I can’t tell you how many times people stop me when I am crocheting to tell me how fast I crochet. They also proclaim that if they could crochet as quickly as I could that they would make all of the things. For the longest time, I didn’t understand what all of the fuss was about, as I have been crocheting on and off for over twenty years and figured that because I had been doing it for so long it made me faster than the usual hooker.
If you watched the One Stitch Wonder Tutorial video you have heard the story that I am going to share below.
Let’s get this story started
The husband had to leave the island in the flatbed truck for work and since I happened to be off that day I decided to accompany him on the trip. Leaving the island in a vehicle means that you drive onto a ferry boat to take the 20 minute trip across the lake. Related because someone always asks, no we don’t get to go across the lake for free or get special discounts on ferry tickets. The ferry is first come first served and has a departure schedule that changes throughout the season. It is also weather dependent and as a general rule, if the weather looks iffy we don’t leave the island.
When we pulled onto the ferry to the spot they instructed us to the husband pulls the mirrors in so that there is more space for other vehicles and people to get around. You may have learned this in my about me page but this is the part of the story where I tell you that I typically have a stitching project or two within arms reach of me at all times. On trips I like to have mindless stitching projects with me, typically these are things that I don’t have to look at while I am working the stitches and the One Stitch Wonder pattern is perfect for that. My hands are busy and I can chat at ease, which makes them good for traveling, visiting, and working.
On this particular day, I was working on a project for my granddaughter. I was in the body of the cat and was single crocheting all around the body chatting with my husband when something out of the corner of my eye caught my attention and I stopped mid-sentence to watch. Someone was crocheting in the vehicle next to us and they were crocheting at an impressive rate and I was just in awe of the speed at which their hands were moving.
In a whisper-like voice, I asked my husband to look to see who was in the vehicle next to me. He gives me a look I’ve seen a million times, the look of ‘what are you talking about crazy woman?’ Of course, I think he doesn’t hear me and I repeat my request a bit louder this time as I don’t want to disturb the hooker in the vehicle next to us. He cranes his head and tells me he can’t tell who is next to us as its the back end of a truck. I tell him that I can see someone next to him and they are crocheting and all of a sudden I am interrupted by his laughter. I set my crochet down and wonder why he is laughing at my request. He tells me that I was catching a reflection of my hands busy at work on my project.
At this point I realize that ‘my potential friend’ is no longer working on their project either and the words my husband is saying are registering in my brain. This is the part of the story that I admit to you that I wanted to meet that person; the person that amazed me with the quickness of their craft. I was crestfallen and it showed on my face as the husband asked me what was wrong. I was excited to meet a kindred spirit who crocheted with the same ferventness that I was told did.
I needed that connection
Crocheting is something I take for granted; something that comes almost as naturally to me as breathing or walking. I don’t have to think about it, I just do it and would internally roll my eyes at those who excitedly told me how quickly I was doing it. But yet here I was thinking of all the things I would proclaim to my new friend about the quickness of their stitching and how desperately I wanted to connect with them. To soak up their knowledge, to share in their friendship, and to just tell them how wonderful I thought they were at their craft.
So many times we dismiss the gifts that we have as something useless if it doesn’t fit into a certain box. I realized that and now when people excitedly proclaim the quickness of my stitching I tell them that each of us is gifted differently. I used to struggle with just one stitch, but over time it has grown into so much more. God has gifted each of us in unique ways so that we can connect with others and spread light & love to those in our life.
Have you felt called to do something but it just doesn’t seem to click? Keep working at it and practicing; connect with others to learn and grow. And know that if I can do it anyone can.
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