When I was growing up, I watched my great aunt crochet. She made some of the most beautiful doilies. She could look at a doily and tell you if it is the “right” side or the “wrong” side of the doily.
I’m not that good. I can tell you, usually, the stitches that were used in the doily and sometimes even the pattern that was used… if I really work at it, I can usually copy a pattern by looking at the piece… usually.
Grandma Deniker, Aunt Bea and my mommy taught me how to work with fiber. It is something that I really enjoy. It is calming. I have made dog jackets, shawls, blankets, scarves, gloves (mittens too) and a TRUCK load of head band/wrist band sets… (these are because my ears hurt when they get cold and my wrists/hands have ached for YEARS when they get cold).
One thing that mom told me when I was diagnosed was about my great great aunt and how she loved to crochet and, when she had sever RA how she had to come up with creative ways to hold the work and hold the hooks to keep doing the work she enjoyed.
Needless to say I was worried. I love to work with fiber. Some days I enjoy cotton thread… some days yarn… some days really thin yarn (half way between normal yarn and thread). I even took up hookless crochet for a little while (which isn’t easy but is fun).
When I work with yarn, I can usually work with a big enough project that I can cover up my cold achey fingers and hands with the work on occasion, to make them feel better. I carry a couple wrist warmers just about all the time because they are great. I can put on topical pain cream (I love tiger balm) and it keeps the cream on my body and it adds the “hold the heat in” factor too… and keeps the slime from getting all over everything.
There are days when it hurts an awful lot to work with anything… the inflammation just makes it hard to hold the yarn/thread and the hook… and making everything move the right way is difficult. But I’m working on a couple of comfort/ghans… and knowing what I’m doing makes it all worth the trying.
I’m working on Amandya one for when she is feeling put upon by the seizures (like today… she had another one this morning) … it will be many different colors of granny squares… This is the one that I’m working on the hardest because it is for my squirrel girl and it makes me feel good that I will be able to always be there wrapping her in love.
I’m working on one (not quite as hard) for Adam so he always knows that he is loved, too. Again… granny squares (because I can weave pieces of yarn that I love into bigger pieces of love to them.
I’m also making some spare squares for one that I want to make for me. Mine might not get quite so big… maybe more of a shawl because it is smaller and not as hard to get the squares for… but I’m working on it anyway… so I can curl up and feel warm and covered up.
I curl up now with my mile-a-min lace throw… the one my mommy made me… it is one of the things that I have that I treasure dearly… that throw and my friendship block quilt that dutchy made me…
it is the small things.
I wish Amandya were interested in learning to crochet so I could pass this on to her… but it is something I treasure anyway…
A Figment Of Fitness 