If you haven't already figured it out from my last post, I have a serious problem with being bad at things. When I said that I wanted to already know how to crochet, Meg called me on it, telling me that my perfectionism was going to be the end of me (I'm paraphrasing). She is correct. I am a perfectionist and it is hindering my progress.
You would think that wanting things "just so" would be a good thing, but more often than not I have the tendency to stick with the things that I know I'm already good at. I defend myself by saying that I'm improving upon those things (which is true to some extent), but I'm doing myself the great disservice of not broadening my horizons. If I want to learn something new, I have to be okay with the fact that I'm going to totally suck at it for a while.
The reason I created the Uncrafty blog was to encourage women like me to embrace their creativity and learn a craft they had always been interested in. To stop thinking that it's too late. To not be intimidated by those people who have obviously been doing it a long time. In my experience, quite a few of those talented crafters love the opportunity to share what they've learned.
Mary has, on many occasions, attempted to teach me something new. Looking back (after talking to Meg today) I realize that my fear of doing it wrong often got in the way. Luckily, Mary's cooking lessons did not go to waste (I frequently use her recipes). She also tried to teach me how to knit. I sucked. My first project was laughable and I didn't enjoy doing it, so I stopped. But now I need to get past my insecurities and my need for perfection and just enjoy this experience. Especially if there is a chance that some other uncrafty people will join in the discussion at some point (that's totally a hint, you guys).
To help me on my way, Meg has offered up a picture of her first crochet project for all of us to enjoy. The title of this project is "Cape or Baby Blanket?" Awesome.
She also included a picture of Orlando Weeks. There doesn't need to be a reason for that.
Meg and Mary have both inspired me with their creativity and fearlessness when it comes to taking on something new. Mary knits, crochets, paints, makes jewelry, cooks, bakes, sings, writes, makes whackadoo things with polymer clay and sews her own clothes (because everyone in Genoa is five to ten inches shorter than her). Meg bakes, cooks, sings, crochets, laminates like a mo' fo', writes, handmakes cards and is learning to play ukulele. Both women have completely supported my creativity, even my uncraftiness, and instead of being intimidated by their awesomeness, I feel inspired. Anyone up to embracing the suck with me?
Crafty and Uncrafty folk: Do you have a story about, or a photo of, a first craft project that sucked real bad? Post stories in the comments or email us and we will post it for you.
You would think that wanting things "just so" would be a good thing, but more often than not I have the tendency to stick with the things that I know I'm already good at. I defend myself by saying that I'm improving upon those things (which is true to some extent), but I'm doing myself the great disservice of not broadening my horizons. If I want to learn something new, I have to be okay with the fact that I'm going to totally suck at it for a while.
The reason I created the Uncrafty blog was to encourage women like me to embrace their creativity and learn a craft they had always been interested in. To stop thinking that it's too late. To not be intimidated by those people who have obviously been doing it a long time. In my experience, quite a few of those talented crafters love the opportunity to share what they've learned.
Mary has, on many occasions, attempted to teach me something new. Looking back (after talking to Meg today) I realize that my fear of doing it wrong often got in the way. Luckily, Mary's cooking lessons did not go to waste (I frequently use her recipes). She also tried to teach me how to knit. I sucked. My first project was laughable and I didn't enjoy doing it, so I stopped. But now I need to get past my insecurities and my need for perfection and just enjoy this experience. Especially if there is a chance that some other uncrafty people will join in the discussion at some point (that's totally a hint, you guys).
To help me on my way, Meg has offered up a picture of her first crochet project for all of us to enjoy. The title of this project is "Cape or Baby Blanket?" Awesome.
She also included a picture of Orlando Weeks. There doesn't need to be a reason for that.
Meg and Mary have both inspired me with their creativity and fearlessness when it comes to taking on something new. Mary knits, crochets, paints, makes jewelry, cooks, bakes, sings, writes, makes whackadoo things with polymer clay and sews her own clothes (because everyone in Genoa is five to ten inches shorter than her). Meg bakes, cooks, sings, crochets, laminates like a mo' fo', writes, handmakes cards and is learning to play ukulele. Both women have completely supported my creativity, even my uncraftiness, and instead of being intimidated by their awesomeness, I feel inspired. Anyone up to embracing the suck with me?
Crafty and Uncrafty folk: Do you have a story about, or a photo of, a first craft project that sucked real bad? Post stories in the comments or email us and we will post it for you.
When I first learned how to knit, after the obligatory pot holder phase, 10 year old me decided to knit a sweater for my older brother. I even remember the yarn brand, Scandia. It was royal blue with black stripes running through it and the yarn was thick and thin...very thick and thin. What I didn't know, at that time, was about that pesky little thing called gauge, wherein when you knit a pattern, you must have the same number of stitches per inch as the pattern. Piffle! Who has time for such details! I spent wonderful hours knitting my project, buying more yarn, knitting my project, buying more yarn...and then, it was complete. The perfect size for an overweight linebacker with one arm 14 inches longer than the other.
ReplyDeleteSooo awesome. Thank you so much for sharing that one - made me chuckle. That's right, CHUCKLE.
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