It all started when her mom was teaching her how to knit, but it wasn’t exactly junior Allison Tuttle’s cup of tea.
“When I tried crocheting, though, I loved it,” Tuttle said. “It gave me the creative freedom I needed.”
Like Tuttle, junior Gabriella Penksa also got her start from a relative.
“My grandma was the one that taught me a lot of what I know today,” Penksa said. “The rest, I taught my self.”
Now all they needed was a project to work on.
“My first ever crochet project was a scarf,” Penksa said. “I made a couple of granny squares, a cute summer top, and a shawl.”
Not every project is for everyone, though. Different crocheters prefer to make different things. “My mom loves to make blankets out of crochet, and I gave it a go. As I got farther into the project, I didn’t like it,” Tuttle said. “Blankets can take 50 hours or more, and I would get bored of them easily.”
Gabriella Penska’s Colorful Bag:
Time: “I worked for 10 hours straight to get this bag done.”
Difficulty: “It was a really easy project. It was just repetitive, as it was all one piece. I used two different yarns at the same time to get the different colors.” Courtesy photo by Gabriella Penksa
Allison Tuttle’s Pink Dino:
Time: “I expected it to only taking two or three days, but ending up being a month.”
Difficulty: “As long as you know how to single crochet, it’s pretty easy.”
Individual Pieces: “There are 12 pieces that make up the Pink Dino.” Courtesy photo by Allison Tuttle
Tuttle found a pattern for a baby mandrake from Harry Potter, and she began to crochet again.
“It was my first amigurumi, basically a small crochet plushie. Anything amigurumi is my favorite thing to make,” Tuttle said. “I love the creativity of it. If I want a duck with a donut on its head as a key chain, then I can make a duck with a donut on its head key chain.”
Challenging as it is at times, both Penksa and Tuttle find crocheting to be calming, often taking the time to watch a show or movie as they work.
