Karen Peacock: A Crochet Story

This week we’re hosting a guest post by friend and crocheter, Karen Peacock. We have been huge fans of Karen’s crochet for years, and featured some of her work in Crochet Summer 2015 and 2016. She has a new pattern to share with us, as well as her personal crochet story. Enjoy!

It was my first crochet summer – the mid-80s, small-town Mississippi, front porch swing, swatting mosquitoes while trying to make granny squares. I can see it now – the red, white, and blue acrylic yarn, worn thin from the unraveling and reworking until I got it right. My grandmother sitting in her chair across from me, gospel music coming from her hand-held cassette player. She taught me that summer, proud to finally have a grandchild take an interest in her craft.  It felt good to make her proud.  It felt even better to see something come to life, to create, using my own two hands. That was the foundation for me, not just for crochet but for a lifetime journey with a variety of arts and crafts, which ultimately led me to become an art therapist. Even today, over thirty years later, I still feel a connection with my grandmother when I crochet, a connection with older traditions and skills passed down over generations. It’s a connection that is both simple and complex, delicate and strong, like a crochet piece itself, one that’s never quite finished, growing and expanding as I pass it from my hands to those of my own daughters, this crochet summer.

This sweater was born in Karen Templer’s make-along, #fringeandfriendslogalong.  It was my second make-along; the first one was #summerofbasics2017, and I enjoyed it so much that I had to join the log-along.  I was inspired by a log cabin rag rug, made with a single yarn color, that I saw in Mason Dixon Knitting, The Curious Knitters’ Guide from 2006 and the construction of a Wool and the Gang, Dot Cotton Sweater I had recently made. I chose the back loop single crochet stitch because I love its textural dimension, and I thought it would really show off the vertical and horizontal arrangement that make up the log cabin style. I chose Scout yarn by Kelbourne Woolens because I thought the heathered quality would add even more dimension to the piece. This is the perfect crochet summer project because it is made up of eight panels which can easily be toted around on vacation or to the pool, and it only uses one stitch, freeing up your mind to reflect on your own creative journey.  As I ponder mine, sitting here in the glorious Pittsburgh summer so far from the small Mississippi town where I first learned to crochet, the buzzing of my children playing in the background serves as the perfect soundtrack as I connect past to present.

Thank you so much, Karen, for sharing your story and your pattern with us! We’ll be looking for Boxy Tees popping up this summer on Instagram and Ravelry, so be sure to share yours with the hashtag #crochetsummer2018.

Want a chance to win a Boxy Tee kit of your very own? Tell us YOUR crochet story in the comments! We’ll choose one winner at random on Friday the 15th at 9 am EST, and announce the winner at the bottom of this post.

UPDATE 6/19/2018:
Sorry for the delay, but we have a winner! Congratulations, Stephanie! We’ll be in touch to arrange delivery of your prize!

Thanks to everyone who participated, and thanks for your patience – I had a baby on Friday while the rest of the crew was at TNNA. You can read all about our exciting weekend here!