I learned how to do a single crochet stitch as a kid and
recently took it up again a few months ago.
Since then, I learned a few more
stitches (double crochet, half-double crochet, slip stitch, magic circle) and
figured out how to crochet in a round, so I bought some random bags of yarn at
Goodwill and made a bunch of baskets.
I am going to sell them at a store in our town that sells
handmade items by locals. It’s been a fun way to relax from the day job of
writing, and the all-consuming job of being a mom to twins. If they sell, it
will also bring in a little spending money.
All this crafting got me thinking of how 19th
century women had very little time to themselves. From all my research for my
books it seems that women had to focus on running their households from sunup
to long past sundown. And if anything extra or fun got done, it was usually
late into the night.
One of my favorite scenes in the TV show, Little House on the Prairie, was when Ma
stays up all night to sew dresses for the girls, out of fabric she’d picked to
make herself a new dress.
(quick sidenote: I have the boxed set of all the Little
House books, and I’m not kidding when I say that I read the entire series at
least 15 times as a kid, and 3 as an adult.)
I then wondered how old the art of crochet is, and where it
began.
I found an interesting history of crochet (CLICK HERE FOR THE LINK) that
pointed out how some feel the Irish potato famine is what brought the art of
crochet to many American households.
The article linked above also gives a detailed history of
how crochet patterns and styles have changed throughout history.
Another change
is how we get our supplies. Instead of going to town, browsing a store or a
book, we can simply go online and purchase everything we need. Even items from
the past!
Check out this pattern for a crocheted hair net I found on
Amazon (CLICK HERE FOR THE LINK)
I’d love to hear from
you! Are you interested in crafting? Do you crochet or knit? Let’s chat in the
comments.
