January Meeting: Service and Learning to Crochet

January’s meeting was a really neat meeting:  it married service with learning a new skill – always a winning combination.  Our ward is partnering with another ward that shares our building to support an organization called “Head Huggers” .  It is an organization that collects hats to help those who have undergone hair loss due to chemotherapy, brain surgery, burn wounds, etc.  Both wards will be collecting hand-crocheted and hand-knitted caps throughout this upcoming year and then donating them to Head Huggers.

Of course, the first step had to be to make sure that sisters in the ward actually acquired these skills.  First we had our 10-minute spiritual lesson (on service).  One thing that really stuck out to me was when the sister talked about visiting her grandmother who lives in another country (Ecuador?  I think that was it) and how she was always serving others, even though her means were limited also.  The sister pointed out that being "poor" in America and being "poor" in other places is a very different experience, and that even those of us who might be struggling right now are still very blessed in many ways.  The lesson was very inspiring and really set a good tone for what we would be doing.  Afterward, we ventured out into the cultural hall where there were four tables set up.  There was a table for those who already knew how to crochet and wanted to commence making caps, a table for those sisters who already knew how to knit, a table for those who wanted to learn how to knit, and a table for those who wanted to learn how to crochet:

 

I ended up at the “learn how to crochet” table.  Judy was our teacher and she walked us through the basics:  (Rachel, left, and Judy, right):

Before long we were all working away:

The common hurdle seemed to be getting the stitches to be the right size and having them be consistent (I think they call it “gauge”?).  We agreed that it would take a little practice, but the sisters seemed pretty determined to do the homework necessary to master this new skill.

A few ladies brought some other finished pieces to display to show us what is possible once we get the hang of it:

If you would like to see the one of the patterns we will be using, click here.

Of course, there are always refreshments (really good ones), and one of the hardest tasks for those who organize this meeting is getting everyone to leave when we are supposed to.  The meeting is supposed to end at 8:30, but somehow it’s  always 9:00 or 9:30 before they can get us all out of there!