My name is Doni & I'm a crochet junkie, a yarn whore... a happy hooker.
This is a relatively new obsession; I taught myself the basics about 5 months ago, from a book. Yea - a real paper & ink, lick your fingers to turn the pages book. Both of my grandmothers crocheted. I have very fond memories of G'ma Betty always working on one project or another -- she was always busy with something. She offered many times, but I never took her up on it... my loss. Had I known then, what I know now... and all that...
So now that I am well & truly... dare I say it... hooked *snicker*giggle*... I understand.
It's not (always) about keeping busy. It's not (always) about creating something useful or cute or warm or whatever. It's not about having a hobby.
It's a form of practical meditation. Counting stitches, the rhytmic twitch of the hook and the caress of the fiber through my fingers... my heart rate slows, I become calmer & communicate more clearly. I'm a better passenger (my husband will thankfully attest to this fact). I find time to slow down, unplug, and reconnect with myself several times a day -- even if for only 15 minutes at a time.
I am creating lovely things... for myself & others. I look for reasons where someone might benefit from my love of yarn... there's a baby girl coming soon & I've been pouring over patterns & ideas for something special. I've had interest expressed in my freeform items& will soon be posting hem to my Etsy... hoping someone else likes them as much as I do... so I can further feed my appetite for vintage, exotic & rare and handspun fibers.
Crochet has become a favorite creative outlet and the savior of my sanity in these lean, angry times. Crochet is my meditation. Thankfully, it's much easier on my knees than a full-lotus.
Many forms of meditation exist. Some are very unusual except to those who practice them. I try to do 20 minutes of traditional meditation in front of my white light during the short sunshine days. I have found meditative practice in a couple of unusual things: the rhythmic pattern of loading pistol cartidges and shotgun shells; the actual practice of trap shooting. But the Chinese practiced archery as a meditative skill also. If it gets you where you want to be and where you need to be and harms nobody, it's good.
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