MY STORY SO FAR

Hi Friends

This is my first blog in a really long time and my first ever regarding crochet.

Let me first tell you something about myself and my love for crochet.

I was first introduced to crochet when I was studying in Grade 6 and I immediately fell in love. It was my favourite hobby apart from embroidery and cross stitch, and I spent most of my vacations making something or the other.

Here are some of my earlier projects...

I also made a shawl which I took nearly 10 years to complete (mostly because I only did it during vacations, and I lost interest). Anyways, I did complete it before my marriage! But it inherently brought a fear of big projects, and I rarely did any.

When I was expecting my first baby, my son, I took up crocheting once again and made a baby layette set for him. But after that I got so busy with managing home and work, that I didn't get a chance to crochet at all. 

After my daughter was born, I decided to take a break from work and become a stay at home mom. In the first year, I hardly had any free time as such. I was really enjoying being at home with my family.

But then we moved to Dubai last year. It just so happened that we landed in a few craft shops while exploring the city. I felt as if my old hobby was calling me. Everywhere I went, I saw yarn and other art and craft materials, even in supermarkets. You didn't have this facility in India, you were required to specially plan and go to a specific shop to get yarn. But here, it was everywhere. 

There was this dresser scarf I had started before my son was born, which lay incomplete for more than seven years. This was the first project I completed in Dubai.

The fact that I had small kids, inspired me to make some caps and sweaters for them (as they would always keep losing them and it would be expensive to buy new ones all the time). But I didn't have patterns for caps, I hadn't made anything wearable before. 

Then I looked up the internet for patterns and luckily I found many free patterns especially on All Free Crochet. There was no looking back now. I made a couple of sweaters for my daughter and lots of beanies and caps for both my kids. They kept losing them, and I kept making new ones.

I was mostly buying my yarn from the supermarkets at this time. I wanted to find a proper yarn shop, but couldn't find any. Then I found Ravelry, an entire database of patterns, yarns, groups and a place to track and record your projects. It's something like a social network of knitting and crochet community. I was in Heaven!

Never before had I had access to so many patterns at a time. There were things I didn't even know could be made from crochet. It was really exciting. Each finished project gave me an immense sense of joy and accomplishment. And the list of future projects was never ending.

Then I found Moogly and the amazing tutorials by Tamara Kelly. There was so much to learn! Every day was a new challenge. Then I found out about the 2015 Moogly Crochet Along which was just getting started. I decided to dive in, although I was still sceptical about such a huge project. I joined the Ravelry group for this CAL and found a different world altogether. There were so many people from all across the world, working on the same project at the same time. It was really interesting to see the various colour combinations that people used for the same pattern. I was always excited to share my pictures with the group and get everyone's feedback. The best thing about CAL was that, in case you got stuck, there were so many people to help you.

It was in the WIP forum of this group that I first came to know about another CAL Sophie's Universe. I didn't have the courage, nor the resources to start another Afghan. But the pattern looked so beautiful and tempting that I couldn't resist any more. I decided to use my stash crochet thread to do this project. Little did I know at that time, how much more thread I would end up buying for this project.

My biggest concern at this time was to find a proper yarn shop in Dubai. Luckily I found a Ravelry group UAE Amiras which was a group for knitters and crocheters based in UAE. They helped me locate the various yarn shops in Dubai. It's because of them that I have been able to get all the yarn required for both the CALs.

My first CAL is now complete and I really loved the entire experience. 

I have already started one more, this time with cotton yarn. I hope to make it big enough for a king size bed.

I think that's all for now, it's become a huge post already. I hope I didn't bore you. 

I will tell you more about my other projects later. Thanks for reading. 

Wish me luck to keep my passion going!