the little happy dance

I have finished my contract piece (drum roll, please). I was beginning to think I wouldn't;) I have to admit, I never tackled a whole suit to crochet. But I do know what I would do differently if I did this pattern again.

1) Rewrite the pattern to suit the way I crochet and comprehend a pattern. I ususally copy the pattern I'm working on and make notes as I go along. This time, I didn't. I should have read the pattern and broken it down - I'm the kind of crocheter when it says "increase 2 pats for next 10 rows", I need to know what my starting number is and what is the final number. I know, sounds silly, but there you are.

2) Use whatever tool is available. When I need to mark a spot in a pattern, Iusually use a different coloered scrap of yarn. I don't normally use stitch holders except to hold pieces of a pattern together, but I definitely needed to use them on this pattern to keep track of what I was doing. It has been a very long time since I cut a pattern from cloth and made and article of clothing. Crocheting the suit is a similiar endeavor, you definitely have to know what piece is supposed to fit where and a stitch holder is good for that. I found the "normal" stitch holders, the ones that look like large diaper pins worked okay.

3) Plan, plan, plan. It never occured to me that it just wouldn't come together quickly. It also didn't occur to me that other aspects of life would go on - illness, work, household emergencies. I _know_ you can't plan for these things, but I should have been more mindful of what time was available to me.

4) Keep in contact with your boss. I was fortunate as the woman I dealt with was quite nice and understanding and generally available to answer whatever questions I had. But I probably should have told her earlier that I wouldn't make the deadline. I just thought if I worked at it a little harder, I'd finish in time. But it goes back to #3, the "plan" part. Some things came up I had no control over.


That's about all I can think of today. I will send it out tomorrow, priority & all that good stuff. I took a break of about an hour (after weaving the ends in) and picked up another hook and began the next project - the "fun fur" scarf my younger sister wants me to crochet for a friend. That, I am happy to report, is coming along well, though I did take it apart a few times. I always have a bit of trouble switching hook sizes - the "fun fur" requires a larger hook than the suit did.

That's it - time for me to go to bed and give the wrists a rest.





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