I consider myself to be pretty good at crochet. I can figure out patterns and my stitch-knowledge is significant. I wouldn't call myself an advanced crocheter, but I’m comfortable saying I'm an intermediate crochet.  After this experience, I have nothing but respect for hand crocheters of fine lace and I'm going to continue to encourage you to work with your yarn before you make your project.

As part of my 100 Days of Creating project, I decided I wanted to try something new.  I decided to make a spiral flower with LB Collection Wool Stainless Steel.  I’ve used fine and lace weight yarn before, but never something so thin.  (LB Collection Wool Stainless Steel is more like a thread than a yarn.)  Still, I felt confident, so I broke out my teeny steel crochet hooks (size US1/1.5mm) and got to it, planning on making a silvery spiral flower. ​I cannot believe how long it took me to make an ugly little flower.  (Sorry, flower, it is not your fault that you are ugly, it is mine.) The pattern I was working with wasn’t terribly complicated and the yarn quality was great, but I couldn't do it.

First of all, I could barely see what I was doing.  I made my crochet stitches by feel and muscle memory. But when I looked over my work, I'd see my stitches and I'd undo them.  I started over and over.  I was so unhappy with my work, but I persisted and over 2.5 hours later, I ended up with the poor little dud above.  You couldn’t even tell it was supposed to be a flower -- it just looked like a thin, gray hairball.  I was beaten.  I couldn’t do it.  And I cannot think of a time this has ever happened before.  I’ve always been able to make something work usually through sheer, stubborn persistence, but not this time.  So I have new respect for people who crochet items like this by hand.  It is super difficult and time-consuming and should be very expensive because it can really only be done by masters.  You can see more examples here.  

I tried again using a thicker lace weight yarn -- Darn Good Yarn Recycled Silk.  Using a US 1/2.35mm hook, I made the very same spiral flower.  I accomplished this very quickly.  I like how it looks although I’m not sure this yarn really shows off the spiral.  Mind you, I LOVE this Recycled Silk, but I think the color changes distract from the flower shape. ​

Finally, I found some shimmery pink mystery yarn in my stash.  I thought it suited this flower so well, I made another (although I slightly adjusted it -- can you see the difference?)  The shimmery pink yarn shows the stitch details and highlights the spiral nature of this flower beautifully. ​

​So, you know how you’re always told to swatch?  You really should do it.  Swatching gives you a feel for the yarn as well as how the yarn looks knit up and I strongly encourage it.  However, if you’re not into making random swatch-squares, you can also make little flowers in the yarn.  Seeing the same stitches in different yarns is a game-changer.

In any case, what do you think of these flowers?  Do you agree that the pink yarn looks best?  Also, have you ever been defeated by your project?  What was it?  What did you do when you realized your yarn wouldn’t work? ​

The solution came from Elise Blaha Cripe.  Elise has a podcast called Elise Gets Crafty.  I appreciate her sharing her creative process and enjoy her thoughtful interviews.  (You should really give her a listen.)  In episode 101, “On the 100 Day Project”, Elise and designer Allie Lehman discussed the challenges they set for themselves (Elise did 100 days of pep talks and Allie did 100 days of paintings) and how they felt during and after the completion of the challenge.  While I enjoyed hearing about their 100 Day Projects, I wasn’t motivated to start one myself.  However, Elise and Allie discuss their challenges further in podcasts number 119 and 125.  Both felt the experience was sufficiently rewarding to commit themselves to another 100 Day Project.  They also discussed how they limited their projects to prevent them from being overwhelming.  This intrigued me and after thinking about how to keep myself motivated, I decided to start an 100 days of crafting challenge for myself.  This way, I’d be able to keep crafting and stay active on social media, but not take too much time away from my pattern-translations and additional obligations.  You can read more about the project on Elise's blog here.  


So, my challenge is to engage in 100 days of Creating.  I will make something every single day for the next 100 days.  The projects will be small, allowing me to look at new patterns and learn new skills, but not occupy my entire day.  I started today, August 5 and will end on November 12.


So, here is my first project.  I made a few flowers.  Do you like them? Which is your favorite?