By Lori EhdeMyrtle Gehrke said she wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for her crocheting needle.It’s not that crocheting has saved her life, but on more than one occasion she said it’s saved her mind."I have to keep busy with my hands," she said. "When I’m crocheting, I have to concentrate on that, and I forget about everything else."At 82, she said her nerves are fragile and if she’s not careful, she’s prone to nervous breakdowns."I’ve had three," she said. "And one time, it was so bad I almost drove my car into the river."But she knows what to do to manage her condition, and she’s convinced that crocheting has kept her healthy and happy to this point."I get so involved with it, and so focused," she said. "Today I almost missed dinner because I was crocheting."Actually, Myrtle’s good at anything involving a needle and thread.She turns out afghans like a one-woman textile factory (she’s made nearly 100 in the past 20 years) and it’s nothing for her to put together a quilt on a moment’s notice.She made one quilt out of all her dresses in 2002 when she moved into Poplar Creek assisted living apartments. "I couldn’t wear dresses anymore because I wear surgical stockings, but now I have this," she said about the colorful, hand-stitched block quilt.But crocheting is her first love.She remembers her mother, Frances Ross, teaching her the art when she was about 10 years old.At 14 she began doing housework for Walt and Violet Anderson, who ran the Gamble Store in Luverne.She remembers spending all her spare time crocheting then, as well as when she and her husband, Orey, ran Orey’s Café for 17 years.In more than 70 years of crocheting, she’s not afraid to say she’s good at it, and there’s not a doily pattern she can’t master.She recently bought a book of doilies. "I’ve done every one in the book," she said.There’s no way of knowing exactly how many doilies, crosses, or lettered names she’s completed through the years.But the countertops and coffee tables in Poplar Creek are graced by Myrtle’s artwork, and she has dresser drawers and boxes under the bed filled with priceless works, including her mother’s tatting.She enjoys giving them away as gifts to friends, family and staff at Poplar Creek. "I can crochet just about anything anybody wants," she said. "One woman just told me she’s always wanted embroidered pillowcases with crocheted lace edging, so I did that for her."While she has arthritis in one leg, Myrtle knows she’s fortunate her hands are limber.And it’s a blessing she hasn’t wasted.Her friends and acquaintances at Poplar Creek have asked her to help them with minor clothing repair and tailoring.She’s peeled 80 pounds of potatoes for Poplar Creek since moving there, and she’s helped frost cookies, too. "They always come to me to do these kinds of things," Myrtle said. "I’ve really had a good time in here."