South Africa
I have so many passions in life but the biggest two by far has to be ears and crochet! During office hours I work as an audiologist, but when I close the practice door behind me, my hands start to itch for my crochet hooks!
I take my crochet works-in-progress everywhere with me, but find that I constantly have to explain what I’m doing. Crochet? they ask slightly bewildered. Isn’t that something that old people do? Ag, I sigh, why don’t you just call me Ouma Ralie? (ouma=granny).
And so the Benjamin Button of crochet is born: Ouma Ralie. She is young, but she has an old soul. She has a passion for the tradition of crochet, but she likes to learn new techniques and applications for crochet. She uses bright, playful crochet hooks and colourful new yarns, but sometimes she takes her mom’s worn crochet hooks from a little wooden box and crochets with thin thread. She crochets with young kids as well as the ladies from the retirement home. In short, she is everybody's crochet granny!