Katrina, who operates Cameos by Katrina, has suffered from Graves diseases off and on since the age of 17. Crochet helps her through the tough times. She explains,
“My condition is a thyroid problem which causes, for me at least, an accelerated pulse rate and a touch of hypertension. It also causes hormonal imbalances that can make it so that I feel easily overwhelmed by bad situations. Crochet is what helps me to calm down when my nerves are shot. I can’t calm myself in any other way so crochet is invaluable. Another side effect that comes and goes is that my hands shake a little bit; crochet usually steadies them.”
Katrina learned to crochet from her 8th grade Home Ec teacher, Mrs. Hunter. It was only a small part of the class, just learning to crochet a granny square. The class came to an end but Katrina kept on making granny squares. She says that she made 6-7 foot granny square blankets for herself and has always made baby blankets for every new baby born into her huge extended family. She even made a blanket on commission once.
Although granny square blankets had always been her go to thing, she recently woke up one more and decided that she wants to make a crochet toy. She was already selling jewelry for a living so started adding crochet toys to the items for sale when she went to artisan market and says that the toys have gone over really well with customers. It’s a joy that the craft that helps her feel better can also earn her a little bit of income.
Spending the day vending at an artisan market provides a great amount of time for crochet. When there aren’t customers, there is a lot of sitting there and waiting for people to come through, so she always has a crochet project with her that she can work on. It’s a win-win because of course she wants a lot of customers coming through her tent but if it’s a slow day then she at least gets a lot of crochet done. Of course, she’ll also crochet when she’s at home. She shares,
“As an artisan I do actually consider myself as part of a group…several in fact. No we don’t sit there in a circle and craft but everyone has their own unique style and passion and as a collective it’s pretty amazing to see what everyone is capable of. Handmade Nashville & Erabellum are the two best artisan collectives I know of. I think it doesn’t heal me so much as make me feel great when I show them something I’ve been working on for a few days and hear them oooo and ahhhh over it. It’s pretty wonderful.”
The appreciation of the craft from others in the artisan community is very satisfying, although it is secondary to the healing benefits for Katrina. The main thing is that she really appreciates how much crochet can calm her. She says that making baby blankets is the most relaxing thing for her. She’s done them for so long that she doesn’t have to pay attention or think about the work, which offers a great opportunity to just let stress go. She says that the best feeling in the world is “when you finish a project and can look down on it and think, “wow, I did this!” Katrina also enjoys yoga, painting and working with clay, each of which has their own therapeutic benefits.
When asked if she has seen crochet helping anyone else, she immediately mentions her aunt who has “more health issues than she can name”. She enjoys donating little handmade mittens and other items to a local homeless shelter and Katrina is share that making and giving them has helped her.
Katrina hasn’t purposely set out to teach others how to crochet but says that it inevitably ends up happening. She shares,
“Every time that I crochet in public some little kid wants me to show them how it is done. It happened even when I WAS a little kid! Over the years, I have learned to always carry an extra hook and extra yarn so I can show those who ask and they can try it for themselves.”
Although Katrina doesn’t know if any of those impromptu students stuck with the craft, it’s safe to guess that the seed has been planted for at least a few of them!