Picking up the Hooks and Needles Again
2023 was quite the Fiber Arts Renaissance for me. I hadn’t seriously picked up any hooks or needles and created anything in a long time. In fact it had been years since I’ve stitched a stitch of any kind. At least 15 years…
I had been too busy, or so I thought, being a stay at home mom to 3 kids and trying to juggle life. To be honest, I was feeling depressed and a little lost as to what, besides being a mom and wife, that I wanted to do with myself. I felt the need to be creative, so I started drawing again and that helped. I love to draw and paint as a hobby, but quickly figured out that I did not want to pursue it as a career, keeping it as a hobby I can do for fun and to relax.
As I’m constantly trying to rid our house of toys and other objects we seem to accumulate an abundance of, I decided to go through my books. I have amassed a large collection of books in a range of subjects from gardening to all types of arts and crafts and beyond, which is a natural side effect of working in a book store for several years.
While riffling through my knitting and crocheting books I came across an Amigurumi book and thought it would be nice to make my kids some toys. Their aunt had recently made my oldest a crochet doll of one of his favorite video game characters and it really tickled him to have it. My littles wanted their own homemade stuffed animals after seeing their big brothers.
So this is what started my most productive fiber arts streak in my life. I’ve literally crocheted and knit 10 times the amount of things in 2023 than I made in the previous 20 years!
All The Things
After crocheting a couple toys for my kids, I made one for my bestie’s daughter for her birthday. My friend then asked if I could make her dogs some sweaters, and I was like…done. Then I decided to dig through my ancient yarn stash and find something I could use to make a wearable piece for me. I had rejoined Ravelry and began searching through the patterns for any ideas and found a beautiful bandana shaped cowl, which I now wear any opportunity I get.
All this crocheting eventually lead to me picking up my knitting needles again. My bestie gifted me a bunch of fiber arts supplies, including an amazing yarn organizer tote, another yarn tote with a set of crochet hooks and mini skeins of yarn, and a skein of recycled acrylic and wool blend yarn. It was the perfect for knitting a beanie. So that’s what I whipped up!
All these things led up to me making the biggest project I’ve completed yet, and one of the most meaningful. My grandmother was in her 90’s and had been put on hospice care near the end of 2023. I knew I wanted to make her something special to show her how much I love her and appreciate all that she had done for me and my family.
One of her absolute favorite things was butterflies, and fortunately I found a butterfly granny square blanket in one of the many crochet magazines I own. I’m so thankful that I managed to finish it and gift it to her for Christmas 2023. She passed away a little over a week ago from the time of this post, her spirit is flying free just like a butterfly.
Moving Forward with Fiber
I’ve already knocked out a few projects at the beginning of 2024, some legwarmers for me and a crochet blanket commissioned by my bestie as a gift. I’m currently working on knitting some wash cloths while waiting on some yarn and needles to come in the mail to knit my first socks, which I’m super excited about! I have so many projects I would like to complete this year, it will be interesting to see what all gets done, lol.
I have been inspired by my Fiber Arts Renaissance to pursue a business venture around my passion for knitting, crocheting, and sewing. I would love to create a resource and space for members of my community to come together and share their joy of fiber arts!
Thanks for visiting Fantastique Fibers, I hope you have a Fantastique Day!
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