Let Them Join You

My grandmother texted me, asking if I would be able to help her with a crocheting conundrum. She found a flower she had crocheted about 50 years ago, and wanted to make more, but wasn’t sure what the pattern was.

She knows I’m into crocheting and used to write patterns, so thought maybe I could help decipher it for her. Of course I told her it would be no problem. I was happy to be able to help! So a couple of days later, I received the octagon in the mail for decoding.

I set to work immediately.

Yesterday, I was working on it a bit more, finishing up the pattern-writing, and my kids wanted to play with the yarn, touch my hook, climb on my chair, and generally be with me.

I wanted to be with them too, but you know… with more than 2 inches between us. 

So I set them up with age-appropriate activities. You might remember last year’s toddler sewing project. Well, Anneliese has graduated to real fabric and a sharp needle, and she’s getting better at remembering “up through the bottom, down through the top” and has more control over where she pokes the needle.

She was thrilled to work with purple fabric this time, and did random stitches of many different colors as I crocheted. She was so focused on her work.

Joseph love moving things from container to container right now, and opening and closing boxes and jars, so I gave him my quilting clips and some pottery. He sat nicely and happily transferred the clips, one by one sometimes, other times carefully pouring.

…I was able to hang out with my kids and chat with them, share crafting with them, and still get my grandma’s pattern written. Much nicer than waiting until the kids were asleep, or sending them to their playroom and working alone.

Involving the kids in what I’m doing isn’t always the easiest choice.

It takes more planning. More time. More setup and cleaning afterward. It takes attention and effort to teach them skills and techniques.

But it’s worth the extra effort. So, so worth it.