Welcome to our blog tour! Here at Crochetville, we celebrate National Crochet Month with our NatCroMo Blog Tour. This year, we’re interviewing crochet designers, teachers, and hobbyists throughout March and our theme is crochet memories. You can browse all of this year’s blog tour content on our page NatCroMo Blog Tour 2020.
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About Marsha L
Please allow me to introduce our featured hobbyist of the day, Marsha L. She enjoys crocheting accessories like scarves, cowls, hats, shawls, and wraps. Today Marsha will share some of her crochet memories with us and we’ll showcase three of her crochet projects.
Marsha’s Crochet Memories
Would you share with us one of your earliest memories of crochet?
Both of my grandmothers were knitters and showed me some basic knitting stitches when I was about ten years old, but it didn’t really stick with me. Later on, when I was 17, I spent a weekend snowed in at my maternal grandmother’s home and was looking through her needlework magazines when I found some crochet patterns for accessories that were “hip” then in the early 1970s. I was intrigued and since my grandmother also crocheted, she showed me some crochet basics, gave me a Susan Bates size G hook (which I still have) and yarn, and I was on my way! For some reason crocheting “hooked” me in a way that knitting had not. Except for a break of a few years while in college, graduate school and medical school, I have continued to expand my horizons in crochet.
Would you share with us one of your most memorable experiences as a crocheter?
A truly memorable experience was the first time I attended a Crochet Guild of America Chain Link Conference. It was in 2004, in Manchester, NH, a short drive from the town I grew up in. What a glorious experience to be surrounded by so many fellow crochet enthusiasts, and so many of them wearing their fabulous crochet creations! It was a thrill to take classes from crochet designers whom I only had known as names on crochet pattern books. The marketplace and fashion show also provided so many inspirations for me to expand my skills. Since then I have attended the conference every time it has been held in Manchester, and have made friends and acquaintances there, including a crochet buddy who is also participating in this blog tour as a crochet hobbyist.
Would you share with us another crochet memory?
When I traveled to Japan in May 2014 to meet my daughter who was finishing a college year abroad there, I had a crochet to-do list of yarn and bookstores to visit in Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo. I have been a big fan of Noro yarns and wanted to buy some while in Japan – which I did. I also bought a whole set of Clover steel hooks for thread crochet. But my biggest haul was a stack of Japanese language magazines and books. Fortunately their patterns have stitch charts, and my daughter is fluent in Japanese language – both written and spoken – so she can translate for me when I get stuck. I just love the simple elegance of so many Japanese patterns. While in Japan I also crocheted myself a scarf based on the Bobble Scarf pattern designed by Jenny King (see below for the first Bobble Scarf I crocheted, using Noro Kureyon Sock yarn). Nothing like crocheting in public in Japan to stir people’s curiosity!
Showcase: Crochet Projects by Marsha
Bobble Scarf
Pattern source: Bobble Scarf by Jenny King, in Fashions to Flaunt Crocheted with Noro Yarns
Project page: Kureyon Bobble Scarf (in Marsha’s Ravelry projects)
About the project: I REALLY took a liking to this pattern using Noro yarn with its fabulous colorways. I have made it many times since, some for me and some for gifts to family and friends. It works up fast and once you get going you don’t need to pay such close attention – an advantage when I am crocheting while attending medical conferences. I always bring a WIP to work on at conferences I attend, as it makes me feel I have accomplished something tangible besides the educational content of the conferences. I can generally finish a Bobble Scarf in a day of sitting through lectures.
Thread Tablecloth
Pattern source: Honestly, I cannot remember the pattern, as I made this before I started cataloging my creations on Ravelry. But I think it may have been from one of the now-defunct magazines, Magic Crochet or Decorative Crochet.
About the project: I had been crocheting with thread before, but limited to doilies and table runners. I took on the major project of crocheting a thread tablecloth for a wedding gift for my sister and her husband. It was made to fit their custom-made, hand-crafted wooden dining table. In truth, this was such a big project for me that it was not finished in time for the wedding, but when it was finally done, we were all thrilled. The photo shows only a small portion of the tablecloth.
Entrelac Cowl/Scarf
Pattern source: Adapted from Tunisian Crochet Entrelac Throw by Lion Brand Yarn
Project page: Tunisian Entrelac Cowl/Scarf (in Marsha’s Ravelry projects)
About the project: Another project which shows my like of Noro yarns, I envisioned this worn wrapped around the neck as a cowl, but secured with a pin. I made a pin in the form of an entrelac square to go with this. This was a gift for my sister. I have a long-standing tradition of crocheting her gifts for Christmas and her birthday. She has a huge collection of scarves, cowls, shawls and hats that I have crocheted for her – not to mention the thread tablecloth shown above. It’s SO nice to have someone who appreciates receiving hand-crocheted gifts!
Follow Marsha Online
Here’s where you can connect with Marsha online if you’d like to see more of her crochet projects!
More About Marsha
Over the years I have branched out into so many different crochet techniques – thread crochet, filet crochet, Irish crochet, Tunisian crochet (including the double-ended technique), broomstick lace, hairpin lace, and other types of lace. I have dabbled in designing simple projects and my hope is that when I retire from my job I will have the time to devote to pursue designing at a more serious level. Now, if I could only get my daughter interesting in learning to crochet! Otherwise I will have to find someone to whom I can bequeath my extensive crochet library and yarn stash.
