Catching the Crochet Bug from Kindergarten

You can catch all sorts of bugs from preschool.

Early this year, hubby & I brought our daughter to Waldorf School for parent-toddler classes. It was a great experience for all of us. My daughter learned to bake bread, wash her cup & saucer, play with all-natural toys (read: no plastic, no cartoons). Her daddy... well, he learned how to make a pom-pom out of yarn & was mighty relieved he didn't have to do more. And me--I'll tell you now: working at corporate speed & efficiency isn't necessarily the best way to crochet a caterpillar.

At the end of the term, all the other parents had crocheted practically an entire nature diorama. Meanwhile, my sorry excuse for an invertebrate was still undergoing countless resurrections (2 weeks!). Then I had to grudgingly hand the caterpillar & the rest of the materials back to my daughter's teacher ('there, there...,' she murmured soothingly, prising the hook from my angsty grip...) Humbled, I was determined, henceforth, to create an entire forest of yarn creatures for my little girl. That's how I caught crochet bug.

That was 6 months ago. The forest of creatures hasn't materialized. Along the way, though, I've somehow finished 3 amigurumi, 6 easter eggs & cozies, 2 hook cases, 3 bags, 2 hats and a baby blanket. I taught myself Tunisian stitch, and how to read patterns from foreign books. Crochet calms me. That's the upside. The downside: some days, I get so engrossed I forget to be hungry, thirsty or sleepy. If it weren't for darlings hubby and baby, I'd probably crochet myself into a stupor.

Even worse: because of YAS, PAS & HAS/NAS (fellow addicts would understand) I somehow now own more hooks, books and yarn than I would openly admit to my hubby. Sometime ago he suggested we use my yarn stash as a baby bed instead of buying a new one. At which point my sister, Gravelcat, suggested I legalize my addiction at Ravelry. I think it's a good idea. I could use a new outfit, not more yarn, or more books, or more hooks.

But tell that to the marines, because the truth is out there: YOU CAN NEVER HAVE ENOUGH, AND EVEN THEN YOU NEED EXTRA.