The wonderful Kalurah Hudson has been a long time IDP designer as well as a contributor to our First Light collection and was a huge help in getting KP Crochet started. She visited us for a couple of days and filmed so many crochet tutorials and was an early tester of our new yarn Curio. We asked her if she would be interested in sharing a crochet story for the blog and what we received was such a personal, beautiful story. Enjoy.
In celebration of the release of Knit Picks FIRST Crochet thread “Curio”, I wanted to share with you my own journey into the discovery of Crochet.
Crochet entered my life in my early twenties. I was freshly wedded. Young and full of aspiration. I would fill my home with only things that came from my idle hands. Images of home baked pies, embroidery hoops and hand crocheted doilies fluttered through my woolgathering mind.
It wasn’t until I started having children though that the crafty bug really bit me. I was pregnant with my oldest and I knew there was something I wanted to do from home that would feed my creative hunger. I already loved photography, painting, cooking and baking. But I yearned for something more constructive and practical. That’s when Crochet was introduced to me.
My mother-in-law is the one I have to thank. One day, she sat me down and began pulling out numerous crocheted heirlooms from her linen closet and reminisced over the stories behind each piece. The smile on her face and the light in her eyes told a story of their own. And it hit me… what a glorious legacy making such art could leave my family. I wanted my own daughter-in-law to sit down with me one day and hear MY stories as we studied a piece of hand crocheted history. Suddenly, the visions that were in my head as a newlywed seemed more real and closer than ever.
In a way my own journey means even more to me now. Very recently, my dear mother-in-law was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. She is now going through something which literally steals away your memories. She can no longer hold on to all of them. But when I pull out those heirlooms and place them on her lap, the memories flood back. They’re still there and that is something so rare and so beautiful. Who wouldn’t want to keep hold of such a thing if they could.
So that is the Love Story of how Crochet came into my life.
If you haven’t yet delved into the romantic world of Crochet, simply ask a friend or a family member who crochets to show you their work. Prepare to sit for hours and listen to their stories and stare longingly at the beautiful, lovingly made stitches and then ask them if they can teach you. Go ahead, spark your curiosity.
Kalurah Hudson
While They Play Knits
