Tuesday, February 7, 2012
I was delighted to be asked to teach beginning crochet to a patient in the OB department of my local hospital last week. Many of you who know me, know that I have a background in nursing, so this is not such an odd request. Also, the last non-crochet job that I had was at this same hospital in the Adult Day center where I worked as an activity specialist. I had a weekly crochet group there and it was amazing how therapeutic the weekly crochet was for my clients with dementia!
The lady I taught had never ever crocheted and she caught on real fast. Her baby is due in April but her water broke two weeks ago! So, needless to say, she is one bed rest and was beginning to go stir-crazy! Her doctor was looking to provide some activities to keep her mind occupied and she expressed interest in learning crochet.
I took her yarn, hook and a basic how-to book and spent an hour with her. She was working nice even single crochets by the time I left an hour later. I didn't want to wear her out by staying any longer than that. Once again, crochet has come to the rescue as a therapeutic activity. Crochet delivers, but let's hope her baby boy has not delivered yet! Because of the Hippa laws, I will likely never know, but what I do know is that she now has a skill that will come in handy for years to come!
My last class in the series of three at the bead store finished with a bang on Saturday! The shop owner had her appendix removed on Friday night before the class was to take place! Carol had the foresight to call one of the students and get the key to her somehow so that we could continue with class. We had a steady stream of customers coming in and out of the shop and we took turns helping them during class. The student, now experts in crochet for two weeks, took to the wire crochet very well and by the end of class were thinking of their own ideas of how they could incorporate multiple bead deviations with the wire. Sweet success! I learned a thing or two also!
I was awakening to the world of crochet in 1972,a time of immense artistic expression through fiber arts; and crochet was not the “ugly stepchild” at the time. In fact, Ferne Cone Gellar who I admire as a successful fiber artist said in “Knitting: The Stepchild of the Fiber Arts?” ( Fibercraft Newsletter 1978), “Has knitting been slighted among the areas of the fiber arts? The very word ‘knitting’ evokes images of the little old lady in tennis shoes. Over the years, I’ve learned to ignore all those jokes.” Cone Gellar went on to publish Crazy Crocheting in 1981 and encouraged her readers to create more than bedspreads, providing ideas such as “things to play with or to display on a shelf or hang on a wall.” A photo of single crochet from bread wrappers served as inspiration. In 1972 in her book, Creating Art from Fibers & Fabrics , Dona Meilach wrote: “Why are fibers and fabrics becoming increasingly appealing to artists? Most artists agree
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