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Making progress

This little purse is my first ever crochet project! It’s crooked and wonky. My stitches are uneven, and the sides aren’t straight.

Back in May, I asked my friend, Claire, to teach me to crochet. I imagined that by the end of the evening I would be halfway through the cute crochet sweater I had pinned on Pinterest. Instead, I had barely completed two rows of uneven stitches.

How hard can this be? I should at least be able to make a granny square, right?

A few days later, I reluctantly began watching “crochet for absolute beginners” videos on YouTube. I slowly practiced rows of single crochet, then double crochet, then treble. I ripped out rows of stitches and started again. I was annoyed at how long it was taking me to learn.

But after a few weeks of practicing stitches, I was starting to understand how to hold my yarn and move the hook. I made piles of granny squares. They were crooked and uneven. But mostly square.

This past weekend, I took along a backpack full of yarn on our trip to Arizona to give myself something to do while waiting in the airport and on the plane. It probably took me less than a day to complete the purse. But when I look back, I realized I really started back in May, sitting on the couch with Claire as she patiently tried to help me learn how to hold the yarn and hook.

This year has felt a lot like learning to crochet in many areas of my life. I’ve had to go slow. Be patient. Try new things. Give myself grace. Start over. I love learning quickly and going fast, but not everything works that way. I get frustrated and impatient. But it’s also helpful to step back and look at your progress. My little purse isn’t perfect, but it’s a good reminder of how far I’ve come.

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What about you? Are you trying something new this year? Do you tend to beat yourself up for going too slow? Or are you good at looking back at how far you’ve come?

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