I know, as a teenage girl in 2018, it’s kind of weird how much I like crocheting and knitting. I first learned how to crochet in first grade, and knitting before that. Neither were my main pastime, but I nevertheless accumulated several skeins of yarn, a couple crochet hooks, and knitting and sewing needles. During elementary school, there was a needlework club which I occasionally attended. I didn’t know much besides the basics of knitting, and I knew even less for crocheting, but I was comfortable with what I did know, and that put me ahead most of my classmates skill-wise.
There was no needlework club at Franklin Middle School. I didn’t knit or crochet as much. Once in a blue moon, I remembered my yarn basket in the back of my closet. Then I came to Uni. I barely even thought about knitting or crocheting. I rediscovered my abandoned knitting projects only a couple times over those years, adding a couple rows before forgetting them again.
This year, Ms. Smyser taught beginner’s crocheting for Agora Week. I hadn’t thought about crocheting for a long time. But when I saw the class, I knew I wanted to take it. I selected it for my seventh hour class without hesitation. At the beginning of the first day, I had to refresh myself on how crocheting worked, since it had been so long. But once I remembered, Ms. Smyser gave me a piece of paper with a simple snowflake pattern. It was more advanced than anything I’d ever crocheted. I’d only ever crocheted squares or rectangles or these curly things which result from messing up a square or rectangle.
Finally, by the end of the period, I figured it out. When I realized I had actually made this little snowflake in my hand, I felt a rush of excitement. The possibilities seemed endless. I immediately wanted to crochet more. Over the week, I made several more snowflakes, learned new stitches, and received from Ms. Smyser some extra blanket patterns that she had. I took a bag of yarn and hooks with me to most of my classes and crocheted squares for practice as I listened.
When regular school started, I crocheted a lot less. I tried to keep doing it. Over spring break, when my family drove to Nashville, I crocheted in the car and in the hotel when we watched TV and my brother was making upset noises as he watched a basketball game on the screen. I found and saved crochet patterns to try later. But I have yet to start any of them. Even if I don’t have homework to do, there are quicker, more accessible forms of entertainment than crocheting. It’s not fun to do only a minute or two of crocheting here and there; it’s really something you have to set aside time for.
I’m not sure how to explain the appeal of knitting and crocheting. To people who haven’t done it properly before, it might seem boring. I see it as just involving enough to not be boring, but simple enough that you can kind of zone out. You have to focus to make things even and not to mess up, but once you fall into a rhythm it’s very relaxing. Plus, you can see every stitch, every row, so you feel like you’re accomplishing something every second. After you’re done, you have something solid you can see and touch and use. Finally, it’s fun because there are so many possibilities. You can make a lot of different things with yarn, in lots of different ways.
Sometimes I feel like things are moving too fast, especially during school, so it’s nice to have a more laid-back hobby like knitting or crocheting. I only wish I could slow down enough to do it more.
There was no needlework club at Franklin Middle School. I didn’t knit or crochet as much. Once in a blue moon, I remembered my yarn basket in the back of my closet. Then I came to Uni. I barely even thought about knitting or crocheting. I rediscovered my abandoned knitting projects only a couple times over those years, adding a couple rows before forgetting them again.
This year, Ms. Smyser taught beginner’s crocheting for Agora Week. I hadn’t thought about crocheting for a long time. But when I saw the class, I knew I wanted to take it. I selected it for my seventh hour class without hesitation. At the beginning of the first day, I had to refresh myself on how crocheting worked, since it had been so long. But once I remembered, Ms. Smyser gave me a piece of paper with a simple snowflake pattern. It was more advanced than anything I’d ever crocheted. I’d only ever crocheted squares or rectangles or these curly things which result from messing up a square or rectangle.
Finally, by the end of the period, I figured it out. When I realized I had actually made this little snowflake in my hand, I felt a rush of excitement. The possibilities seemed endless. I immediately wanted to crochet more. Over the week, I made several more snowflakes, learned new stitches, and received from Ms. Smyser some extra blanket patterns that she had. I took a bag of yarn and hooks with me to most of my classes and crocheted squares for practice as I listened.
When regular school started, I crocheted a lot less. I tried to keep doing it. Over spring break, when my family drove to Nashville, I crocheted in the car and in the hotel when we watched TV and my brother was making upset noises as he watched a basketball game on the screen. I found and saved crochet patterns to try later. But I have yet to start any of them. Even if I don’t have homework to do, there are quicker, more accessible forms of entertainment than crocheting. It’s not fun to do only a minute or two of crocheting here and there; it’s really something you have to set aside time for.
I’m not sure how to explain the appeal of knitting and crocheting. To people who haven’t done it properly before, it might seem boring. I see it as just involving enough to not be boring, but simple enough that you can kind of zone out. You have to focus to make things even and not to mess up, but once you fall into a rhythm it’s very relaxing. Plus, you can see every stitch, every row, so you feel like you’re accomplishing something every second. After you’re done, you have something solid you can see and touch and use. Finally, it’s fun because there are so many possibilities. You can make a lot of different things with yarn, in lots of different ways.
Sometimes I feel like things are moving too fast, especially during school, so it’s nice to have a more laid-back hobby like knitting or crocheting. I only wish I could slow down enough to do it more.
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This is at ~630 words. I feel like I should reflect more.
Left: Snowflakes, the first thing I crocheted in years || Right: My (very messy) yarn basket
I was also obsessed with knitting and crocheting when I was little! And I think you did a really good job of explaining the appeal. You do have a lot of narrative, and could expand on it with some more reflection. Maybe you could write about why you knew you wanted to take the agora days class when you saw it, and why slowing down is difficult for you now. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI think this essay is really cute, and I really like it. I especially liked how you spread your reflection out throughout the entire essay, instead of having it super concentrated at the end. Maybe talk about how you are too busy to crochet regularly. I also really liked your introduction, and how it continued into the rest of your essay.
ReplyDeleteI love this post! It's honest and unapologetic, despite the fact that crocheting is not common for a "teenage girl in 2018" (great introductory idea). The details you include are specific but aren't so technical that I get lost. I wish you'd have taken more time to expand on your concluding idea. That seemed like the start to a reflection section, not the end of a narrative! The idea that things are moving too fast is a compelling one, and it would be great if you introduced that idea earlier in the essay.
ReplyDeleteGreat work!