It’s when the days turn cold that I pull out the tubs of yarn and my old kit of crochet needles to start crocheting an afghan. The afghan, as it gets longer, keeps my legs warm. And of course, as my fingers move quickly with the yarn and the hook, they build a heat all their own. Living in Vermont now, where winter can bring temperatures that would make even Jack Frost shiver, you find just about anything you can to keep yourself warm; while I keep myself warm, I make beautiful crocheted afghans to share with my family and friends.
I taught myself how to crochet when I was just 11 years old from a pamphlet that my grandmother had amongst her knitting things. She had tried and tried to teach me to knit but I just couldn’t get the hang of coordinating the two needles back and forth. When I expressed an interest in learning to crochet, she found me an old crochet hook she used for random knitting projects for which it was necessary and I started with page one. The pictures were overly simplified, but the written descriptions helped, and in no time at all, I was crocheting a chain. Before to long, I was crocheting singles and doubles, and then experimenting with harder stitches.
The first afghan I made took me just over two years to complete. It covered a queen sized bed it was so large. Once I knew what I was capable of, I made them much more quickly, and I found them more fun to make than a bother. Giving them as gifts made me feel warm inside, knowing they would be enjoying something that I handmade just for them. That warmth is what keeps me going through the hours of crocheting that it takes to make a crocheted afghan.
So every winter I make a new afghan. Everyone knows they need to be the first to put their request in if they want to get one that year. And every once in awhile I might be able to make two before Spring brings warm days and the afghan is just too warm to have sitting on my lap for hours while I finish crocheting it. Once it gets warmer it’s time to make smaller projects, like purses or even pretty doilies to place around the house for summertime.
Hopefully one day, I’ll pass on the tradition of crocheting afghans for those we care about to a new generation, my eventual children. Then they will know the warmth of keeping cozy while while crocheting an afghan in a big recliner and watching old movies, waiting for the day when the afghan can be given to the person it’s meant for and they can enjoy it just as much as they knew they would the entire time they were crocheting it.