Handicrafty

Apropos of nothing other than the mere fact that I haven't posted for an obscene length of time,  I discovered yesterday that I remember how to crochet.  It has been at least 20 years since I crocheted anything - and back then it was delicate doilies and antimacassars, but the above is my double crochet - maybe not perfect but pretty darn good for not having picked up a hook in a while.

I have also been re-teaching myself how to knit and that is having mixed results.  I did knit much less than I crocheted so I think muscle memory is key here.  Of course, yesterday when I tried to figure out how to do a double crochet stitch I immediately went to the illustration and written directions.  After a half hour of failure and frustration I took a deep breath, closed the instruction book, and using what I had gleaned from the previous half hour, sat back and relied on muscle memory.  Before I knew it I had finished a whole row.

But I think the fact that crochet comes more easily to me is based a lot on who taught me.  My grandmother crocheted but her friend, Esther K. (as opposed to Esther A.) taught me.  I sat in her living room hours during breaks from college while she taught me how to make my afghans rectangular instead of 'blobular' and fed me tea and cookies.

When someone attempts to teach a family member, higher than normal expectations combine with higher than normal desire to please to create at best, an unstable learning environment.  I am definitely a better crochet-er because of  Esther K.  The knitting I will have to master on my own.