Entertainment on the ship: Crochet

09.29.10 | 6 Comments

Last Christmas, I thoroughly enjoyed making crochet scarves for the family why watching movies, talking and sipping on some tea. I thought crochet projects would be the perfect pass-time to bring on the ship.

Since I had the memory of making almost one scarf per day, I thought I needed a LOT of supplies for this 28 day container ship voyage. Back in Austin, with the help Justin’s family, we packed up 8 skeins and some synthetic stuffing in… vacuum-sealed bags! It worked like a charm and saved us a lot of space.

While this is not the best picture in the world, here’s the crochet cast – still flattened:

So, why synthetic stuffing? Well, instead of making scarves, wouldn’t it be cool to make stuffed animals?! I felt ambitious. Using Brigitte Read’s Super-Super Cute Crochet pattern book (I’ll link to her when I get better internet), I gave making stuffed animals a shot. Turns out they are as cute as they claim to be, but they’re also a lot more work than I thought… so I have two to show!

First, a cute, round little whale.

And a pwetty butterfly.

In parallel, I’ve been working on a child blanket, which makes me want to make one for myself…

… that thing is warm!

I find crochet to be almost like a meditative practice. It’s repetitive yet requires your full attention. I don’t even like to watch TV all that much when I crochet. Just me, my thoughts, the yarn and the hook. It gives me time to think, it makes me feel like I’m giving my brain a break, yet I’m producing something useful with my hands and later have the satisfaction of accomplishment.

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