3 Great Life Lessons Taught by Crochet
By Tameko Barnette – 9 CommentsWe can experience life lessons at any given time from anyone and anywhere. Did you know that you can learn life lessons from the art of crochet? In daily life, we all need inspiration, encouragement, and support. Often times, we sit and crochet with the intentions of creating, supporting, and nourishing ourselves and others with our creations.
We have great life lessons passed down to us from family members, friends, and strangers we meet in grocery stores, but we can also learn a great deal to help us each day in life through crochet. Here in this post, I’m only going to touch on three life lessons, but if you really pay attention to your craft, you’ll see there are many more life lessons to learn.
I’m going to give this list to you in the style of David Letterman for fun. Here goes…
Life Lesson #3 – Being Creative. Quite often, when we think of creativity, we only think of the writers, painters, filmmakers, actors, sculptors, etc. There are many people who crochet as a hobby or take part in some other art or craft, who do not consider themselves creative. Every single person is a creative being. It just so happens that a part of our creativity is showing up through our crochet projects. Think about all the times you tweaked patterns to fit your own style or created your own pattern all together. Apply this creative mindfulness to every part of your life. You will find that you have more solutions to your life’s challenges than you think.
Life Lesson #2 – Sharing. This is a lesson that we learn early on in life. I can remember back as far as nursery school and kindergarten class learning how to share with my classmates, friends, and family. This life lesson shows up again in the art of crochet. Think about how many projects you are crocheting right now or for the past year that are for someone else as a birthday gift, get well soon gift, mother’s day gift, or a just because I like you gift. While we may decide to crochet a few items for ourselves, the majority of the time, the art of crochet has our minds on community (sharing).
Life Lesson #1 – Patience. Oh, this is a big life lesson right here. Every day living requires patience. Who requires our patience? Relatives. Friends. Strangers. Co-workers. Ourselves. Everybody, including ourselves requires patience. Crochet teaches this lesson every time we come across a pattern that seemed easy at first, and then we realize it’s a little more complex than we thought. Crochet teaches this lesson every time we mess up a new stitch or an entire row and have to unravel it and start over again. Every time, we start a project aiming for Christmas gifts, but those Christmas gifts become New Year’s gifts or birthday or Valentine’s gift…or maybe even the next year’s Labor Day gift. Patience is a virtue and crochet is one of its teachers.
If you have any life lessons that crochet has taught you, please leave a comment. We look forward to hearing from you.
Happy Crocheting!
Thinking outside of the box. When you run out of a certain color of yarn or want to alter a pattern, you think of creative and fun ways to solve a problem!
Wonderful article. It is so insightful. In response to your question, I learned that not only is it okay to make mistakes, that sometimes you can correct them other times you might not. This might be for any number of reasons: you didn’t see, you’re too tired, you choose not to (a great lesson for this obsessive perfectionist!), it doesn’t really take away from the beauty or functionality of the piece and even adds character (a niece said that to me when I saw an error in a gift I’d crocheted her — she loved it without my criticism). And oh so many more. Your article opened my eyes, my head, and my heart to the joy crocheting brings me. I thought I was doing it just because it distracted me from the stresses in my life! Thank you.
Crochet teaches appreciation. Appreciation for the gratitude from those who receive your crochet. Appreciation for what you have in life when making items for those who have not. Appreciation for the soldiers who fight to protect what you have when you crochet items to be sent overseas. Appreciation for your health and the health of your family when crocheting items for those in hospitals, nursing homes, and hospice. Crochet teaches you to appreciate the fact that you are able to help others through crochet.
Crochet teaches you focus. When life throws you a curve ball, and you have got to stop obsessing about it, focusing on something else is extremely helpful. To read a pattern, and transform yarn into a work of functional art, you must focus. Sure you can split your focus at times. But by doing more complicated patterns you can trade a detrimental obsession to a useful, creative one.
Crochet keeps your mind sharp. If you’ve ever had a serious illness, where the treatment or the disease can deteriorate your brain, or you feel like you’re living in a fog, or fighting chemo brain, you understand the need to continue to challenge your brain. Reading and following patterns and teaching yourself new techcniques can keep your brain sharp.
Crochet keeps your fingers busy. And when your fingers are busy with something else, you can’t be using them to put food in your mouth, or smoke a cigarette.
Crochet helps you sleep. 1. When I’m too keyed up to crochet, a monotonous pattern can lull you into peacefull sleep. 2. When you’re laying in bed, not sleeping, instead of counting sheep, you can picture projects you want to make. Decide on colors, or which yarns to use. Or think up new patterns to make etc.
Crochet fights boredom. You can do many of the above while waiting in line, etc. or actually crochet when waiting for doctors or tests.
Its a conversation starter. I’m always looking for other crocheters. And love to discuss current crochet fashion and ideas. And discussing different crochet mediums, artists, yarn bombing events, projects,
Crochet can give you confidence. Whether it’s the satisfaction you feel when you complete an item. Your ability to create items. And creating an original idea that is the solution for someone’s needs. Your increased ward robe or home decorative pieces. Or the joy and satisfaction of seeing others receive and appreciate your talents. Or just knowing you made someones else’s life brighter, or warmer, or easier.
Crochet can supplement your income, or be your sole income. In obvious ways, selling items, or patterns, saving on gifts, etc.
OK, I’m not benefitting form any of the above while I continue to type. Got a beautiful wedding afghan on the hooks, and wedding is Sat.
PS. I agree with all the above mentioned ideas also.
Crochet truly does teach life lessons — great article! Each time I begin a new project, especially one that seems daunting, I remember that every piece that I’ve ever crocheted started with that first loop. And every endeavor in my life started with just that one first step. Each chain thereafter is like taking another step until it is time to turn and begin the foundation row. That row may be a little bit of a struggle, and I may let out and restitch it a few times before I really get the hang of the pattern. But once I take the turn to the next row, it will be smoother sailing. By about row 10, I will be able to see something taking form from my efforts and that will spur me on to stay with it to the end. No matter how daunting, I know that if I take just a few steps/stitches each day, I can finish the task and see something beautiful accomplished in not such a very long time.
Daria
Fantastic article! I totally agree with Joyce Armstrong’s comments… my thoughts exactly.
In short, Crochet keeps me sane. 🙂
What a great article – so thought provoking. The one I most agree with is patience. I’m a total perfectionist when it comes to any craft I’m working on. I had crocheted a very wide 2.5 metre scarf and discovered a very obvious (well it was to me) error at about Row 10, and I hoed and hummed about frogging it, till I turned myself inside out. In the end, I did frog it right down to the error. I figured that I had enjoyed crocheting it so much, that I would enjoy crocheting it again just as much, and so I did – enjoy it that is. So yes, this is a lesson I have most to learn from my crocheting. Thanks again for a great article.
For me, it’s a form of meditation. I am a total Type A person and after I retired from 33 years of elementary teaching I needed to learn how to sit down, breathe, and enjoy being creative with my hands. Learning to crochet a few months after I retired is just “what the doctor ordered!”
Crochet teaches you to take critisisim
Well thats what it taught me. I’m 28 (no kids yet) and aparantly look younger. I get teased a LOT for being a ‘nanna’, ‘grandma’ and other such names
I’ve learnt that I don’t have to fit into what others think a 28 year old should do
Crochet also brings you friends. I’ve made friends with the lady at the wool store and have had workmates who have been crocheting for years bring patterns to me asking for help when I’ve only being doing this for about 10 months!