Threading the Needle

Ahhh, where to even start on this story. Growing up – I seemed to be the only one in the family who had zero interest in learning how to sew or knit. Based on the occasional crafts you had to make in school, it also seemed that I had zero talents on that front, so maybe it was for the best. At the age of 20, I was about to move to Ireland for six months, and my mother thought that teaching me how to knit socks would be a perfect bonding experience before I took off… after three attempts, where she had twice pulled it apart and exclaimed that she had never seen any socks that ugly, I decided my career as a knitter was far behind me. And it still is!

It would be another 15 years before I would consider even getting remotely close to a skein of yarn again. However, my best friend had gotten into crocheting this time, and she would send me the most unique gifts. They were often beautiful and creative Christmas ornaments (including a small figure looking like Slash – the guitar player from Guns n’ Roses!) – what a fantastic gift! Christmas is my favorite time of the year - mainly because of the many different ornaments I have by now. And I have one of the most beautifully decorated trees ever (my own humble subjective opinion… hm hm hmmm). So, what do you know… on my last visit back to Denmark (June 2018), I decided I needed to learn how to crochet! And lord and behold… I did it! Now, I am by no means on my friend’s level, but that is quite ok, as what is more important is that I actually take great pleasure in it!

I went from Denmark to Mexico in 2018, well equipped with eight skeins of cotton yarn and two books for beginners. One with safari animals! – and one with small cloths – like dishcloths. I have made just one item from the cloth book – it is just too advanced in some ways and too boring! For the one item I made, rather than making a cloth – I just kept going and ended up making a VERY long cloth – which is now a scarf! What do you know! A lovely purple scarf for my friend Ed who loves purple! I believe I have seen him wear it only once, but I will blame that on the balmy weather we have in SoCal – it is not that often that you need to wear a scarf!

The safari animals, on the other hand! Despite it taking me about a month to create each of these exotic animals, it is actually quite a lot of fun… so, for a while, I would make different animals. My first attempt was a green bear! When I got the book and left for Mexico, I had not considered how far I would actually get started on the animals, which also explains my color choices! Oh well… the green bear eventually was turned into a delightful Christmas bear (green with a red nose and white paws!). To make the bear’s body while I was still in Mexico, I had to buy a cheap stuffed animal to sacrifice to get some stuffing for my bear. It was a bit brutal! But it was necessary! The bear now resides with an old woman with dementia, and it spends most of its time with its nose in a bowl full of chocolates. I think it is happy.

The next project was a panda bear, then a warthog, an elephant, a black Labrador (be careful with black for beginners – very difficult to see!), a cat, a water ox, and finally a giraffe… Currently, I am working on a hippo, but it has been underway for perhaps six months at this point. You see, what happened last fall (2020!) was that I discovered a new pattern which was somewhat easy, yet still a new challenge. Enter the owls! I think that at this very moment, I may have made close to a hundred owls in less than a year! And frankly, I only stopped because I ran out of people to give them to. EVERYBODY got an owl! Christmas was busy – people I usually wouldn’t exchange presents with (and I do not expect anything in return from these owls…). I just needed an excuse to disperse them! (If you read this and would like an owl, don’t hesitate to reach out!). I had a bit of a break from owls and began another project which I will introduce below – but as of this very moment, I made my very first owl this morning after a somewhat long hiatus (I guess it might have been two months now…). My two little cousins (1 and 3 years old) love them, so I might just make enough to create a mobile that can hang somewhere! We will see!

My current project is a baby blanket for my younger sister’s baby! Now – she isn’t pregnant or anything – so I figured it was the PERFECT project, as there is no time crunch. In many ways, the pattern is somewhat similar to the owl pattern, only circles! I picked nine colors that I have divided into three. Each set can be combined into six different combinations… perfect – the inner OCD troll in me couldn’t handle the arbitrariness of simply just combing nine colors randomly! At this very moment, I have about 40 circles! Now… emphasis on a BABY blanket... this means it does not have to cover, say, a queen-size bed or anything. Giving that nine colors divided into three gives 18 circles, 36 is too few, 54 is probably too few as well, while 72 seems about right. However, another issue has arisen – my mom says that I need to make ‘half-circles for the sides??!! EHH, you see, that might just be a bit out of my range. While I don’t even want to worry about the headache, it will be to get these 72+halves together – and close the ends! I do not think I have thoroughly thought this project through – the only thing I got going for me right now is the timeline (thank you, sis, for not getting pregnant anytime soon!).

My mom, unlike me, is great a knitting, sewing, needling (some Medieval technique!), and crocheting, and she crocheted me the most beautiful blanket for my bed (queen-size!). It is absolutely stunning. -And possibly one of the most expensive blankets ever. Some years ago, she came to visit, and I had to pick her up in Los Angeles and then drive her straight out to Sedona, Arizona, where she said they didn’t have yarn stores. So, my job was to pick up some yarn for her to bring to make me a blanket! The day came when she would arrive, and I had yet to find a store that sells yarn. I drove into LA and searched google.maps: the first store was not a store but some residential area. Ok, onwards to the next on the list - in Beverly Hills. Here I found a nice little yarn store. People were super friendly, and I explained what I needed: I chose the yarn (merino wool), the colors and was advised how many skeins I needed to make a nice large blanket: $180! All set, and off I went to the airport. My mom was happy that I had gotten some yarn for her. BUT! Two things: The yarn was super tricky to work with, and second, I had not nearly bought enough. When she returned to LA, we had to stop by the store again and buy twice as much! Sigh...

The way I see it – I think that my crocheting days have peaked… I am not saying I will never crochet again. Still, I, unfortunately, do not see myself really expand beyond this, and I have looked for other animals in a similar pattern to the owls, but no luck (if you by any chance know of one, PLEASE forward it!). I also have to finish my Bernie Sander’s mittens figure I began crocheting back at the end of January following the inauguration. However, a minor issue became a major setback. I worked REAL hard on making the little green jacket after successfully having completed the body and head (not yet the glasses, face mask, or the hair!!!!!!). But just as I got to the hood of the jacket – ALMOST done – I ran out of the green color! I transitioned into another green that resembled it the most. But alas – it was too sloppy for me, and I put it down and have failed to pick it back up! I have a few other attempts like that! Like the Venus of Willendorf (my friend, of course, made a perfect version) – my attempt I pulled apart after the circumference of her waist was way out of proportion, even for these fertile figurines dating back 35,000 years. Too bad. Maybe – maybe not – I will try again!

So, what do you know, a friend of mine just gave me two old sewing machines. Now, they both need some maintenance, and I need a good home where I will have space to actually attempt sewing – but – I actually think it might just happen someday! I ambitiously would love to make dresses like from Elizabethan times or from Gone With the Wind! That would be marvelous! I will even consider making some out of old curtains!

So, there you have it! This is my needled adventure, for better or for worse. The moral of the story – never give up (note to self: finish the hippo, Venus, and Bernie!).