Mistakes

Not without mistakes.  Many pieces I make contain mistakes.

This is because by habit, my method of working is to push through a mistake and see what happens.  In some mediums this is a very good thing indeed, leading to happy accidents and surprises of great excitement.

But crochet is a somewhat mathematical discipline where a lack of imperfection is more pleasing to the eye.

As you trawl the net, you will see crochet presented in all its perfect symmetrical glory.  How come my crochet never looks like that?

Well I am actually taking pleasure in all those niggly little mistakes created by my own hands.  Here is my snowflake that looks more like a sea creature, and one with 5 sides

Why do I like mistakes?  Because my unhealthy perfectionist tendencies are getting beaten back with a stick.  A humble reminder that I am human, and humans make mistakes.

On a recent trip, I picked up this

Mistakes CF Hankinson  Leeds Postcards

It made me smile and drew a nice connection to my experiments in learning crochet.

So how do all these people turn out such utterly flawless finished work?  One of the best things about crochet is that it is so easy to rewind, undo and start again.  You just have to pull a string.