Monday, November 12, 2007

Middle of Crochet Season

Football and crochet go well together. They're both colorful. They're both creative. One is entirely out of my control, and the other makes me feel better by being almost entirely within my control.


Here I crochet in great distress as Peyton Manning throws 6 interceptions and Vinatieri (a.k.a. "clutch kicker," not "idiot kicker") misses two field goal attempts. Arrgh! I hate when the good guys lose while evil goes undefeated.

I'm almost done with that hat, though.

A few weeks ago I heard an interview with artist Chuck Close. He makes huge portraits using a grid and working from photographs, one tiny square at a time. When asked how this type of work was particularly suited to his personality, he called himself impatient and lazy. "Me too," I said to the radio. Then he compared his work to crochet or knitting -- processes that are satisfying in themselves, interruptable, and contain lots of little victories.


I can pick up my crochet for a few minutes and put it back down when I get distracted. Finishing a row is like gaining 5 yards. Finishing a stripe is like getting a first down. And, as I told my friend B the other day, two football games and you've got a hat!

A few products of this season and last. Mostly hats, but the occasional scarf, and a pair of fingerless mittens. Generally, my favorite project is the one I'm working on at the moment -- just now the mint-oreo hat at top left. But an all time favorite is Chad's hat-of-several-colors at bottom right.

5 comments:

Katie L said...

I'm so impressed! They are beautiful. And the nice thing about crocheting with football is, win or lose, your head will be warm all winter!

Tarik Saleh said...

Ok,

That is a side of you I would not have guessed. Nice game face!

Not that you would, but do not name your children Peyton. there are tons of them floating around TN who are about 9 years old and had the misfortune of being born in the year he led UT to its national championship season. Poor little peytons...

Jessielynn said...

Oh, I miss Jill-hats. I love my fuzzy purple one, and had I known just how cold it gets in Nairobi, I would have brought it along!

Anonymous said...

those are awesome jill! i should learn to do that. is it hard?

Jill said...

No worries. "Peyton" is not really on our list. Chad is in fact a big fan of the name "Alvin" (yes, as in "A-L-V-I-N!")

Jessie, for your next cold weather season let me know what color(s) you want and I'll send you a new hat!

Leigh Ann -- it's so not hard at all! Jessie's mom showed me how to make the basic stitches one afternoon, and I learned the rest of what I know from a book called "Crochet Basics." My next ambition is to attempt a sweater. I may need to get Katie's help with that.