For my oral history project, I decided to work with the señoras from the knitting circle at Casa Familiar. It was a really beautiful experience and everytime I went there was a lot of positive energy within the space which leaves you wanting to come back. The first time I went, I didn’t bring anything to crochet with and I just listened to their stories. They have a lot of knowledge and experiences to share and they do so while they crochet/knit. I told them I was going to come back with all my crochet materials so I can join them. Sometime along the way I thought, dang I don’t know how to crochet, how am I gonna do this? I asked my mom how to do it because she used to do it, but she didn’t really know how to do it either. When I came in the next week, I sat down with them and I was trying to remember how my mom told me to do it, but I couldn’t figure it out. The señoras saw that I was struggling and they offered to help me and to teach me. The señora who taught me, María, started off the first part of this scarf. She did the beginning and the first two rows as I watched her hands and tried to learn. I eventually got the hang of it and they encouraged me and said that I would get it eventually. And I did! This piece is a collective effort, from the señoras, my friends who helped guide me, the spaces I was able to work on this project in, and myself. I worked on this project while being around others, while being in community, at a party, in my class, etc. I was talking to people while making this, I was interacting with others throughout the process. The process of creating this piece is woven into the piece itself, it’s not just about how it turned out but about what I was able to listen, learn, and laugh about while I was making this. My scarf is uneven, one side is bigger than the other, it gets thinner at some point too. It’s not perfect and it is a work in progress.
