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This is a guest post by Kathryn Vercillo. She is the blogger behind popular crochet blog Crochet Concupiscence and the author of the book Crochet Saved My Life. Kathryn is currently working on a book of creativity exercises for crocheters.
Crochet is a terrific meditative craft that can provide endless hours of enjoyment. It can also be so much more than that. Creative individuals can use their love of hook and yarn to access deeper levels of artistic creativity, adding new dimensions of inspiration to their daily lives. Here are five easy crochet exercises to try:
1. Crochet a series of random motifs in a variety of different yarns. Now buy a cheap piece of canvas or get a piece of cardboard and glue the motifs into a creative work of crochet art. Many people who crochet don’t consider themselves “artists”. This is a great way to access the artist within using a craft you already know! Key rule: do not judge the finished product! Experience the joy of making art.
2. Crochet a project using an entirely different yarn and hook from what the pattern requires. Ignore rules about gauge. Making an item that is impractically tiny or large will allow you to focus on the process of crafting rather than the product. Explore the emotions that come up as you create something you might see as useless or pointless. This exercise can teach you a lot about why you crochet and what you get out of it, information you can use to improve your future crafting experiences.
3. Engage in a full thirty minutes of mindfulness crocheting. This means that you tune out your mind and meditate entirely on your project. Pay attention to all of your senses – the touch of the yarn, everything you see in front of you, any sounds on in the background. This is so healing and meditative, especially when practiced regularly as part of a steady routine.
4. Cut and paste instructions from a bunch of different patterns. Pull lines for various rows from a number of different projects and paste them into a “new pattern”. Now follow that pattern from beginning to end, turning the work at the end of each row you’ve created in your new pattern, to crochet a random item. You will have to make adjustments to compensate for the fact that the pattern lines don’t actually go together. For example, a line may say “dc in each sc” but the line before might not have been sc. It’s okay; just dc in whatever stitches ARE in that previous line. What’s the point? This exercise is designed to inspire your curiosity, as you try to guess what the next line will look like and what the finished piece will be. Being curious is a key way to improve your total experience of life and art.
5. Crochet every project in one book or by one designer. Keep a journal during the process, as this will allow you to see what you’ve gained creatively from the experience. For an example, see my 30 days of Sharon Silverman crochet.
For some great crochet patterns to try out, check in on AllFreeCrochet.com today!
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Love these colors, wish I could think of these when I am purchasing yarn. Also, I have been mixing it up with crochet patterns for awhile. Had fund with a really red/white/blue afghan for my son a couple of years ago. Turned out awesome.
Love those colors too! Is the pattern here for that afghan?