I’ve been meaning to write a blog post about crocheting for months. Today’s the day.
The first time I crocheted a scarf was during my first AmeriCo
rps year. I learned so that I could crochet baby blankets for a charity organization in Charleston, SC. I can’t remember who taught me – maybe my friend Angela? – but pretty much everyone in my life got a tightly crocheted scarf as a gift that year.
I don’t know the brain science behind it, but crocheting really helps me to be a good listener. I enjoy sitting in a room full of people, talking, listening, while working on a baby blanket. (It’s mostly baby blankets. Sometimes hats. I love crocheting, but list of “things I can crochet” is not super-long.)
I’ve been meaning to write about crocheting because it’s major #mind and #soul food for me. It’s also a good way to center myself when I feel all over the place and I crave stillness.
I like to crochet during meetings or when I’m talking with a friend. It’s the meditative power of repetitive tasks again; once you know how to crochet, it becomes automatic,
and you can get into a rhythm, a flow, with your mind completely focused on the outer world – a conversation, a lecture – while a part of your mind is also completely engaged in your crocheting. I don’t usually enjoy learning about science, as Tee can attest to, but I would be interested in learning the explanation for this phenomenon. Then I could explain it to my boss and I could start bringing the green hat I am crocheting to all of my IEP meetings.
