I don't like to give up, but...
I don't like giving up. I'm sure many people will agree with this. There's something satisfying in beginning a project and seeing it through to completion. (The exception to this is books - I regularly give up on a book after just a few chapters if I'm not enjoying it.) I especially don't like giving up with something I think I'm good at - in this case crochet, and specifically the Toft Ed's Animals range. But I've given up with the chameleon.
Quite a while ago, Toft launched chameleon kits with a pattern and gorgeous yarn. They were expensive, so I waited until I could get my hands on just the pattern, which I did a short time later and filed it away thinking I'd make it eventually.
I love the Ed's Animals range of patterns. The birds are my favourite, especially the flamingo. I've made quite a few of the animals by now, as presents for colleagues and friends and as Girlguiding mascots. The patterns are similar in that there are standard body parts and these are adapted for each animal. Whilst they are fiddly (the DK ones are made using a 3mm hook), the final item is worth it.
So a few months ago I sat down one weekend and got out some yarn I'd been given for Christmas and decided it should be a chameleon. I found the pattern and off I went.
It starts with the tail, which is very fiddly as you're crocheting in the round with only a few number of stitches and trying to work out where the stitch even is whilst counting out increases. It went wrong, I started again. Then again. Third time lucky? No, it was sixth time lucky before I got past about round 10. I was not enjoying this.
The tail became the body and when each round had a larger number of stitches it did become easier. The head shaping is clever (as all of Kerry Lord's patterns are): it looked weird to begin with, but after stuffing it had gained its shape and did resemble a chameleon.
Now to the legs. Four required.
I started one. Oh the toes. The little teeny weeny toes. Toes on a chameleon are important, they need to grip onto trees and branches. But the teeny weeny toes. I started over, and over, and over again.
Then I stopped.
Was I enjoying this?
No.
Did I want to make three more legs?
Definitely not.
Was anyone waiting for me to finish the chameleon, perhaps as a present?
No.
Were there other things I wanted to knit or crochet instead?
Of course.
Time to give up?
Yes.
So I cut the yarn, tied it off and put the body and a leg in a bag and there they have stayed since. I'd even forgotten about them until I found them a few days ago when I wanted to use that bag for something else.
I did feel a bit sad about not finishing it. I'm sure the end project is gorgeous (I've seen a few on the internet) but crafting should be about pleasure. It should be about the fun of seeing something appear in your hands. It should be about learning new skills, stitches, techniques. Yes, it doesn't always go right, and a project is rarely without mishap and a bit of frustration along the way, but there should be pleasure involved. Spare time is precious - I don't waste it reading books I'm not enjoying, why waste it on crocheting animals I'm finding too frustrating?
So, lesson learned. Chameleons are not for me. But I gave it a go, and now I have time to make something else. Probably another flamingo.
Quite a while ago, Toft launched chameleon kits with a pattern and gorgeous yarn. They were expensive, so I waited until I could get my hands on just the pattern, which I did a short time later and filed it away thinking I'd make it eventually.
I love the Ed's Animals range of patterns. The birds are my favourite, especially the flamingo. I've made quite a few of the animals by now, as presents for colleagues and friends and as Girlguiding mascots. The patterns are similar in that there are standard body parts and these are adapted for each animal. Whilst they are fiddly (the DK ones are made using a 3mm hook), the final item is worth it.
So a few months ago I sat down one weekend and got out some yarn I'd been given for Christmas and decided it should be a chameleon. I found the pattern and off I went.
It starts with the tail, which is very fiddly as you're crocheting in the round with only a few number of stitches and trying to work out where the stitch even is whilst counting out increases. It went wrong, I started again. Then again. Third time lucky? No, it was sixth time lucky before I got past about round 10. I was not enjoying this.
The tail became the body and when each round had a larger number of stitches it did become easier. The head shaping is clever (as all of Kerry Lord's patterns are): it looked weird to begin with, but after stuffing it had gained its shape and did resemble a chameleon.
Now to the legs. Four required.
I started one. Oh the toes. The little teeny weeny toes. Toes on a chameleon are important, they need to grip onto trees and branches. But the teeny weeny toes. I started over, and over, and over again.
Then I stopped.
Was I enjoying this?
No.
Did I want to make three more legs?
Definitely not.
Was anyone waiting for me to finish the chameleon, perhaps as a present?
No.
Were there other things I wanted to knit or crochet instead?
Of course.
Time to give up?
Yes.
So I cut the yarn, tied it off and put the body and a leg in a bag and there they have stayed since. I'd even forgotten about them until I found them a few days ago when I wanted to use that bag for something else.
I did feel a bit sad about not finishing it. I'm sure the end project is gorgeous (I've seen a few on the internet) but crafting should be about pleasure. It should be about the fun of seeing something appear in your hands. It should be about learning new skills, stitches, techniques. Yes, it doesn't always go right, and a project is rarely without mishap and a bit of frustration along the way, but there should be pleasure involved. Spare time is precious - I don't waste it reading books I'm not enjoying, why waste it on crocheting animals I'm finding too frustrating?
So, lesson learned. Chameleons are not for me. But I gave it a go, and now I have time to make something else. Probably another flamingo.
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