This coming January will mark twenty-two years since I learned to crochet, and a lot has changed since then. At the time, I had just had my third and final child, now a number of my friends seem to be in what I term “the grandma zone.” Whether they have children or grandchildren of their own, they find themselves in a different place, and I think of that place as “the grandma zone.”

As I like to say, “A grandchild is a terrible thing to waste,” and I am finding now that since not all grandmas crochet, I have a much needed skill that can be put to use, as I help fill in the crochet gaps where the existing grandma does not crochet, but the existing grandchild needs a hat (or a blanket or a toy), and I finished one such project this morning.

Regular readers may remember this granny square blanket that I finished in late August:

I made it for the granddaughter of a good friend from third grade, and I decided that while I was making crochet toddler hats, I might as well make one to coordinate with the blanket.

I was apparently working with a very strong crochet wind at my back and had a very good crochet day on Saturday, and–by late Saturday afternoon–it was all done except the braids.

So when I got up this morning, I fortified myself with a strong cup of coffee, and got to work cutting the lengths of yarn I would need to complete the hat.

It isn’t quick work, but it is very meditative, and soon enough, yarn lengths were cut, braids were braided, and another crochet hat emerged from the grandma zone.

With that hat completed, I ran some morning errands, stopping by a restaurant where I had lunch last Sunday. The waitress had admired the Viking hat I was crocheting, and I had offered to make one for her son, and I got a much appreciated hug for my efforts.

As for what’s next, I am looking toward making yet another crochet llama hat:

and I am working toward that goal as I always do: one stitch at a time.