Skip to main content

Warming up America one Granny Square at a Time

My earliest memories of my grandmother are of her crocheting. She would make intricate, delicate doilies and table covers. I was fascinated how she was able to wield the slender crochet hook and create these lacey items. My mother also crochets; her specialties are afghans, and sweaters.  I figured I would never carry on the tradition of creating with yarn—this was based on my attempt at knitting. I only knitted one item, a lavender scarf that started being about six inches wide and ended up doubling its width. How I did that, I will never know!
Then years later, at work I saw a co-worker by the name of Sophie crocheting. I remarked to her I could never do that. She responded that was nonsense, and offered to teach me.  During our lunch breaks, my fumbling fingers tried to get used to working with the crochet hook. Sophie was always encouraging and patient. Eventually, I was able to produce stitches that resembled something other than a large knot. Once I was able to maneuver with the yarn and the crochet hook as an extension of my hand, there was no stopping me!  It was near Christmas, so everyone in my family, whether they wanted one or not, got a crocheted scarf that year. During that winter, I crocheted two afghans, which got displayed on my son’s bed and the couch respectively.
I have to admit, with each project, I did improve at crocheting. My son’s teacher was going on maternity leave and I used my new talent to crochet her a baby afghan.   She absolutely loved it and couldn’t believe I made it by hand.  I felt by far, this was my best work.
Then, I fell into a rut. What else could I crochet? One day, I thanked Sophie for teaching me crocheting. She informed me that another co-worker, Catherine, was collecting granny squares for Warm up America, which provides woolen afghans, scarves and hats for nonprofit organizations such as Women and Children’s Alliance, Special Olympics and veterans, to name just a few. She is always looking for help in this great cause.
 Finally, I could put the bags of yarn to good use! But granny squares? I panicked—I didn’t know how to make one of these. Catherine, like Sophie, patiently taught me how to make granny squares. Sometimes, I would produce granny pentagons or octagons, but I kept trying. Catherine never refused my squares, even though they were not my A game. She always found a spot in an afghan she was working on. Just like everything in life, the more I practiced, the better I became. I was able to advance to mixing colors, making the squares resemble a wooly kaleidoscope. Our group even was featured on the local news. We were filmed sitting around a table crocheting, having fun and good conversations.
Granny squares are by far my favorite.   I love the fact that they are created by yarn that normally would have been discarded.  Then, put together, they can be made into something bigger than its original self.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Negative energy in pages

Have you read a book that affected you? I remember a few years back a co-worker had this glossy book at her desk. I looked at its cover, which I found curious. It depicted a calming beach scene with a shark fin prominently in the ocean distance. The novelty of this book was it contained sayings that at first appear positive, for instance “If at first you don’t succeed…” and end it with negative words “…don’t waste your energy trying again.” As I flipped through the pages, I found the sayings amusing, clever and stinging. She let me borrow it so I could read it cover to cover. When I took it home and read a few pages, I began to feel an emotionally heaviness fall upon me. Generally speaking, I see myself as an optimist—I try not to let too many things get me down. However,  after reading a few pages of this book, a dark cloud of depression loomed over me. I decided to quit reading the book—it wasn’t like I was under any obligation to finish it! The very next day, I gla...
1 comment
Read more

A touch of Minx

A few months ago, I, along with everyone else, fell in love with the movie Inside Out .  I also appreciated that one of the main story points was it is  okay to feel sad, sometimes it’s an emotion that cannot be avoided. It was nice to see a movie not sugar-coat tough emotions and show that memories can be shaded with a blend of feelings. I thought the writers were so clever to materialize emotions into characters that kids could understand. Again, I was overwhelmed by their inventiveness that there are little beings living in the main character’s brain. As I watched these colorful characters on the screen, I had a nagging reminder of a comic strip I had read growing up. It was in the British  comic book called The Beano .  Not to be confused with the natural remedy .  The Beano comic book has been going strong for over 60 years in Great Britain. When I arrived home, I looked up these characters. The cast that started me doing comparisons was The Numskulls ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Lessons from Teachers

Many times when people talk about the teachers they have encountered in their schools, usually the lessons have been of the traditional sort.   A teacher has done or said something inspiring that has changed their lives for the better.   Actually, I have had a teacher show a negative trait that was a positive life lesson to me.   She was my seventh grade teacher.   She was a very large woman—she had to make her own clothes to fit her.   Not only was her physique large, but also her personality.   She was a very aggressive and no-nonsense woman.     “You can’t get away with anything in Miss C class!”   was the comment we heard from previous teachers and older students.   When she hosted detention, she made a sign to put on the clock that read: “Time passes—will you?”             Being in her class, she made it very clear that she was the boss.   Now, most of the time, she wa...
1 comment
Read more