Crochet

Um... yeah, that up there is my first recent attempt at crochet. I can't say it's my first attempt ever, but it's been a while since I tried to learn, and preveius attempts were... well, they didn't go very well. As much as I love artsy stuff like drawing and painting, I have a lot of trouble with things that require the use of a pattern . Or hooks. Or needles- I'm trying to knit, too, but I'm going to need outside help on that one. The crochet is starting to look better, though:


That double crochet square is now a blanket for Ike's toy duck- he's been pushing the duck around in a baby buggy with its "bwoo bwankit" for a few days now. Good to know nothing's being wasted.


...and here's the latest attempt, the half double crochet. See? I'm getting better! I'm going to have more crocheted squares in the house than I know what to do with (anyone need something to set hot dishes on?), and the thought of actually trying to make something using a pattern still terrifies me, but I'm getting there.

Next lesson: Treble crochet. That, I can do. Kind of concerned about what comes after, but we'll get there when we get there, right?

So, here's the start of the list of stuff I want to learn to do in the near future (the start of it, anyway):

-crochet
-knit
-canning
-sew clothes for the kids
-make braided rag rug
-gardening

I think that's pretty ambitious, actually. Some day I'll be able to add "chicken-keeping" to that list, as well as basic carpentry, but not for a while- at least until after we move. Major gardening will have to wait, too, but we can at least start on that this summer, even if it's a complete failure- er, learning experience.

And what do all of these things have in common that makes them hard for me to learn? There's next to no "I meant to do that" factor in them. If I'm painting something and I make a mistake, I can either paint over it or change other things so it will look like I meant to do it that way. Not so much with crochet or knitting, where dropping a stitch and not noticing right away can set you back several hours. If I forget to water the garden or don't give the soil enough drainage, all of that work can be ruined, too. What can you do, though? They're all good things to learn how to do, and the only way to learn (other than procrastinating about the housework by reading extensively on these topics) is to get in there and do them, mistakes be damned.