I'm Making History With My Very First Blog!

Happy Sunday, Everyone! That sounds funny, considering there might be one or two people who read this. :) Anyway, I thought maybe I should figure out how to do this blogging thing, so those of you who have found me following your blogs won't think I'm a stalker!

I'm excited about creating this blog, and I hope you will be patient with me. I consider myself to be computer-literate, but for some reason, I've never developed an interest in the "Myspace", "Facebook", and now "Twitter" crazes. I was drawn to this blogging community through my searches for crochet information. After reading some of your blogs, I decided I wanted to jump on the bandwagon and begin sharing my passion for crochet.

Here's a brief history . . . All the females above me in my family tree have been very crafty, especially with needle arts. My mother and grandmother made beautiful clothes for me when I was a child. My mother was very skilled at sewing, knitting, and crocheting. When I was a teenager, she patiently tried to teach me how to crochet, but I could never get past a few rows of single crochets before getting bored to tears! At that time, I thought crochet was just about making afghans and doilies. (Anyone heard that before?) I never dreamed you could actually make something CUTE and useful with yarn and a hook.

Well, years went by, and my mother made countless afghans that she gave away. Fortunately, my sister and I were the recipients of many of her labors of love. Mom is with Jesus now, but I know she looks down on us approvingly when we snuggle up with her beautiful handiwork. I can also appreciate now just how much work she really put into those little projects!

So, how did I get to be where I am today . . . absolutely obsessed with crochet and yarn and hooks, and other tools of the trade? Back in October, 2008, I got something on my homepage that said, "How to Crochet a Granny Square". When I read that, a little lightbulb went off in my head, and I thought, "I could crochet a baby blanket for my first grandchild." Well, this is funny for many reasons. First, I was envisioning a granny square magically becoming a blanket . . . . just like that! This was also funny because not only do I not have a grandchild, but my almost-newlywed daughter and son-in-law have no plans of giving me grandchildren in the near future. :) So, I'm not really sure why I had this little vision, but oh well . . . I just took off with it.

I emailed my mother-in-law, who also happens to be extremely talented and crafty, and asked her if she could teach me how to make a granny square. It was almost Thanksgiving, so she told me to get some yarn that I liked, and she had hooks, and we would make granny squares after our big turkey dinner. So, do you think I should hold my mother-in-law responsible for turning me into the obsessive yarn addict that I've become? :) The couple of granny squares I made that day turned into 25 by the end of the long weekend. Funny thing is, I've got about 75 squares made now, but they're still sitting in a drawer, waiting for me to decide what to do with them. I've moved way past those original grannies, and have decided that if/when I get my first grandchild, he or she will deserve something very cuddly, not my first attempt at crochet with scratchy acrylic yarn!

Okay, so that was not such a brief history! But, it tells you how my crochet journey began, and I hope each of you who finds this blog will join me and share your thoughts and ideas along the way.

By the way, the picture is of a scarf I made the week after I mastered those darn granny squares. So, it was officially my first completed "project". I've taken lots of pictures this weekend, and I'll get them posted in the days to come.