Not on your first try!

That is close to a one-liner from an old 1980s movie, but that has nothing to do with what this post is about. Just a peek inside my head.

I have often started a project, crochet, knit or weave, only to put it away shortly after, for different reasons; too difficult, not enough time, bored…

Then when I did pick up the project again, it was completely different and went so smoothly.

I have 3 projects that I am going to share with you where this has happened to me, all picked back up in the last year.

Lattice Socks

These socks are fun and have lots of cables, though they are 1×1 so no cable needle needed. The first sock went so slow and was tedious. I just couldn’t get my mind around it. I had my chart, that I had drawn. I drew it so that the pattern would stick better, Dana has a chart in her pattern.

Sock two I made a different chart where the middle cable leans the other direction. Then I put the project down because there wasn’t good time for me to focus on it. Recently I needed a project to work on during church, I was going to start a new pair of socks and remembered these socks. I really need to finish these socks, it’s been over a year. So I pulled it out, took some time to get familiar with it and it was so easy. After working a couple repeats of the chart I understood all the cables and could work the 8 round repeat without the chart. I finished that second sock in just two weeks of knitting during church and Bible study.

HERE is the link to my finished project.

Fading Shawl

Another project where I was following line by line and stitch by stitch. I had stickies and a row counter so that I could keep up with where I was. I don’t remember why it was put away, but it was for a while.

I pulled it back out for a road trip to Colorado in April this year. Again, why was I so befuddled? Even this pattern became predictable for me and I sailed through it during my morning stitching time.

HERE is a link to my finished project.

Inkle loom band

During the pandemic I learned in a very small class, 6 of us, how to weave on an inkle loom. We had to wear a mask the whole time and eat lunch in our cars. Anyway, I still have that band and my husband made me an inkle loom that I have tried to use a couple of times but never really got there again. I finally decided it was time to do this or move on. I warped the loom and chose a draft.

I worked diligently each morning but I had to look at the draft for every pick and couldn’t read what I had just done. My edges were also messy. The yarn is wool but it did well.

It sat and stared at me for probably 6 months before I decided okay here we go. It was the same time of day that I chose to work on it before. I had lost the draft and decided not to look for it in the book but to learn to read the weaving.

It worked! I was able to see where I was and where I was going. My edges are still a bit messy and the wool still held up, Brown Sheep Nature Spun sport if anyone is curious. I finished this band in a week! It will probably not be used for what I had planned but it was good practice.

A BEGINNER MOMENT

I was the last in my family to learn to crochet. I had only been crocheting for a couple of months when I decided to make a blanket. This was before the internet and especially YouTube so everyone worked from patterns pretty much from the beginning.

I made the chain for the blanket but Row 1 wouldn’t work no matter what I did. I went to my Mom’s, where my sister still lived and she was the only one home at the time. She tried, more than once and was getting the same result I was.

Mom got home from work and wondered what we were doing. We showed her that this pattern is messed up and we can’t figure it out. She didn’t even shower first we had her so curious. She sat down with my hook, yarn and the book. We said nothing to her, we didn’t want to mess anything up. She got to the end of Row 1 and asked how far we were getting before we had problems. We told her we couldn’t get Row 1 to work.

I grabbed another skein and showed her on a shorter chain because it was happening within the first 20 chains. I did it, same problem. Then she read it to me and I had no problem. Turns out my sister and I were not completely understanding the repeat marks and we were missing a section.

If you encounter something like this and you don’t have someone nearby, email me, I’d be glad to help. We can jump on Zoom even if you’d like.

While I don’t understand the “why” I’m thankful to have these stories and know that if I put something down for a while and come back later, there’s a good chance I will “get it” on the next try.

Join us next time to talk about carding wool!

Until then…

Happy making!