by Bailey Rankin, Student Reporter
You are starting down at a sheet of paper with complex equations on the page, the sort of equations where numbers and the alphabet start to mix.
You are completely lost. In a fit of silent rage you look up and notice something peculiar, your professor is crocheting. Your professor is Dr. Mary Riegel, Associate Professor of Mathematics at Northwestern Oklahoma State University.
Dr. Riegel has been fiber arting for as long as she can remember. Her grandmother taught her how to crochet when she was four, she learned how to knit when she was seven, she’s been weaving for at least a decade and quilting for even longer. “Fiber art is just something that I do constantly. It’s my relaxer.” Riegel said.
Due to her fiber art hobbies Dr. Riegel has also celebrated I Love Yarn Day for several years. With this in mind, and at the request from a few of her students, Dr. Riegel decided to celebrate I Love Yarn Day with those who may have an interest in crocheting and hold a workshop on Oct. 12. Those in attendance will learn the basics of crocheting such as stitches and establish a solid foundation that Reigel hopes they will take home and work into their everyday lives. “I’m going to be spending the day with yarn in my hands either way, so I might as well be having fun with it and teaching someone else something that they will have fun with for years to come.” Riegel said.
Riegel says she has noticed these skills have started to make a comeback, noting new patterns and colors that try to update what she says can sometimes feel like your grandmothers hobby. She says she has noticed celebrities have gotten into this resurgence and feels that that has contributed to crocheting resurfacing. She also feels that this is a valuable skill to have for a multitude of reasons such as: the sense of accomplishment that comes from a completed project, entertaining oneself without a screen and the dexterity that comes with practice.
Riegel thinks that the workshop will be helpful because, “Sometimes being in the room and learning with someone can be really positive and really reaffirming.” She says her role that day will be as a voice of reassurance and to let the attendees know that she can be a resource if they have questions in the future.
“The biggest thing I wanted to try and do with I Love Yarn Day is to just get people to try something new… to pick up a new hobby. Something that is outside of your comfort zone… Try something new because you never know when you will stumble upon your thing”, Reigel said.
The I Love Yarn Day workshop will take place on Oct. 12 from 10:00 a.m. to noon in the Science Building Amphitheater. There is a five dollar attendance fee and seating is limited. For anyone interested in attending, contact Dr. Riegel at (580) 327-8437 or mriegel@nwosu.edu.