Wednesday, September 4, 2019

Hobbies should be FUN!

I am joining in several crochet-alongs this month because I find that I get more projects finished when I follow along. Some times, I like to start a CAL later after a few weeks have gone by because I need some color inspiration from others and waiting means I have a chance to look at all of the gorgeous pictures shared online on social media.

However, one thing I am noticing recently is that people are posting that they "can't do it" or that they don't know what colors to choose or they can't afford the yarn the designer has picked out for a project, etc. ... people seem sooooo stressed out by something that should be fun! Hobbies are meant to be enjoyed - they are usually something that we CHOOSE to do because we like it.

Crochet shouldn't be stressful!!

I am not after perfection in my finished projects. I have mistakes in EVERY SINGLE item I make - a missed stitch here which I make up somewhere else, wrong count on a row which I fix on a following row and so on. Rarely do I frog (rip out) the error ... I just keep going and fix it down the road. Crochet is very forgiving that way - LOL!

I have learned so much this year by trying patterns that seemed difficult ... many of them weren't as hard as they looked! I no longer care if I have a ton of ends to weave in because I've chosen a particular pattern to make. It's just a part of the design process. I also don't worry about making a mistake. I either fix it or I frog it. I recently started a scarf and I'm about 1/5 of the way into it, but I have realized that it is too narrow. I am going to frog it and start over ... I will only have lost a few nights of crochet - no biggie! - it will look better once I make the changes and I'll be happier with the final result.

I will keep trying new techniques and projects in crochet because I want to GROW in my knowledge of my favorite hobby. I don't want to be limited by what I THINK I can do ... I know that I can do anything if I just keep trying. If a project isn't fun, I frog it and start something else. Who wants to spend weeks making something when they aren't enjoying the process? That doesn't sound like a fun hobby to me!

I hope that hobbyists will figure out what makes them happy with their hobby and pursue those adventures. However, I also hope that people will continue to push themselves just a little bit to learn something new in their chosen hobby because it can open up so many new projects for them if they just try something to see if they like it. Often getting through daily life is stressful enough ... we don't need to be adding more stress to our lives in our free time!

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