Originally posted on October 13, 2017
Have you all seen the movie Julie & Julia? I have, about 40 times now. I am absolutely obsessed with it. I am not certain if it is because it’s a “feel good” movie that makes you smile on the inside or if it’s because Meryl Streep has such a calming voice that is assists my brain in decluttering while I crochet. Regardless the story is a wonderful one and I cannot get enough of it. And when I say I can’t get enough of it I really mean it. If it’s on television I absolutely cannot not watch it.
It is actually two stories in one. The first is the story of Julie who lives in New York City, mildly unhappy with her current life but is living like most of us are. She is a dreamer and rarely ever finishes anything. Her husband assists her in coming up with the idea of starting a blog about cooking, specifically her cooking her way through Julia Child’s famous cookbook “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” She has good days and bad days but by the end of the year and over 500 recipes later she’s grown a great deal.
The second side of the story is about Julia Child when she was just married and in Paris learning to cook and her journey of co-writing the cookbook. It’s interesting to see her trials and learn about her beyond what most of us know, the television personality whipping up lovely dishes each week.
Why am I writing about a movie that’s about cooking when I am supposed to be talking about crochet here? I’ll tell you why. Because I am a dreamer just like Julie. I am 38 years old and I cannot tell you how many ideas I have had, none of which have actually come to fruition. I also cannot tell you how many classes I have taken which has resulted in a great deal of useless knowledge muddled inside my wee brain. In that respect I suppose I am a lot like Julia was when she was younger as well. She tried so many things before she finally found the thing that made her smile on the inside, cooking.
Take this blog for example. I told myself when I started it that I would write here every day. I’ve missed two days already. That’s how it starts! I make excuses, reasons why I shouldn’t do what I had originally set out to do. It’s really ridiculous if I sit down and think about it because there really was no good reason for me not to blog the past two days. It’s not like I have nothing to say. Truth is, I just wanted to eat dinner and crochet until it was time to go to sleep.
As I was watching Julie & Julia last night while crocheting I thought it might be a good idea to write down a list, a bucket list if you will of things I’d like to accomplish over the next year that involve crochet. If I have a list and I write it down perhaps I’ll make it through it and finally stick to something. When I say stick to something I don’t mean crocheting. I truly love to crochet and in truth I’ve got enough yarn in my stash for projects to keep me busy for probably two years. What I mean is, there are other things I’d like to stick to as well. For instance:
#1: I’d really like to update this blog every day. Even if I only talk about a beautiful skein of hand dyed yarn I saw in a Facebook group and how I unfortunately cannot afford it. I’d still like to write here every day. Add it into my daily routine and make it a habit.
#2: I’d like to upload a video to YouTube every week. I have absolutely no idea what I will record videos on but my first is scheduled to go live tomorrow so that means there are only 51 weeks left. That’s 51 opportunities to show the entire world how out of my mind I am. Yay for goals.
#3: I want to design a mandala afgan pattern. I’ve never designed a crochet pattern before but I can see this in my head. If I concentrate really hard I can feel the stitches under my fingertips. It’s probably silly to go for something so big right off the bat. Most people would say Stef no! Do a square of some type first. Listen, please do remember that I am like Julie AND Julia. I’m a dreamer and dreamers do not waddle around in shallow pools of reality. What’s that saying? Go big or go home?
#4: I would really like to grow the Facebook Group that started all of this and have at least one group project for them to learn from every other month. Studies show that crocheting and knitting is good for your health. No really, Google it. And for this group of people, it may have even more than the studies show. Addiction is a horrible thing. It’s hard to overcome by yourself. I really feel that if I can keep someone’s hands on crochet instead of in the refrigerator then we’re doing something great. It’s not going to win me any awards but it’s helping people. I know I’ll be helping people and that is all that matters. If you’re interested in joining, even if it’s for no other reason than to see me make a fool of myself on live video search for My 600 lb Life – Crochet Group. That’s where you’ll find us.
#5: I want to start a monthly subscription box for crochet. This one is absolutely crazy but I want to. I don’t subscribe to any because I simply do not enjoy the types of projects they come with. I have zero use for fingerless gloves or small little dolls that I’ll just end up giving to the cat to play with and if I see one more box that has a messy bun beanie pattern in it I may just come unglued. Aside from wanting to curate a box that will yield something tangible, I have someone extremely close to me who I love very much that suffered a horribly tragic and violent event in her life. Before the event took place she was independent and had to rely on no one but herself. Before she could leave her house without fear and now that isn’t the case. The fear and anxiety have crippled her and it breaks my heart to see it and not be able to take it away. Doing this won’t make it go away but perhaps it might help her have something to focus on, give her a purpose once again and assist in helping her regain the confidence and pride in earning for herself once again that she’s lost. I have no idea where to start. Perhaps of all the things listed this is the biggest “dreamer idea” of them all but it’s important to me and it’s important to her so I will do my best to research and see if it is even feasible because I want to see her smile, really smile again. If it turns out to be feasible and it is something we can do I’d like to donate a portion of the money earned to an organization that will help other women who have found themselves in her situation.
So there is my list. Julie had her husband and friends to help her push through her journey and Julia had her extremely supportive husband to help her along hers. I’ll ask my family and others that I love to help remind me, or gently nudge me or call me out if I start to slack.
Even now as I stare at the publish button I feel as if I might faint. After further reflection I’ve decided that it may not entirely be dreamer syndrome that I suffer from. Commitment issues might actually be a thing too…