Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke And The Bookish.  Every week, bloggers share their own bookish top ten lists based on the topic of the week.  You can check out Ten Tuesdays here.

Top Ten Reasons I Love To Crochet

Crochet is one my favorite things to do (besides reading, of course), and there are a lot of reasons why I love it so much, especially now.  The internet has opened up a lot of options/resources, and has made crocheting a lot easier!

1. Ravelry.  I mentioned it last month, in another TTT post about favorite non-bookish websites.  I love it because there’s so many patterns and a lot of filters I can use to find what I’m looking for.  That (and Pinterest and blogs) have made finding patterns really easy!
2. It’s pretty calming and relaxing, and it’s a good way to relieve stress!  Except for when a pattern/project stresses me out, and the project goes into time-out, but other than that, it’s a really good way to relieve stress.
3. It keeps my hands busy.  Instead of just watching t.v., I can do something with my hands while the t.v. is on in the background.  It’s something to focus on and it also manages to keep my mind busy too!
4. It can also be really meditative, depending on the pattern you’re using.  Like this blanket.  I’ve made several of them, and since I’m doing the same stitch for the entire blanket, it’s easy to get into a groove.
5. Speaking of stitches, I love that I can YouTube stitches and techniques I don’t know how to do.  And that I can watch as many different videos as I need to in order to find one that actually clicks and explains it in a way that makes sense.
6. Petting yarn!  It’s a thing, and sometimes, I just need to hug and pet the baby alpaca yarn I have because it’s insanely soft and it makes me feel better.
7. I get to make awesome stuff!  It would probably be easier to buy a version of Luna Lovegood’s scarf, or a scarf in Hufflepuff colors, but when I wear it, I remember the work I put into it, and it’s much cooler wearing something I put a lot of time into.  Plus, giving people something that’s handmade is pretty cool too.
8. Design Seeds is helpful if I need a color palette for anything, but especially with blankets.  I’ve seen some pretty good color combinations, and if I ever need one, I know where to go.
9. Being able to buy crochet books online…mostly because it’s hard to find books that are about crochet in your average bookstore.  A local yarn store might be the better option, but since I get so distracted by yarn…online is the place to go for crochet books, should I need/want one.
10. And the same goes for buying yarn online.  It’s not something I do often, but if there’s a color I need and I can’t find it anywhere else, I’m glad I can buy it online!  And with places like Etsy, I can get something spun/dyed by a real person!