Every few years, I invite readers and colleagues to contribute guest columns in the series Technology and my Hobby/Passion. Over a hundred contributed in the last decade on their birding, charities, cooking, music, sports and every other passion, and how it keeps evolving with technology. Click here and scroll down to read them all.
This time it is Tammy Powlas, who is a respected member of the SAP Community. She is an SAP Mentor, ASUG Volunteer, CPA and certified Project Management Professional (PMP). In her spare time, she likes to crochet and walk/hike. You can follow her on twitter at @tpowlas.Here she writes about Crochet:
Let's clear up something. Crochet is not Croquet which involves hitting balls. No balls of any shape or size in this activity. Wikipedia defines Crochet as: "a process of creating textiles by using a crochet hook to interlock loops of yarn, thread, or strands of other materials. “
The Crochet Guild of America traces the history of the activity, including how it was a lifesaver for the Irish after the Great Potato Famine and how it flourished in Victorian England. The activity has since gradually gone mainstream. In a 2017 study by the Association for Creative Industries nearly 29 million Americans listed knitting or crocheting as one of their hobbies.
Crocheting is, however, not the same as knitting; crochet uses one hook while knitting uses two needles, as Wikipedia illustrates
I never learned how to knit; I prefer to crochet anyway. I have been crocheting since I was 6 or 7 years old. My older sister taught me how to crochet wreaths when I was a young girl, and I still remember the pattern today.
Wreaths, along with stars make great Christmas ornaments.
Back in the day, I relied on magazines or any articles she could share to learn patterns. Today, you can learn from YouTube - here is one of granny squares, one of the first patterns I learned:
During summers as a kid, I would race home from the swimming pool with my siblings to watch the Price is Right TV show and multi-task with crochet. However, I don''t think the term multi-task had been coined then.
Even as I grew up, I never tired of crocheting. I read where actress Julia Roberts knits while she is filming a movie as it is a “stress reliever” for her. I feel the same about crochet.
Before I fly out on any trip, I am always grabbing my crochet bag and it reduces the stress of travel. There is also a good feeling about creating something with your hands, a sense of achievement. Working with SAP technology by day, there is very little I can touch. Our SAP solution is hosted so I can’t touch the servers. If I am working on a SAP report or authorization request, I don't touch the printed result.
This is where crocheting comes in. I like the feel of the yarn, and its quality keeps improving. Yarn can come from animal-based fibers like wool, plant-based fibers like cotton, or synthetic ones like nylon. Increasingly, material science keeps evolving and you get blends of these sources. Science and technology have also had a significant improvement in the quality of dyes and the saturation of colors.
I used to buy yarn at a local store but it closed in 2016, Now most of my yarn purchases are made online. I miss the fun of going into the local store and seeing the yarn collection, the different colors and the feel of the yarn. But now I get to see Wheel of Fortune hostess Vanna White more often! She has her own line/brand of yarn.
There are also fewer printed crochet magazines these days, with most of them moving online (Martha Stewart has several pages) or to YouTube. Over the years I found the local library to be helpful and would check out crochet books or DVD’s.
Several years ago I read a magazine article about Adopt a Native Elder, supporting elder Navajo Native Americans who face harsh winters and food insecurity. Caps, blankets and scarves are always welcomed.
My sister and I were crocheting faster than we could give gifts to family and friends, so I started sending boxes of crocheted items to this charity. I also periodically give monetary donations. In return, I have received hand-written thank you notes from the charity, a rarity these days.
I enjoy every crochet project but I am particularly proud of this cap which got me through Snowzilla in 2016 when we had over 30 inches of snow in Virginia. The hat also survived several cycles in the washing machine
Finally, talking about technology, guess who got to co-star with the geeks in The Big Bang Theory? A Granny Square Afghan.
Comments