iN PHOTOS: Kelowna man takes up crochet and just can't stop
When Christopher Burton of Kelowna got a shoulder injury that prevented him from playing his guitar, his wife bought him a crochet kit and a monkey pattern to keep him busy and feed his artistic drive.
To their surprise Burton fell in love with crocheting and has been doing it ever since, taking on more technical patterns and custom creations.
“It was a big puzzle getting the stitches to work to make it look like a monkey,” Burton said. “I am a big puzzle fan and with the help of the internet, and trial and error, I’ve become quite proficient at crochet.”
Burton makes a wide variety of creations both from patterns and for custom orders from clothing and kitchen items to figurines and bookmarks to favourite characters from famous old books, cartoons and movies.
The retired couple have too many of the crocheted creations piling up in their Kelowna condo and are looking to get them to good homes.
“We’re getting hit by an avalanche every time we open a closet,” Burton’s wife Colleen Herman said. “We have several creations propped on chairs in the house, theres a monkey here or a little bear there.”
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The crocheted items are listed on Burton’s Facebook page. The cost per item is $5 or $10 plus postage.
“I make enough money to keep me in my yarn,” he said. “It isn’t for profit, it's a hobby. Since we moved here, old friends back in Ontario have been ordering but it is getting expensive to ship. I’d like to provide more to the people in my area.”
Herman is surprised her husband enjoys crocheting so much and “is so good at it.” She wants to reach out to local organizations to find a place for the crocheted items.
“We are interested in donating some to children and women’s organizations,” she said. “We don’t really know yet what the demand is or what the parameters are. The creations are cheerful and up lifting.”
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Burton is a retired chef and calls the crochet patterns “recipes” because it sounds “more manly and cool.”
“It is a bit strange for a fellow like me to be doing this but I do enjoy it and I will keep on going.”
Go here to join Burton's Facebook page and view all of his crochet creations.
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