From Jmarie Gray

Jmarie Gray (with her granddaughter Tooter)

I started crocheting 52 years ago. My grandmother taught me her stitches and patterns. My grandmother was Choctaw Indian and my mother raised me as white child. None of her patterns have ever made it to publish or internet...... yet, they are still stuck in my brain.

I crochet squares for my friend Pam who takes the squares and makes them into afghans for the Elders/Children on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation through her group. My first year with Pine Ridge Reservation, I was with a group who did Challenges. My Challenge was Crocheted Hats. I made 200 for kids and 300 for Elders in 10 months. I did a Challenge once with Pam's group. For every 50 squares she got from other members, I would send 100 squares--the square was my choice.

After that I joined a group in New Orleans to help with the Katrina victims by making squares. I made 1,500 squares for that group. When this group closed after 2 years, I was referred to the Yahoo group Loveafghans4prr and been there ever since.

I enjoy making afghans and squares for the Reservation. I do not use any colors with white (variegated) or white as most of the Indians don't have any washing machines. They wash in the creeks.  I sponsored a lady up there who lived in a Tipi. That was so cool, I learned a lot. It's hard to get the Indian people to trust the whites (as they call us) as they say all whites "LIE".  I know there are other Reservations who could use help, but it's hard just getting your foot past the door.

In 3 years I have almost completed 22,750 squares (still lack 484 to finish). It seems that last little bit takes the longest to do. Somehow, and I didn't think it was possible, I have grown a little tired of squares. So I've gone back to working on my afghans. I have 1 that I work on from time to time for a lady up north (non-reservation) who has a type of blood cancer.

Why do I make the squares? 'Cause I want to! and I feel that I am giving something back. I've been told that Crochet is a dying art. I missed out on my grandmother's culture being raised in a different race group and I have always felt that the Indians have gotten the short end of the stick especially from our government. If you think you can trust our government, ask an Native American Indian (and they were here first).

I get a bit of Acrylic yarn donations from women who find yarn in bargain stores, Goodwill etc. etc. or they come to me in small balls. I don't turn down donations, but there is lots of yarn that I have bought or a friend will buy for me.  I'll bet you there are quite of bit of people that have yarn balls stuck somewhere they don't know what to do with........... send them to me.

How do I pick where to stop? I don't really pick any number where to stop. Some balls are small.  However many squares I get out of that ball is ok with me. It might be 2 or it might be 20. I try to make at least squares 20 of every color I have. And when I get tired of that color, I move on to a different one. I had a gallon ziploc bag of circles in red, there was 102 in that bag. So I evened it out to 105. I just stop where I want to stop, there is no certain amount. But after 15,750 I figured that would be a good number to stop at.

I also make tacked lap quilts and lap afghans for a local Kidney Dialysis Clinic here in my town. There are 2 clinics. Some people prefer the quilts and some prefer the afghans. They stay at the clinics. I have made quilts for the elders. I go to my Hotels here in town & get free sheets that they can no longer use. Bring them home and get ready to set up in the yard to dye the sheets. The sheets will be the back of the quilts. I use old blankets/bedspreads/fleece whatever I can find to use for the middle of quilts (needs to be warm). So I've made the top, got the blanket in the middle & a dyed sheet for the bottom. I put my quilts together on the patio and tack/tie them out on a frame.

I also enjoy gutting and tearing down old wooden houses, barns and sometimes sheds. I use the wood for Repurposing Furniture.  And if that's not enough, I care for my grandkids after school, on holidays and school breaks. I get paid a little for this. It helps to get yarn or mail a box out to Pam.