Finding friends

Deputy Monica Harris of the Hood County Sheriff's Office found herself searching for a reason to smile during the COVID-19 lockdowns.

“I started rollerblading on the trail again, seeing folks out and about, and knowing how hard it was for me ... I knew it was hard for others. While rollerblading I thought, ‘What can I leave out to make folks smile?’”

With a passion for creating — from rock painting (MoniRocks) to Zentangle, from embroidery to vinyl work, from drawing to cake pops and from epoxy tumblers (MoniCups) to card making (MoniCards) and crochet — Harris knew she wanted to create something original to leave for others to find.

As a member of Hood County Rocks, a group that leaves painted rocks around Hood County, Harris knew the value such a group added to the community. In fact, Harris has left hundreds of painted rocks and has left them in multiple states.

“I have generally made them in a blue line theme, or the badge of the department I worked for at the time,” explained Harris.

The deputy was also aware of the worldwide movement “Random Acts of Crochet Kindness.” Its Facebook group focus is on leaving crocheted creations behind for others to discover.

With her experience running a group for her crocheted hats, Harris settled on creating a Facebook group focusing on Hood County and crochet and “Hood County Random Acts of Crochet Kindness” (HCRAOCK) was born.

The first creation to be left behind would be Harris’ little “worry worms.”

The singular mission of HCRAOCK is to make others smile. The method by which this is done is leaving small handmade crocheted creations around Hood County for others to find. The hope is that a found creation will bring joy to the new owner. The plan seems to be working.

“Something so simple can bring joy to people when you don’t know the hardships they are going through. He hangs from my rearview mirror and I named him ‘Dwight’ with Monica’s help. I see it every day and it reminds me that there is still good out there,” shared Emma Gray, a thankful recipient of a Harris made Octopi.

Membership in HCRAOCK now numbers over 400.         

“Most of the group are my personal friends. I don’t want to be pushy about the group and I’ve just let it grow naturally. So anyone who isn’t my personal friend are people who joined because they found a creation,” said Harris.

“The group is just for anyone who wants to leave a crocheted creation to make a stranger smile, who finds a crocheted item, or anyone who just likes seeing strangers smile!”

The group has benefits to the creators as well as to those that find the creations. Harris has been crocheting for many years. She says she was fortunate to be taught by co-worker Julie Hamilton when she was working in Chicago.

Harris asked Hamilton to teach her crochet so she would have something to do on the hour -long bus ride to and from work.

Hamilton agreed to teach Harris to crochet if she would donate her first creation — a baby blanket — to the hospital’s NICU. Harris complied; it would be the first of many things she has given away.

“I like to make things that people will use. Out of all my hobbies, crocheting potholders is the most relaxing and productive,” shared Harris.

“I have ADHD and I find myself constantly needing to keep my hands busy. I can watch TV and crochet. I can also take my work with me wherever without having to pack up supplies. All I need is yarn and a crochet hook,” Harris explained.

HCRAOCK member Ashlyn Fisher agrees.

“I started crocheting at seven, and I’m 30 now. My grandmother taught me as a bonding exercise and I took to it so quickly. Over the years I have progressed from small tiny projects to larger and more complex ones. It has been a hobby as well as a way for me to channel my anxiety into something productive.”

Now Fisher is passing her knowledge on. “I have started to pass this down to my own daughter, and even taught my sister some basics,” she said.

“I haven’t had a chance to put out too many (crocheted creations),” said Fisher.

“I’m a full-time hairstylist here in town, but I plan on putting more (creations) out, whether it’s just handing them out or letting people find them. Just to see the joy on someone’s face is what it’s about. Someone could be having the worst day, and if something like this helps turn their day around, I’m all for it.”

Harris says the hobby is not too expensive — a skein of yarn costs around $5 and will yield several little creations. Many of her patterns are from ravelry.com. Free patterns can also be found at theunknownorchard.blogspot.com.

“My advice, if you want to learn to crochet, is to buy a thick chunky yarn and one crochet hook to start. Then watch lots of YouTube tutorials and find a friend who can teach you in person. If you become addicted like I did, you can then buy more yarn and hooks as needed,” Harris said.

For Harris, there are additional benefits.

“There are so many negatives in the world, so I knew I had a unique opportunity to take my hobby and my career and use it to help bridge the gap between law enforcement and the public.

“I am a deputy for the Hood County Sheriff’s Office. I have been a peace officer for almost nine years now, and I spent a big chunk of that working as the truancy officer for Granbury ISD. When they eliminated peace officers in our school district, I wanted a way to help get the public still excited to see me. Usually we are only around when there’s something wrong.

“When I was a school resource officer, I interacted with kids and their parents every single day. Now, I’ve found a way to keep the public engaged with law enforcement and excited to see a county Tahoe. I drive around during my 12-hour day shift and patrol neighborhoods when I am not dispatched to a call.

“This year I started leaving my crocheted creations (so far either a worm, octopus or a pig) around Hood County while on patrol. I thought instead of the public seeing a county Tahoe and thinking ‘Oh no! What’s wrong in my neighborhood?’ they could think ‘Hey! Maybe that’s Officer Harris (though she is a deputy, Harris is still called officer by many) leaving out a RAOCK!’”

Harris is teased by her lieutenant, "’What are you doing today? Oh that's right, you're going to go litter in the county!’ However, I have full support from my department to continue this journey. My captain, Capt. Jon Berry, messaged me and said ‘I love that you do the random act of crochet kindness. Keep up the good deeds. You never really know just how that act can affect someone's day or even the rest of their life.’”

That rings true for young Lexi Evans, who found a crocheted friend April 16 at the Moore baseball fields. Her mother Lindsey says that every time her daughter goes to the ball fields, she hugs the pole where she found the octopus and says, "I'll remember this pole for my whole entire life!"

Harris says, “I leave a tag on mine, but that’s not a requirement. My tag says “I’m not lost, just alone. If I made you smile, please take me home. If you wish, post a pic of your find on our Facebook page, Hood County Random Acts of Crochet Kindness. #officermonicrochet.”

“I do not leave out the RAOCK for recognition. However, it is pretty cool when you actually know people are excited to find your creations.”