I’m in my Grandma Era
Hot grandmas crochet the day away
BY DANIELLE CROOM WITH ART BY MEGAN BORMANN
If you or a loved one are suffering from symptoms such as: excessive crafting, spontaneous urges to bake, chronic tea drinking, and voluntarily going to bed at 8:30 PM, you may be in your grandma era. Most people go through a grandma era at some point in their life, whether it happens in your late teens or early 60’s. For those of you who are not intimately familiar with the experience, it’s quite simple. The grandma era is a period of life dedicated to comfort and creation.
Mine started in the throes of the pandemic, when I had hours upon hours with nothing to do, much like a retired old lady. Naturally, I decided to pick up crochet, having already learned embroidery, sewing, and knitting. Okay, I admit, maybe my grandma era started earlier than I thought. Regardless, my first project was the Harry Styles JW Anderson sweater (you know the one), and I’ve never looked back. From then on I devoted my plentiful spare time to endearingly sloppy crochet. I added baking bread, drinking herbal tea, and scrapbooking to my regimen before my grandma asked if I wanted to take some of her hand-me-down clothes. That was the moment I accepted myself as a young grandma. I, of course, took the clothes.
It’s not just me either–there are hundreds, if not thousands of young grandmas out there. And it can happen to anyone. This phenomenon is likely a continuation of COVID crafting, combined with the rise in popularity of thrifted aesthetics. I know I have my fair share of shabby sweaters that I swear “have potential”. But there is also a mindset that accompanies the grandma era. In a world where everything moves at high speed it is a choice to slow down and take the time to savor small things, whether it be a morning coffee chat with an old friend or watching a scarf slowly spiral out of your knitting needles.
More than anything, the grandma era is about learning to be alone and content, or at the very least keeping your hands busy. Behind each gifted handmade sweater is a fortnight of rhythmic tactile work. So whenever I feel the urge to get cozy all by my lonesome, I turn on a rerun, make myself a cup of chamomile, and bust out the crochet hooks. Oh, and by the way, if you have a grandma that’s still around, give her a call; keeping in touch with your bingo buddies is an essential part of any grandma era.