter as much as how many stripes and colors I could fit into my first blanket. Newberry's or JoAnn Fabrics got every dime of my allowance, and if I was broke, I'd unravel a raggedy sweater, cut shirts into strips - anything to get that yarn fix. I would catch the bus in a Portland February to buy some. I had morphed into a premature granny - making a blanket for my newborn nephew (that he couldn't use anyway; I knew nothing about size.) I stole a book from the public library called "A Beginner's Guide to Knitting and Crocheting" by Xenia Ley Parker, published in the '70s. Discolored pages and black/white pictures did not stop me from wanting to learn every stitch known to mankind. And she was black?!?! Someone who looked like me.... I planned my future, as adolescents do in secret - I'd have a handsome husband, huge house, a garden, 2 boys, 1 girl (named Xenia) and grow a huge Fro and crochet all day, selling my goods at a Saturday Market..... but, growing sick of being called "granny" and being told to "put that nonsense down and clean up" - I quit.
Life, however, has a way of bringing you full circle. 10 years later, in graduate school and going insane, I needed something non-chemical to do to calm my nerves! Lucky for me, crocheting is like bike riding - once you learn, you do not forget. I picked it right back up, teaching my sister, niece, daughter, and countless students in the meanwhile. That Lefty aforementioned is one of my greatest creative influences and still like a big sister (Hi, C!!) And while my dream future is not as an 11 year old had planned ( I do have a gorgeous husband and garden- but we're working on the house thing and have 3 girls, none named Xenia, and I have super-processed hair) it is indeed perfect, because the last piece is in place.... I am selling to you, goods made with love.
To all you crafters, please preserve the craft by teaching someone. Don't let it die!
I started this website because I had the same problem lots of folks have - I had just painted and re-decorated, and needed the perfect green throw for the foot of my bed. At a chain store, I saw the perfect hand-crocheted blanket in a different color. Curious, I checked the price. $195? Ha!!! Searching every department store in the Greater Portland Area, I was unwilling to look any further for a stupid morbidly-overpriced blanket, when I could just MAKE MY OWN. It would a) be how I wanted it to be b) be more affordable and c) be fun to make. So I took advantage of a yarn sale, and had the perfect throw in 3 days. A poncho followed. A beach bag. Socks. A brimmed hat to match a Bob Marley tee. Hats and scarves for the kids for winter. Backlogged on requests, I decided to turn to the trusty Info-net, and here we are!