Tag: challenge

You know what I love about cooking? I love that after a day when nothing is sure (and when I say nothing, I mean nothing), you can come home and absolutely know that if you add egg yolks to chocolate and sugar and milk, it will get thick. That’s such a comfort.

“Chick flicks” are hit or miss with me, but I do love Julie & Julia. (In no small part thanks to this guy and this lady, who also made this movie a favorite of mine.) The quote above really resonates with me, because it can apply to any hobby or passion. If you love something, then it can provide a lot of comfort to you when everything else is unpredictable.

With that being said, you don’t always get the results that you expect – even with your favorite hobby. The chocolate cream pie that Julie makes in the film may turn out beautifully 99 percent of the time, but not always. Likewise, my craft projects don’t always come out exactly how I envisioned. But that doesn’t make the process any less rewarding.

I’ve had to make some modifications as I have worked on my latest projects, for example. The “mini” and mega doilies that I am making for an upcoming contest were originally supposed to be identical. But circumstances (the store running out of thread, and a diameter that was quickly surpassing the contest guidelines) have forced me to reimagine how these will turn out.

I’m still excited about the idea, though, and every modification helps me get better at improvising and will (hopefully) ultimately help me to design my own creations one of these days (years?). As much as I am enjoying the projects, I am also looking forward to the next big thing. It’s way past time to get out the knitting needles again.

My next projects are the product of my overachieving nature. I am getting ready to enter some knit and crochet items in a local contest. Last year was my rookie year in this contest, and I had some beginner’s luck. Just enough to get me fired up to go again this year. 🙂

Part of the entry for this contest involves paying for tags. The thing about the tags is that you buy them in increments of 10. You don’t have to use 10, but you have the tags. I had 18 items (I know) to enter, and just under a month until the contest. Two unused tags. Sitting there smugly. Mocking me.

I looked through the remaining categories and came up with an idea for an experiment that would be interesting and give me two more entries in categories that I hadn’t already entered. While perusing Ravelry, I have seen quite a few blankets that have been made from doily patterns. They’re elegant and unique, but I haven’t really had a reason to make one. Until now.

Presenting my own personal “Mini” Doily & Mega Doily Challenge (mini in quotation marks because the finished doily is actually a decent size), to be made from the Sunburst Pineapple Doily pattern. Using #10 crochet thread (Aunt Lydia’s in River Blue) and Aran-weight yarn (I Love This Yarn in Antique Teal), I am making two versions of this pattern: one an afghan, one a centerpiece.

I picked this pattern because it is relatively flat, and isn’t too lacy to be an effective afghan. Plus, it’s also pretty in its original thread crochet form. I crocheted the first few rounds on each one separately, and am now proceeding round by round, switching between projects. Let me tell you now that this makes every round seem ridiculously long.

Here’s the project after ten rounds. Fingers crossed that they both turn out!