Dealing with Holiday Pressure

In July I was full of good intentions for completing gifts for Christmas. In October I started a beautiful lace shawl as a gift. At first I was baffled by the pattern. A little time spent on Ravelry helped me understand the pattern and get started.

Then LIFE intruded. The project sat on the back fence for a few weeks. Understanding my true nature, out came the project and I looked at it with more of my left brain. Stitch markers, home made row counter and an Excel file to keep track of where I was helped tremendously. Then yesterday I had a melt down. I think that the stitches are sort of shifting and I lost track of where I was on the row. I have never been one to be able to take the needles out and rip. I have to TINK -- especially since this pattern is all about yarn-overs, and different decreases. Right now I have to TINK 2 rows. So for sure this pattern will be a gift "JUST BECAUSE" in January or February.

Now on to something crochet --

I think that my absolute FAVORITE recent discovery is Foundation Stitches. I love making baby afghans just because. In the summer I attend lots of music concerts that last until after the sun goes down. In California we can experience a fairly amazing temperature change when the sun dips into the Pacific. I learned early on that a sweater or jacket is a must. One of the great things about working on a small afghan is the extra warmth as the project is a great thing.

I would find a pattern I loved and then read the first few rows. If the pattern began ch XXX, the urge to drop the book and run was overwhelming. Reality would set in because avoidance of a pattern that started ch XXX would severly limit what I could do. The solution would be to ch 20 and measure how long that chain was. Then I figured out how long ch XXX would be and that is what I would do. Once the chain was as long as my calculation called for I added 10 extra chains just because. After finishing the second row the extra chains were carefully 'uncrocheted' and the tail was woven in.

I do not remember who told me about 'foundation' stitches. Sometime in late 2008 or early 2009 I discovered the technique. Now when I see ch XXX followed by turn and sc (do or hdc or trch) across I just laugh knowing I only have to do 2, 3 or 4 chains followed by the foundation stitches. When you are doing a foundation stitch you are creating the chain and the stitch at the same time. This is a difficult concept to create in just words. So what are you to do? The best friend for a crocheter without of local resources is YouTube. The best out there are the YouTupe posts by 'Art of Crochet by Teresa'. Her videos are very clear and you can watch them over and over and over and . . . . . .

Look at those patterns you may have been a little hesitant to try because you didn't want to count to a gazillion and get crocheting!