Highland Falls’ Kathy Jones will never be cold. In fact, neither will her friends or family.
Jones, a lifelong resident of the community, may be the most prolific crocheter on this side of the Hudson River … knocking out soft, sweet, colorful baby afghans in just four hours; copious mittens, scarves, hats, ear warmers, doll clothes, pillow covers, and Christmas tree skirts and stockings; and large, gorgeous afghans in just a matter of a few days.
To prove it, her crocheting pretty much has its own room in her home — a corner is piled high with her blankets, chairs have various pieces of completed works on them; and tables have works in progress. Even her two dogs — George and Jake — have their own afghan to sleep on.
Jones has been crocheting nearly a half-century, starting when a family friend taught her when she was just 10. She recalls struggling with the crochet hook as a young girl, bracing it against her body and using her fingers to wrap the yarn around it for a simple chain stitch, but now whizzes through the most complicated patterns. In fact, the more complicated it is, the more she seems to want to try it. She’s just completed several ‘mile a minute’ afghans in holiday colors that are made with double strands of yarn, so they turned out thick and warm.
“I’m keeping this one,” she says, ” but I think XXX will get this one for Christmas.”
(XXX is, of course in lieu of a name — we can’t give away her holiday secret!)
“I love to give things I’ve made to people,” she says. “I love the look on their faces when I tell them it’s for them.”
Jones can’t even begin to remember how many afghans she’s made in her lifetime, but notes that she’s seen growth in her work through the years.
“I have hundreds of patterns in binders from through the years, but also use the internet — Pinterest, for instance — to find new patterns.
And while there are lots of ‘fancy’ patterns out there, she says she often goes back to the classic ‘ripple’ stitch that her grandmother taught her, especially for baby blankets.
So, when you have a pile of your work already done (think back to her pile in the corner), why keep going?
Jones says the hobby keeps her mind and fingers occupied as she deals with an often debilitating condition in her legs that makes it difficult some days to stand or even sit. She finds reclining on her bed, with her needle and a skein of yarn “keeps me from thinking about the pain”.
She admits to often getting carried away, crocheting late in the night to finish a project, or a portion of one.
“But during the day I take crochet breaks to do crafts,” she laughs.
She often gives her works away, sometimes to groups who need something to raffle off, sometimes as gifts, sometimes to veterans groups who put out a call for blankets. She’s also got a little bit of a business going — while she’s done some craft fairs, mostly she sticks to posting pictures of what she’s made on Facebook and often people reach out to her to ask to either buy whatever it was (holiday pillow covers this past weekend) or commission their own ideas (very often baby afghans).
Is there anything she doesn’t like to crochet? Not necessarily, but she will tell you that crocheting with black or any dark color yarn is a challenge, simply because it’s hard to see. She also says while she loves the look of crocheted together squares in an afghan, they take longer to do because they not only have to be made, but sewn together.
Jones is not a single-talent type of girl — she also creates crafts made out of scrap wood, is a photographer, both nature, events and family shoots, and enjoys creating seasonal displays. But, crocheting is her first love.
Here’s another question: 47 years since she first started crocheting, one might wonder if she remembers the first thing she ever created?
The answer is “yes”.
“I made some very long chains that my brother used as ropes for his action figures,” she laughs.
On that note, Jones had to end the interview … she had crocheting to do!
(Editor’s note: to get in touch with Jones about crocheting, use Facebook — she’s Kathy Roberts Jones in that venue. Her photography page is Kathy Jones Photography.)
