‘Multitasking at its finest’: Crocheting while walking leads to friendships

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Ashlea Schumaker began walking about four years ago to lose weight. After losing 60 pounds, she wanted to maintain that but needed to do something to keep her busy during her miles on the sidewalk. So, she began crocheting as she walked.

“The most common comment I get is ‘multitasking at its finest,’ or ‘can you chew gum too?’or ‘can you make me something?'” Schumaker said.

She designs crochet patterns for a living.

“When I’m on my morning walks, I kind of think of that as a morning meeting where I just figure out what I’m going to crochet for the day or what I’m going to work on or what I’m going to publish that day or however it works out,” Schumaker said.

Starting out, she was walking three miles a day, but that grew to six, which gave her enough time to finish a project.

“Usually, if I start something, I can usually finish it by the time I’m done, depending on what it is,” Schumaker said. “I can make several beanies on one walk, or I can make a washcloth. What I can accomplish in one walk usually has to deal with how much yarn I’m going to use. So if I bring one ball of yarn, I can usually get through one entire skein of yarn in one walk, depending on what it is.”

Schumaker has always been a multitasker.

“I always have to have multiple things going at once,” Schumaker said. “So I have multiple projects. I have multiple everything. So the multitasking aspect of it, like being able to take care of my body and walking and being healthy that way, and then also meeting new people and accomplishing things and getting things finished.”

Her multitasking stands out, bringing her friends along the way. She also makes things for her friends’ walks.

“When I first started, I didn’t really talk to anyone, and we did ‘good morning,’ and that was about it,” Schumaker said. “But now, there’s probably a dozen people that we stop and talk every day. So my walks are taking longer now, but it’s also really nice to get out and meet people and get that connection with the community.”

“I have seen Ashlea and just been taken aback by how beautiful her work is,” Chris Griebling said. “And so I just started asking her some questions and seeing what she was making and what she was doing. She just amazes me with her talent. I just love to watch watch what she comes up with.”

There are multiple people she sees every morning, and each time she passes them, she makes a little more progress.

“Usually, when I start my walk, I start my project, and by the end of it, it’s either finished or a very large piece,” Schumaker said. “If you’re there, you see me start it, and then at the end, I’ve got this huge piece of fabric that I’ve crocheted.”

Griebling says she looks forward to seeing Ashlea and what she’s working on each day.

“I used to see her, and the yarn would be dragging behind her,” Griebling said. “It was neat to see how somebody could multitask so many different things.”

They say the people they see on their walks are like a special little family.

“I enjoy seeing everybody that we run into at the park, and everybody’s on a first-name basis now,” Griebling said. “You look forward to that. We watch out for each other.”

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