Not always

I had a sweet letter the other day from a fellow crafter who was praising me for "always making such beautiful things".  I had to giggle because obviously she was not privy to this currently creation that was sitting on my counter.

You see, I wanted to learn something new so I decided to attempt charted color work.  I have never done it - knit or crochet - so this was an adventure.  I grabbed my graph paper notebook that I purchased several months for exactly this and sat down.  Disappointed that I totally forgot to pick up colored pencils, I grabbed a pen and simply shaded in the squares where I thought the color would go.  Pleased with my new graph, I grabbed two colors from my stash and set to work.

The inside looked good, the outside was almost recognizable as snowflake...

I was thinking I was doing okay... then it dawned on me how wonky it was getting the further along I went.  I stuck with it because I figured it would be best to go on, using my limited skills, and figure what I did wrong at the end.  It was just scrap yarn and that is what scrap yarn is there for - practicing.  I also knew that this was going to my mama and she would love it regardless if looked like a snowflake bag or a Rorschach test.  Here is the end result...

Definite Rorschach test result but now it can be a game AND a bag that holds ornaments.

I get a giggle out of it but in a way, I'm also kind of proud of it.  I graphed it.  I overcame my fear of trying it.  I can kind of see where it wanted to be a snowflake and I'm sure with a bit more practice and research, the next one will be closer to being identifiable as what I intended.  So you see, it's not a true statement to say that everything I make comes out so beautiful - obviously, not always.

On the plus side, I am attempting the chart again but this time I am knitting it up as a gift card holder.  There are a few issues here as well but I'm not going to beat myself up over them.  I'm learning and when you're learning, everything is positive... even the creatively rogue moments.  See, I don't make mistakes when I'm creating... I simply go rogue... a lot.

Bet y'all forgot I knew how to knit... yeah, for a few minutes there, I did too!

The best part will happen next year or the year after, when these things are pulled out again and I can look at them, giggling over the silliness of the mistakes I made and the fear I had in creating them.  I can also be proud - that I had the courage to try and that I have learned so much since this first time.

Celebrate the efforts - regardless of the outcome.  Things will not always turn out as you envision them but as long as you continue to try, they have a better chance of success than if you don't even start.