Topic: Knitting and Crocheting....great skills if the world falls apart! :D
Okay, so recently I decided "I want to learn how to knit and crochet." And I am! Learning both at the same time. Knitting and crocheting has always interested me, but nobody around me growing up did it, and it never occurred to me before to try to teach myself. Seemed too difficult, and besides, there was no inspiration or motivation around me to learn. But here in town there's a shop called The Needle Lady that I've passed by a bezillion times in the two years we've been here. They have these great creations in the front windows, made from yarns with these amazing colors and textures. The world of yarn has changed big time in the past few years, all these soft chenilles and feathery threads in vibrant colors.....
So I'd see those creations and all that amazing yarn and think, "I want to learn how to do that!" So now that I'm finally done with all the other stuff that's been on my life agenda, and I have oodles of free time, I'm learning. It's bugged me for years that I have like, no skills in life. In days past, people knew how to do stuff. They could sew, make clothes, grow their own food, build their own stuff. Nowadays, everything is done for us. We're losing our skills. Interestingly enough, knitting has experienced a resurgence in the past few years, with knitting cafes and yarn shops opening up around the country......it makes me wonder if it's because "something" is coming up down the pike that will cause our society to turn upside down, so we'll have to do more things for ourselves....? Just a thought. It does seem weird that there's been such a renewed interest in learning it. Either that, or it's just people like me who are tired of feeling like a skillless, useless person who can't do anything! 
Knitting always seemed like this really hard thing to do because it involves two needles, but actually it's not. I taught myself the basics, but am also taking a class for it. But it's not hard at all. You can teach yourself, but it's probably best to take a class or at least have a skilled person show you how to do it in person, only because they'll show you the proper techniques and how to hold and move your needles. That's stuff you can't derive from books. Crocheting though you can totally teach yourself, which is what I'm doing. It's actually more involved than knitting, even though there's only one needle, but yet it doesn't really involve any "special technique," which is why you can teach yourself. And you can make some pretty cool stuff with it. Years back, the only thing I ever saw with crochet were these big holey Granny afghan blankets or goofy ponchos with big tassels, made from thick, not very soft yarn in blah boring colors. 
Which is probably another reason I was never terribly motivated to try to learn. It didn't seem like you could do anything cool with it. But now......they've got all this fantastic yarn and great designs and patterns for making really cool dresses, shirts, hats, etc. Like, REALLY nice stuff, that I would totally wear. In fact, I have a burgundy color short lacy crochet dress made from very thin (synthetic) thread/yarn material in my closet that I bought several years ago, and which goes with a black underslip, and it's the neatest dress I've ever owned. But that's the kind of thing that's possible with crochet. Forget the thick, bulky, holey, scratchy ponchos with goofy tassels!
Anyway, just wanted to pass along the tip, in case anybody out there has free time and is interested in learning a new and useful hobby. For me, this is addictive. I can sit there and knit or crochet for hours, it's just so fun, and......it's a good way to relax and calm the mind. So that's another big plus!
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"I get by with a little help from my (higher density) friends."
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That burgundy colored crochet dress I mentioned in my opening post came from Sears of all places, and was a shocker to find hanging on the rack. I was like "!!!!!!" when I pulled out the hanger and realized what I was looking at. Didn't care how much it cost, bought it right then and there. Another time I was at Wal*Mart of all places, needing to find a button down white shirt for work, and came across a unique white shirt, fitted for the female body, which incorporated really nice white embroidery stitching design work. Just a really unusual thing to see for sale at a Wal*Mart. Snagged it up....bought two in fact, to have an additional back up. 
I'll have to go sometime next week. (and remember to remove those freak magnets from my pockets next time!)