by Joanne Wiklund
December! Remember when it seemed so far away? Back when we were hoping by now the pandemic would be behind us? Now we’re facing something new again. So I laid in additional fresh yarn. My friend Nancy and I find crocheting a good way to pass time when you’re “antsy,” as my mom called it. You know, if you sit you think you want to get up and do something and if you’re up, you think, “well, I’ve done enough, I deserve to sit awhile.”
We have an answer for that. We are working while we’re sitting when we crochet. We are producing something: a hat, a scarf, a lap robe, a cowl, a headwarmer, a beanie.
These days, I’m missing women, women who used to come to the craft shows where for years I sold my work and shared secrets with other crocheters. Hubby used to tell me when I’d show someone how I did something that I was giving away trade secrets. I informed him that crocheting is not a trade, it’s a privilege, taught to me by my high school Home Ec teacher Lois Pearsall. The second semester of our last year of high school she shared skills by teaching us how to do “handiwork.” Crochet, tatting, embroidery, knitting, cross stitch. Her class was the last one of the day and we sat around in a circle and did what we were trying to learn. MY future hubby at that point who was out of school, teased me about “making string out of string.” Which is what you make when you’re learning crochet, strings of stitches. You tie them together and that makes them functional and beautiful. Miss Pearsall also taught us that there is a major difference between “handmade and homemade.” She wanted us to focus on near perfection to be sure our work was only “handmade.”
I know not to expect perfection from anyone but Jesus. Most of the time “a little bit better” with a stitch does make a difference. Like life, choices we make might change things, not always for the better. “Oh, that’s good enough,” might work with Play Dough, but not life or crocheting. Now, pulling out stitches to make crochet better is called “frogging.” Sometimes I’m frogging, but I don’t have yarn in my hands. I’m simply trying to make choices so things will be “a little better.” With God’s help and a choice to do better, sometimes we can change things. We’re in a hurry but God’s timing is His own. God has a plan for us and He will lead us onward if we just wait and listen to Him.
Ecclesiastes 3:7 “A time to read, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.”
Proverbs 31:22 “She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.” 25 “Strength and honor are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.” 27 “She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.”
Psalms 143:10 “Teach me to do Thy will; for thou art my God; thy Spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness. “