Hooking at the Lagoon

 My granny taught me the basic stitches of crochet and knitting when I was about 5 or 6 years old.

When I decided to get rid of my nicotine addiction about two years ago, I reached for the crochet hook again. Kicking the habit would mean more snacking and fidgeting hands and I thought getting hooked to yarn might help.
Well, it did. I also managed to get hooked on Merino wool, as the ultimate fiber to work with.

The story of sheep to yarn is magical and the finished product possesses the properties of the wool it is made in; soft, luxurious, breathable, flame resistant, natural, biodegradable and regulates the body's temperature through the natural crimp in the fiber. All these qualities appealed to the natural living style we were after and I got busy with my first major project.

 Four kilogram's of Merino wool later, and we had the ultimate ripple style blanket for our bed.

Friends bought a plot at the lagoon and asked for a blanket as well, so another four kilograms and 8 months later, they have one too, for their new home. The wool yarn was sourced from different Merino wool suppliers in South Africa, some being designers hand painting commercially spun wool, others were homespun and some were from commercial spinners and dyers. The Merino Ripple blanket has been on our bed for almost a year now and is the most wonderful sleeping buddy you can imagine. The 'regulate your body temperature' fact is completely true and results in much deeper sleeping patterns.

Getting back into crochet, I have met a wonderful group of people, with the same mindset and urge to be creative in yarn. When you hold that ball of wool in your hands and start thinking about the possible projects you could use it for, something clicks and nothing else is quite so important any more. Playing with yarns and hooks have helped me kick the habit and proved to be therapeutic to a stress-filled city soul. Highly recommended.