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Going through my photo archives made me realize for the first time how often I'm crocheting throws; I will likely end up making five or six this year. Crochet work is great physical therapy for my hands, and because I've been doing it for 59 years I'm fairly skilled (I will never be an expert, and I still have problems reading some patterns, so take that as a disclaimer.) I'm also able to thrift all my yarn now so the materials are extremely cheap.

Working on a crochet project reminds me very much of my grandmother, who taught me the art when I was five years old. She made hats and baby blankets, and thought it was something useful for a woman to know how to do. I fell in love with it because I admired her so much, and because it was fun.

Crochet also makes me happy now because it is something I can still do without a problem, which is something I can't say about any other skill in my repertoire.

This year working on my annual art project by making mini-quilts has also made me aware of my increasing limitations in that department. I can crochet much, much easier than I can sew or quilt by hand, and I really enjoyed making my calendar mood crocheted blanket back in 2024. Hand-making things being important to me, I'm going to make next year's annual art project a bed-size crocheted blanket.

All I have to do now is find a pattern for it and start pulling yarn. :)

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