I’m a big fan of memes, and one in particular never fails to get a chuckle out of me.
It shows a woman, huddled over her knitting, industriously working away. I can just hear the muttering and counting, and POOF! A blanket! LMAO!
I can completely see how someone who doesn’t believe they were blessed with knitting and crochet genetics in their ancestry could believe all the contortions, chanting, emotional highs and lows and the inevitable reconsultation of the pattern (spellbook!) would equate to witchcraft.
We, of course, know better, but why in the world should we correct anyone? If they wanna believe it’s magic, I’m all in.
I actually do see it as a form of magic, as is all art.
Art allows us to transform whatever is on our mind – the bad day we just survived or a day of sunshine at the beach, an experience that happened years ago but that we still carry with us – into an experience of healing and joy.
I find I tend to work on larger, cozy projects with yarn in blues, greens and grays, when I’m upset and in need of comfort. When I’m feeling lighter, the projects are lighter too. On a recent trip to the beach, I used scrap embroidery floss to crochet a mandala in the colors surrounding me – blue, tan, yellow and green. It turned out gorgeous, and crocheting it made me feel SO good!
Crochet played a pretty big role in my life recently by becoming a survival tool throughout an abusive relationship. During that period in my life (don’t worry, that is over), making new creations at my own pace was necessary for me to feel in control of some aspect of my daily existence. It became an outlet for my stress and my finished works allowed me to feel proud of myself, something my heart needed very badly just then.
It’s also given me a method to express my creativity and a handy dandy way to meet new people (seriously, you’d be surprised how many people haven’t seen anyone crochet since their grannies when they were little kids!). Plus, no one can take away the things that you learn.
So, that’s my goal with Castle Wackerly – to share the magic with you, too!
I’ve been crocheting for 18 years now, and yes, I taught myself out of a book. I progressed to making my own designs – cell phone cases, jewelry pouches, crowns and mini crowns (seriously, my favorite!), hooded cowls and more. All my patterns are listed in my Etsy shop, and I will be posting blogs weekly.
I look forward to hearing from you!