The Art of Crochet

I taught myself to crochet years ago before Makele was born. I haven't done any crocheting lately until I found a blog by one of my friends I grew up with. She is amazing with quilting, crochet and other handicrafts - you can find her blog here: Crochet Cami. I decided to crochet some flowers for a layout. I love the way they turned out! Please excuse the poor shot of the layout - eek!






Thanks for the inspiration, Cami!
Supplies: Patterned Paper, Rhinestones: Rusty Pickle; Glitter Letters: American Crafts; Yarn: J.P. Coats; Stitching Template: Bazzill; Digital Filmstrip: Katie Pertiet, www.designerdigitals.com; Software: Adobe.

I found this layout I did a couple of years ago. My grandmother crocheted that little yellow coat for me when I was a baby, so I put it on Makele for a photo. I went all sorts of crazy on this one, crocheting the edge of the layout and the flowers.

There is a hidden journaling block on the top right corner of the layout underneath the floral vellum. It pulls out to read:

Your Great Grandma Ellison made this little crocheted jacket for me when I was a baby. It was so neat to see you wearing it 23 years later.
Your Great Grandma had such a wonderful talent for crafts and crochet especially. She made countless afghans for her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. When you were born, she sent a beautiful white crocheted blanket that we wrapped you in on your blessing day. When I was little, she crocheted dolls and intricate doll dresses for my birthdays. You love playing with these dolls, especially the one that sings a lullaby when you press her back.
Because I grew up in Utah and Grandma lived in Creswell, Oregon, we didn’t get to see each other too often. Her afghans and dolls were a way I could feel close to her even though we were separated by many miles.
It was when I was pregnant with you that I became interested in learning to crochet. Since Grandma lived so far away and couldn’t teach me personally, I bought a book on learning to crochet. It was a lot harder than I ever imagined! Just trying to hold the hook and keep tension on the yarn was a chore, let alone deciphering the crazy abbreviations in a pattern. I soon learned what st, yo, ch, dc, hdc, and tr stood for, and after a few times of throwing the book across the room in frustration, I became pretty good at reading and following a basic pattern.
My first go at crocheting probably would have made Grandma laugh. I attempted to make a blanket for you. Not heeding the pattern’s instructions to count all the stitches in a row to ensure no missed stitches, I ended up with one very crooked blanket. I thought about undoing all the stitches and starting over again, but in the end I decided to leave it as it was. It’s a reminder that it’s okay to make mistakes and learn from them. And learn I did! I always count my stitches now to make sure I don’t drop any along the way.
Since that initial baby blanket, I have crocheted afghans, baby booties, doilies, a wall hanging, and burp cloth and blanket edgings. Crochet always has a way of calming me and allowing me time to let my mind wander. It’s funny, but sometimes I can look at a project I’ve completed and remember exactly what I was thinking about when I was working on it.
I am so thankful for Grandma Ellison’s influence in guiding me to this wonderful craft. Although she didn’t teach me personally, without seeing her work and enjoying the gifts she made for me, I probably never would have had an interest in learning to crochet. Even though Grandma has passed on, I still feel a closeness to her when I crochet.
Who knows? Maybe my next project will be an article of clothing like this little jacket. . . On second thought, maybe I ought to stick with what works for me. After all, nobody wants to be caught dead in a sweater with one sleeve longer than the other!