My grandma first taught me to crochet as a child, and I happily proceeded to make a few granny squares. Yet alongside many other childhood passions I soon lost interest, and never gave crochet another thought for about thirty years. Then about five years ago, I chanced upon the wonderful “The Happy Hooker” by Debbie Stoller. Under her clear guidance I made my first ever crochet garment. From that moment I was totally addicted. I now can’t bear not to have some kind of crochet project on the go. I do intersperse this with knitting, but crochet remains closest to my heart. It is so portable, there is no risk of dropped stitches, mistakes are easy to rectify, and you can stop in the middle of a row. It is also just about instant gratification, as you can make something lovely to wear within a couple of weeks. I like to crochet in front of the TV – it justifies my watching guilty pleasure programmes like X Factor, American Idol and The Apprentice. These kind of programmes don’t require 100% attention so I can happily crochet away, and have created something pretty at the end. I find crochet almost meditative, and after completing a couple of rows, any stress I feel will have magically dissolved away. Perhaps crochet classes should be provided on the national health.
