In case you haven’t caught on, I’ll just tell you straight up – I love teaching crochet.
And I will admit – I love getting paid… cuz I do love eating, heating my home, and… wait, who am I kidding? I pretty much get paid in yarn! But way above and beyond the practical payback, I LOVE seeing other people learn how to crochet and pass it on.
If I have students return year after year, I hope it’s because they enjoy the camaraderie created while crocheting together. I hope that their first class is just the beginning of their crochet community, that they are confident to crochet on their own, and confident enough to teach someone else how to do it.
So yes, my goal as a teacher is that my students won’t need me anymore.
Knowing how to do something yourself is powerful. Being able to pass it on is a gift. How do I know this?
This sweet elephant was my daughter’s first Christmas gift from her Daddy and me. We love giving gifts from Mercy Market, an organization that partners with women around the world and gives them an outlet to let their artistry shine while earning a living in an honorable, sustainable way.
This hand sewn elephant is powerful. No, not because we are reminded of an elephant’s strength, but because of what it did to empower an entire Thai village.
Because these women learned to create something with their hands and pass it on, the men who come offering money for their young women are sent away empty handed. Sex-trafficking eradicated. Why? Because their people are fed. Their people are confident. Their people are FREE.
Dear reader, don’t put off doing good for the people right in your own neighborhood. We all have something to pass on.
When creativity is bolstered with a new skill, the confidence and hope it brings can literally change the course of an individual’s life.
The yarn shop where I teach crochet classes has a Bosom Buddies of Wyoming program where women who have struggled with cancer receive free prostheses that are soft, light, and breathable. Knit and crocheted Chemo Caps are also available for women who need them. People donate their time, yarn, or dollars to help. We have two styles of crochet Chemo Caps available free of charge for those who wish to ‘pass it on’.
Age is not an obstacle. There’s a young girl here in Casper, WY who is nine years old and knitting dish cloths for those effected by the tornadoes in Oklahoma.
3 Things YOU Can Do:
1. Learn something new so you can donate the final product to someone in need.
2. Teach someone in need a skill so they can change their life.
3. Find a place to donate supplies so those in need can create without financial hindrance.
Pass it on.
Go change the world.
Even if it is just one stitch at a time…
~Abbey
Check out these incredible crochet programs:
Crochet in prison: The Bridge Project
fireflyhook.com 