Marianas Variety Article Crochet Article September 2006

Pardon me, do you Crochet?
By Poonam Hemlani
Variety News Staff


All the great aunts do it. Your next-door neighbor may be doing it. Your sister might be in the process of it. Come to think of it, all the cool girls are doing it. Curious? No, it's not naughty. Everybody is crocheting. Crocheting is the rage today.
Through world wars, our mothers and grandmothers and great-grandmothers crocheted socks and mittens for the soldiers at war. Baby blankets and lace dollies have been the norm.
Remember in December there was always that horrid, ugly heap of yarn that was pretending to be a sweater you received as a Christmas gift from a distant relative? But no longer. Today crocheting is chic. Instead of coarse yarn there is chenille, silk, mohair and so much more. Instead of boring colors you can choose anything from pugua red and Pepto Bismol pink to lima bean green. Crocheting has indeed jumped in popularity, especially with the younger gals.
For those of you lost, here is a quick little lesson. Crocheting involves one needle known as a hook and knitting involves two needles. They both involve some sort of string but usually yarn.

Amy Egurrola explained, “It’s a lost art but it’s coming back again. I see a lot of tops in the stores made from crochet and I am really satisfied that people are starting to like them as well.”

Egurrola stated how she got started conducting classes, and how she is never going to be able to let it go. “One summer I just started doing it. I was teaching my two girls Joan and Sheila. We did bed spreads, table covers, they learned the basics and afterwards I kept doing it. My daughter asked me to help instruct in her craft business.”

What was expected to be a short term aid, and to be kept minimal expanded in no time. “We started out and I wanted to do two or three classes, but my class became bigger and bigger. My students, I mean they are looking forward to coming to classes on Saturdays,” exclaimed Egurrola.


Egurrola was hoping to keep her items on display but incidentally they have been selling like hot cakes. “People kept buying them some people are really persistent. I wanted to keep them in the store. Now I can’t quit anymore,” giggled Egurrola.

People from all walks of life have been needling around in Egurrola’s class. “ I have some doctors in the class some military wives and they really joy coming. They say it’s not just the crochet but they are also looking forward to meeting new people and making new friends.”
Egurrola is absolutely delighted by the outcome of her classes, “I’m so happy I met a lot of people and I am still looking forward to more people coming and learning the basics. What you learn that is a bonus, because then you can crochet something for your loved one. It’s like a heirloom once you learn it, you can pass it from generation to generation. It’s a special thing knowing you have created something for your special loved ones.”

A woman from the south (not Agat), as Egurrola reminisced once told her, “I will be a crochet diva when I go back to Georgia, and she started without knowing how to even hold the crochet stick. She was so nervous but now she is so happy that she is in the intermediate class,” concluded Egurrola.