I’m not the fastest at crochet, or sewing, or knitting, at most things to be honest, but I am quite patient and quite thorough.  As a consequence it means I don’t churn out a vast number of projects in a short amount of time, but when they are completed I am generally quite pleased with the end results.

This week I have finally finished this crochet sweater.  It’s probably been on my hook for a couple of years now, but I made a mistake following the pattern which meant the first front I made didn’t match the back and it had to be completely undone.  As a consequence I became very disheartened.  Back in February I visited Albufeira for a quick break and it was the only crochet I had to hand and fell in love with it again.  It grew super quickly and was one of those great projects that you can do that doesn’t require much by way of thought!  Yesterday I finally completed the sweater.  It fits, always a bonus, and is super roomy!  It needs a press, but on the whole I am really pleased with the end results and can actually see myself wearing it!  It’s a Sirdar pattern but I used Wendy Supreme Cotton to complete the piece.  It was also nice to be using a pattern for a change, as it definitely reduced the thinking time!

Besides the sweater I also started The 100 Day Project.  It began on 3rd April and the basic idea is to select a project of a creative nature and spend some time every day for the next 100 days working on it.  I chose an asymmetrical shawl that I am completing for a project as part of the international diploma in crochet.  I’d like to hope that I will have made significant progress with it in 100 days!  The main reason for me signing up was that I am currently working on a small section of Irish crochet.  I’ve not really done this before, and am enjoying the challenge; enjoying learning new skills, but can see how I would easily ignore it if I didn’t have an incentive to complete it.  Knowing I have to post a picture of my progress each day on to instagram is currently keeping me on track!  I have to say, however, that Day 5 (7th April) was not my greatest!  I started a different flower and did it completely wrong – so despite my posting a photograph of my progress I later pulled it apart and started again!  However, I can say with total seriousness that I learned a lot that day – if only not to waste your best project thread when trying a new pattern for the first time!  I have now managed to complete two days worth of a correct leaf motif!

The wrong version!

The right version!

I’ve made several different types of flowers and although they are small they are building up quite quickly to fill the pattern piece that I have created for this section of the shawl.  The picture with the ruler provides an idea of the sizes of the finished motifs.  This is also giving me the incentive to continue working on it every day as I can see that within a relatively short period of time the most challenging part of the project will be completed.  The 100 Day Project is really keeping me motivated.  I’ve spent the last 3 days working on one section of leaves which will be backing to another flower motif.  Without the project I’m not sure I would have been so committed to it.  This type of accountability doesn’t usually work for me, but I feel I am in the company of some amazing artists and crafters and for once I actually care about looking foolish and the consequences of not following through.  I also want to see what I can achieve if I do actually put my mind to something.

Already I can see that I am progressing at a faster rate than I thought (believe it or not). Even at my current snails pace am hoping that within the first 30 days or so I will have completed this first section of the shawl.  I’m hoping that this will be the most challenging section and that the remainder of the shawl will progress at a faster rate.

Whilst my focus is obviously currently on this piece of work, it’s not ideal for working on in the evening or in front of the TV.  It requires huge amounts of concentration and it is causing me actual headaches – to the point I have started to wonder if I need my eyes testing.  It’s also fairly demanding on my shoulders and so I struggle to work on the pieces for very long – an hour is the absolute maximum.  So I am also working on a pair of socks.  Husband is always asking me to make something for him, and socks seemed a good solution – I’ve always wanted to try making them, and he will gain a pair of socks ready for next winter.  I can only hope that they work out better than the hat I made for him, which was one of my first crochet projects and I didn’t quite get the increases right – it’s what you’d call oversized!!!  But bless his heart he still wears it and has needed it over this past winter!  The pattern I’m using for the socks is Wise Hilda’s Basic Ribbed Sock, a free download from Ravelry, which was recommended to me by a friend at my crafting group in Albufeira as a great introduction to sock knitting.  The sock is actually described as ‘more interesting and better fitting the a plain sock, but not so interesting that you have to pay attention’.  Perfect knitting for spending the evening in front of the TV.  So far, so good and I’m gradually getting the hang of using 5 needles at a time.  It is actually far easier than imagined.  The wool is Aldi sock yarn that I bought a while ago, and it is actually knitting up really well.  I’d definitely buy it again.

So, as you can see, that I am making some progress with my slow and steady methods!  Whilst I do sometimes find it frustrating that I’m not able to work faster, I am starting to appreciate the end results more.