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Amigurumi Treasures

 

An I Like Crochet Exclusive Book Excerpt

By Erinna Lee

For every year of my school life (and I am sure it was the same for most of you), the end of the school year meant a report card that you had to bring home to mum and dad. My reports were typically un­memorable – average grades, mundane comments about needing to live up to my full potential, and as a timid young girl I never really got into a lot of trouble. However, one report has remained with me throughout my life and has challenged and impacted me the most. Reading it ignited in me a life-long determination to cultivate and improve upon it in every aspect of my life. This is what it said:

 

“Erinna lacks creativity.”

 

Fast forward many (many, many) years later …

 

I am sitting here, writing this introduction as one of the final items on my (very) long list of things to-do, surrounded by an explosion of yarn and threads, piles of notebooks scribbled with illegible pattern drafts, photography props and doll prototypes, in preparation for my very first book of amigurumi patterns. Who would have thought?

 

From a very young age, my mum has always fostered a love for crafting in us, be it clay work, painting, cross-stitch or decoupage amongst many others. In 2014, I itched to learn a new craft, as an outlet to relax after work and to challenge myself to learn a new skill. I picked up a hook and yarn and after a few false starts, made my first chain stitch. Whilst I do not cross-stitch or make clay figurines anymore, five years later I am still crocheting. So what is it about crochet that has me hooked (pardon the pun)?

 

A love for illustrations and creating cute characters. A pen frustrates me as it disallows me to put the characters I create

in my head onto paper. Amigurumi has allowed me to fulfil my love for character creation. Seeing a character I imagine come to life with just yarn and stuffing feels great, but what is even better is receiving a note from another person telling you how happy they are with their recreation of your character with your pattern!

 

Amigurumi design is maths with an artistic flair. As a scientist by day, fact and methodology dictate my thinking. Amigurumi is surprisingly mathematical! A nose or a foot can be created using simple algebra. I always knew the pain of maths classes would come in useful one day. However, I still have not grasped the importance of all those differential equations. Maybe one day …

 

A supportive global crafting community. Where would we all be without social media? That we get to share our finished work with a large community of crochet lovers has no doubt kept me motivated and encouraged. I have met so many wonderful people from all around the world and have been inspired by the creativity of many.

 

It is not just about crochet. I never thought crochet would let me acquire new skills in graphic design, photography, digital illustration, accounting, branding and business management. Now if only there was more time in a day.

 

Last but not least. I get to travel my crochet journey with my mum. We both started crochet at about the same time, and it is wonderful that, whilst we have each developed our individual styles, we are able to share ideas, go yarn shopping together and provide honest open feedback to each other.

 

These are just some of the reasons I believe crochet has become such a passion of mine, perhaps they resonate with you too?

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