Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Skill Levels

Over on the CGOA discussion board, they have been chatting about skill levels on patterns.  I personally don't like them. I think that most people underestimate their abilities and skills and may pass up a pattern that they really want to do because someone who does not know them tells them this pattern is hard.
The only hard thing about the pattern is reading it. If you've crocheted for very long, you know the basic stitches. The designer will have notes on special stitches. You might want to practice them before you start if you are not familiar with that particular sequence of yarn overs. It is just a matter of putting them together to make something useful, or pretty, or just plain silly!
So, in my NSHO, the difficulty in a pattern is the reading. And like any skill, it only gets better with practice.
  • Slow down: you need to really read and follow each word of the directions.
  • Don't anticipate:  the repeats are not as easy as in other patterns. There are usually more than one per row or round. I've been known to use hi-lighters so I can quickly see what my next instruction is.
  • Create something wonderful. 
  • Then slap yourself on the back for stretching your skills.  
  • And go to Crochet Partners, or CGOA and brag about your accomplishments. 

Monday, February 01, 2010

Heart Shaped Afghan

Periodically someone on CP is looking for a heart shaped baby ghan.  Hard to believe that no one has ever designed one.  So, I decided to be a hero and do one.  Unh!  I have looked for and printed every rendition of crocheted heart shapes I can find, as a starting point for an afghan;  bookmarks, pillows, sachets, potholders, dishcloths, whatever I could find.
These all work great to a point, then as it gets bigger, it morphs into something that only vaguely resembles a heart.  I have been playing with this for a couple of weeks, and am no closer now than when I started.
But--don't give up!  I'm not.  I'm sure I can't get anything done before Valentine's this year, but I'm going to keep trying.  Nothing like a challenge.  Right?