I’ve fallen a bit off the wagon with the posting about my learning project. Not with the project itself! Just with the telling others about it and documenting it. So I plan to double up a bit in the next couple weeks to make up for my slacking. Some of my midterm feedback revolved around needing to add more visuals and links to my blog posts. I really want to only make posts that are great, and visually appealing, and thoughtful, and FULL of INTERESTING LINKS. Which means instead of working on it, I put it off and panic because of how much effort I’ll have to put in. So… here we are a couple weeks behind.
On my last post (linked here), I reflected about how difficult it is to document learning, since it primarily feels like an act put on for others to view, which is very inauthentic for me. I do a lot of self-reflection in my head and don’t like writing things down or parading them for others. A reader commented on my post that they like to ask themselves, “What have I learned throughout this process that isn’t what I can show?” which made me start thinking about the things I know now that I didn’t know at the beginning of January when I started this project.
A non-exhaustive list:
- How to make a magic ring
- How to crochet most simple stuffed animals
- How to crochet in a circle
- How to crochet in a line
- That I prefer to crochet in a line than in a circle.
- How to do a single crochet, half double crochet and double crochet
- How to do increases and decreases
- How to colour change!
- How to change patterns and make adjustments as I see fit, without ruining the project.
- I spend less because every time I see something I like in a store I think, “I can just make that.”
- That my need for perfection results in procrastination and feelings of despair…STILL.
- Getting things done is better than getting things perfect.
- Some yarn is affordable. The yarn I really like… is not.
- You’re supposed to wind the yarn BEFORE you start your project… not when you’re halfway through the skein and it’s a giant tangled mess…
- How to wind a skein of yarn.
- Creativity begets more creativity.
- A lot of my students crochet and we’ve bonded over my ridiculous stuffies.
- There are some absolutely incredible crochet artists on Instagram and Tik Tok
- Youtube is Queen
So… crocheting is amazing and I’m having fun. Remembering to publicly declare my experiences and resource exploration, and post videos and images is hard. But I can handle posting about it for a few more weeks. I definitely see myself continuing this hobby into the summer and possibly.. forever? We’ll see.
Hi Kelsey, I admire your honesty in this post. I have found myself lacking in posting my crochet journey as well even though I have been actively working on it and strengthening my skills. I like that you made a list of things you have successfully achieved throughout your learning project so far and sometimes it’s nice to take a step back and see just how much you’ve learned. I’m so happy for you and seeing all the things you have accomplished as someone who is also doing crochet magic rings and crocheting in a circle are things I’m still working on as they can be hard to find resources that work for me. I also agree that although some yearn is cheaper than others the yarn I’ve been using recently that I really like isn’t the greatest price. Pro tip: if you shop at Micheals always go on their website before you go to the store, or before you check out. This is because 95% of the time they have a coupon for anywhere from 30%-50% off a regular priced item. Sometimes a little savings can go a long way. Thank you again for sharing this update I enjoyed reading it!
Hi Kelsey!
I am so glad my comment was able to help you in the reflection process. I am so proud of you for creating this list, I know how hard the reflecting part can be. You should definitely be proud of yourself! The evident progress you’ve made as defined in your list is really impressive and I hope it gives you a boost of confidence. I can’t wait to see your future posts!
Chayse.