WiB’s “Passion Blogs” highlight our members’ diverse interests outside of the organization. Read on to learn about Riya's love for crochet and the story that led her there!
As I sit hunched over, weaving a strand of black yarn through hardly visible loops, I barely feel the strain in my neck or the soreness of my wrists. There’s just the quiet hum of instrumental music beside me as the soft yarn glides across my fingertips. Crocheting, to me, is a quiet form of therapy. It’s like meditating, repeating the same loops and stitches endlessly, only to find you’ve created something meaningful and magical in the end.
Circa Christmastime 2021, I spontaneously picked up plastic needles and dollar store yarn, deciding I wanted to learn how to crochet. I thought if I understood one of my badi mami’s (paternal grandmother’s) hobbies, I would feel closer to her, and maybe miss her less.
Watching my grandmother knit was a constant part of my childhood, whether during vacations in India or summers in our home. Her fingers, which were softer than cotton, wove through bright colors like magic, creating rippling designs. I still have her pieces, tucked away in a box I keep in the corner of my desk. Wearing her headbands or socks almost feels like she’s still embracing me in one of her honey-like hugs.
That Christmastime project, a gray scarf, never ended up being finished. It took me many months later to re-discover an interest for crochet, a passion that needed to become determination in order for me to finish my first project. Many hooks, bundles of yarn, and YouTube tutorials later, I had finished crocheting my first hat. It was overly large, I’d had to redo half of it, but it looked good and I had finished it. There were bright smiles all around my house as I showed it off; instantly, I began to work on my next project: a matching hat for my sister.
After that summer in 2022, I crocheted any and every minute to myself. I made cardigans and purses, tote bags and beanies, coasters and stuffed animals. My favorite part about my new hobby was how I could gift my friends and family accessories and clothing. I now have an annual Christmas tradition of adding to my family’s crochet collection of wintertime beanies. On friends’ birthdays, I choose colors and designs I know they’ll love and stitch them something that’ll convey how much I appreciate them. Crochet, for me, has become a sort of love language.
More than almost anything in the world, I am defined by all my hobbies. Crochet is one of the many I use to express myself creatively and create fun products. I’ve amassed a large collection of yarn, of different colors, sizes, and materials. I’ve spent hours watching videos on different types of crochet – amigurami, tapestry, freeform. There’s never a limit to how much you can innovate with crochet. You can follow patterns, adapt them to your own interests, and even make your own patterns! It’s an activity that always keeps giving and always has room to grow in.
I can crochet for hours on end, and the process is how I de-stress and take time for myself. In college, separate from my family and my home, it’s how I come back to myself and recall all my favorite memories, loop after loop after loop.