As I’ve gotten older, I’ve been trying to be more selective about the new projects I start. I have a lot of reasons for this – lack of space to store supplies for new hobbies/an insane wish to be slightly more minimal (I know that’s not really possible at this point haha), not enough time to devote to properly getting into every project or hobby I want to, and the fact that I get stressed out if I have too many unfinished projects on my mind (whether it’s from guilt of getting supplies and not using them, or the desire to not have loose ends).
Over the course of this pandemic, I’ve successfully stopped myself from starting two specific hobbies, both of which I realllly wanted to do, but couldn’t really give a reason as to why I should – knitting and crocheting. Well, after almost 2 years, last Sunday I went and got supplies for both.
I swear I finally have really good reasons though! The easier one to explain is probably crocheting.
Crocheting
At one point I used to crochet as a kid. My mom taught me how, and I don’t think I ever learned to crochet from patterns. I made a handful of random small plushies, mostly by adding and removing stitches and hoping that my blobs would take a recognizable shape. Here’s a carrot I made back in 2007, originally posted on DeviantArt:
I think it was at the beginning of 2021 that I saw Twinkie Chan’s Crochet Sampler: A Daily Practice course on Creativebug and had the urge to try crocheting again. The wall hanging she makes in the course is such a pretty object, and I was very nearly tempted to dive right in. But something stopped me – maybe I had a lot of ongoing projects? Or maybe I couldn’t figure out what I would make after the wall hanging, and still couldn’t justify getting supplies for something new.
Sidebar: now that I think about it, I think I lied about not having tried crochet earlier in the pandemic. At some point I got a Harry Potter crochet kit, and told myself it didn’t count as starting a new hobby because it was a contained kit with a limited number of projects available. 😂I never ended up finishing the doll I started though, I think mainly because I didn’t like the style of the characters to begin with. The finished product is a big motivator when it comes to more tedious hobbies for me.
Anyway as I mentioned, this weekend I caved, for a couple of reasons I think. I realized that I didn’t *need* an end goal to start crocheting, and the idea of being able to crochet while listening to an audiobook or rewatching a movie felt soothing to me. When I was a kid, I used to knit while reading a book even! (But only with hardcovers that could stay open on their own haha). The second reason was kind of the opposite of the first – I’ve been seeing a lot of granny square cardigans because it’s come back into style, and I realized that I could use the squares from Twinkie Chan’s course to make one.
This was the first time I learned crochet by video, and it makes an incredible difference! Which is probably obvious to most people haha. The only time I tried following directions for crochet was with that Harry Potter kit/book, and it makes such a difference being able to watch the movements in real time vs just reading a description or looking at an illustration.
I did a quick google search to figure out what size I should make each square (5″ each for the body of the cardigan), and decided I would aim to make the pattern below. 🙂
My last thought on crochet for now is this – I don’t know how full time crocheters can handle the wrist/hand strain! Maybe my muscles are weak haha, but I already feel tension with just two 5″ squares in an evening.
Knitting
I learned knitting from both my great aunt and my mom I think. I’ve also never learned how to knit by following directions before, and only ever made a few scarves. This weekend I learned that the stitch I used to do was the stockinette stitch. I also learned that the stockinette stitch is why my scarves would always roll/curl together – I think my dad still wears the one I made him over 15 years ago, and last time I saw it it was definitely curled up (but still just as usable! hahah)
During the pandemic, I really really wanted to knit. My reasoning was really thin too. Because we were solely at home, I realized I was lacking comfy, warm socks. And it wasn’t straightforward socks with thick chunky yarn that I was daydreaming of making – I wanted to make real socks, with a proper heel and toe, and made with thin yarn. Looking at etsy’s selection of small batch sock yarn was the mistake that almost convinced me to give it a shot. There were just so many colors and variations! I especially loved the ones that were dyed to make sure the socks would have even stripes, without having to switch yarns.
I’m glad I knew to not commit to socks. It would’ve been so tedious and I would’ve gotten frustrated at how much time it’d take to complete. It would’ve probably also been an awful first project for someone who’s never learned to follow a guide before.
But, over the weekend I figured out why I should start knitting. The path that led me here is a bit more circuitous.
Last year I discovered that you can buy the licensed cloak that the Fellowship wore in the Lord of the Rings movies, made by the same weavers that wove the material for movies over 20 years ago (and apparently their flock of grey sheep is very rare).
I was hoping to get a promotion at work at the beginning of 2022, and told myself if that happened, I could treat myself to the cloak (a very thin reason, but I used it haha). Well, I got the promotion, and I ordered the cloak.
For valentine’s day this year, Mike got me the official Leaves of Lórien brooch. I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say I’ve wanted one for almost 20 years. Recently when I was telling my parents about it, I asked them, “Remember those Noble Collection catalogs I used to get?” They definitely remembered, because they still get them to this day hahah.
At this point you might be wondering how this led to me to picking up knitting again. Well, now that I have the brooch, and am about to receive my cloak, I’ll need to use them for a proper costume! Choosing one of the hobbits’ costumes to replicate seemed like the obvious choice. I researched and learned that I’m only 7 inches taller than the tallest hobbit (who was 4 feet, 5 inches tall), so it seemed like the most accurate choice for me too.
I decided that eventually, I would make Pippin’s costume for myself (and when I say eventually, I mean that I don’t expect to finish this for another year or year and a half). My main reason was because his costume had the most pieces that I could see myself reusing most often, especially the teal coat.
The thing with Pippin’s costume though, is that it has a very specific scarf – luckily though, the website Alley Cat Scratch documents it well and provides detailed information (and a pattern), about how it can be recreated (photo below is from their site).
So now I had a reason to learn how to knit (I even checked etsy first to see if I could purchase one rather than make one, but no go). But I’m trying to practical about the process, and not going to try and jump straight to using two yarns + following a pattern. I decided I would start as simple as possible, and make Mike a scarf for when we move back to Chicago this winter.
I followed the Knitting a garter stitch swatch chapter of another Creativebug course to learn the basics.
After I finish this scarf, I might try a scarf with two colors, or maybe a scarf that uses a special stitch. I realized I’m totally fine with taking it slow on this hobby too! As much as I dislike outstanding or long-running projects, I realized they can also work for me (especially the part about not having a real deadline). Next week I’ll finally finish a costume that I started last august, and found that process to be really pleasant. It’s nice to be able to put a project down when it frustrates you, and to pick it up only when you’re ready for it again. 🙂
Last part of this long long story. As an end of year gift, my company sent everyone these baskets. When I first got the notification that we were getting these, I was really thrown. As pretty as it was, it seemed like a really decisive choice, giving 120+ people the same, large distinctive basket to place somewhere in their living space.
When I got it, I really loved the colors, but again, couldn’t figure out an actual use for it. I’ve always avoided buying baskets for decor or storage because of the cats – both for fur collection reasons, and for claw/scratching post reasons.
Well, I’m really glad to say that after a month, I finally found a use for it. Marlin does use it as a scratching post, but it’s a great place to store my yarn and in-progress scarf and granny squares. 🙂
