Thursday, April 16, 2009

My Graduate ... Lauren

I met Lauren, a college student, last year. She came to me wanting help with the pattern for a Shell vest from Lion Brand. In her hand were several hanks of Classic Elite's "Twinkle, soft chunky" yarn. She was a new crocheter, and this would be her first attempt at crocheting a garment.

Her first lesson went well, learning how to crochet a granny square (each side of her pattern required one), while learning about gauge and why it is important. She went home with the assignment to crochet a matching granny square before proceeding to further instructions for the vest.

And that was the last I heard from her -- until a few weeks ago. She contacted me wanting to resume the project, refusing to let life, and college, get between her and her crocheting again. We met and she was able to pick up where she left off as if the time lapse was never there! She learned about the importance of counting stitches, increasing and decreasing, and how to correctly sew her pieces together.

When we parted last week her project was nearly done (that's her modeling it while the vest was still under construction). She had very little of the Twinkle yarn left, just enough to just crochet the edging around the neck.

Today, I received an email from her stating that she liked the way the neckline looked and wondered if she should purchase another hank of Twinkle to finish off the arm holes and the waistline. She had noticed, on her own, the difference of a project having a finished look verses that of a raw look -- the skill in noticing this is what takes a crocheter from crocheting "home made" items, to that of crocheting "hand made" items. She is now a graduate, no longer a beginner crocheter; now she is ready to take on even more challenging projects! Congratulations, Lauren! :)

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