I think I first learned to crochet when I was about 11 or 12. I must've made chains for weeks and redid them over and over until it finally looked perfect. I can't remember if I ever made anything beyond chains, but I do remember making an afghan in college during a particularly difficult semester. I remember that it calmed me down and gave me something to focus on and really enjoyed seeing the order and progress made when everything else in my life seemed to be in a halt and chaos.
When the latest community education program catalog arrived, to my delight I saw that a beginning crocheting class was offered at a local high school. I signed up! Our first class we made chains and our homework assignment was to make a dishcloth.
Well, it just so happens that every year at work we hold a fundraiser for the local chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. A couple of co-workers would make dishcloths and bundle it up with some dish soap and sell them for $5. When I came to them for some pointers on my homework, I was asked to make them as both co-workers do not have the time to make them this year. Why not, I thought, it’ll give me the practice I need and I’ll just do this instead of giving the charity my usual $$ donation. Due to illness and no church (General Conference), I was able to make 15 dishcloths and brought them in earlier this week. Before a co-worker could even go out to buy dish soap to bundle with the cloths, ALL the cloths sold out. How about that? I have been asked to make additional dishcloths which I’m willing to do, but I’m so ready to move on to something else – I’m working on a small purse and want it finished before class next week (modified from the homework that was supposed to be a small iPod case) but I can’t seem to make the strap work to the point I think it’s perfect …
