Great Things in Small Packages

Well today I learned a lesson about the importance of using the right tool for the job. I have been working on my Chevron Love Hat, and making some progress, but it's been a bit annoying, since I was fighting my way around double pointed needles with it -- don't get me wrong, I love my double-points, and use them for socks and mitts and all sorts of smallish projects. In this case, the number of stitches on the hat brought them awfully close to the ends of the needles, so I was always stressed about possibly dropping stitches, as well as worried about having the right length of yarn carried between the needles, so there wouldn't be either ladders (carried yarn too long) or puckers (carried yarn too short) between the needles. Last night I realized that it's silly to be so stressed out over what was meant to be a cute little Instant Gratification Project to take my mind off the endless entrelac lap throw. Today I just went out and bought a short little circular (which is what the pattern directed me to use in the first place.) I may never need it again in my life, but the $5 is so worth it, since this project is now infinitely easier and less stressful and will have better memories when it's finished.


The other exciting thing I have to show off today is this itty bitty little skein of yarn which I've spun myself for the first time ever! Whee! Yeah, okay, it goes thick and thin, and parts are underspun and parts are overspun, but in essence, it is yarn. And I made it. Despite my frustration at not being perfect with it the first time around, I am reminding myself that there is a learning curve to every new skill. If I am helping someone else learn to knit, I remind them over and over that while it feels awkward now, and the stitches look weird and uneven, in a few weeks or months, it will feel like second-nature to make those motions, and things will be uniform and lovely. This is the lesson I am reminding myself of when I despair that I am not made to be a spinner. Between my quilting and sewing and knitting, I will keep making tiny little skeins and before I know it, they will be beautiful and worth showing off. This one, I might frame and put it on the wall to remember how it all began.