My First Crocheting Project - Completed!

I started learning to crochet a little over a month ago. I blogged about it here. I'm happy to say I finished that first project about a week ago. It didn't turn out beautiful, but that wasn't the intent, though that would have been an added bonus. Instead, it turned out wonky, the edges wide in some place and narrower in others, sort of a Dr. Seuss look, if you will. The stitches were uneven at first, some tight, others loose. About two-thirds of the way through, I realized I'd been doing the single crochet stitch incorrectly, though the way I did it seemed just fine, too.

This was a learning project, and to that end it accomplished what it was supposed to. Here's what I learned from it.

1. How different yarns feel. Because I used yarn I already had, I got to experience that some yarns are nicer to work with than others. I found I preferred crocheting with big, soft, chunky yarns like the multi-colored one in the middle. The peach one right beside it was not at all soft, but more scratchy and firm. I didn't like it a bit and couldn't wait to finish that color. The pink and blue variegated yarn was wavy and super soft, like for a baby's blanket, but it wasn't as thick as I liked. I had no idea yarns were so different!

2. How to turn your project to start a new row. Actually, I'm still learning this and I still tend to drop or add stitches along the way, making my edges wider or narrower instead of even. But I'm getting better. I'm becoming more familiar with how stitches are supposed to look and how to choose the right one to poke my hook through when I turn it at the end of a row.

3. I've learned three kinds of stitches. Single crochet, double, crochet, and triple crochet, though the project (I can't quite bring myself to call it a blanket) in the picture only used the first two.  I simply put the stitch name in the Google search window and up popped videos for me to watch  that taught me how to do them. Three cheers for technology!

4. I love to crochet. This might be the most important thing I've learned. I love it! I'm just as happy crocheting as I am reading, and that's saying something!

5. Dogs don't care how their blankets look. I actually had to keep shooing the dogs off my lap when I worked on this because they always wanted to snuggle up on it. That's why you'll find this project inside the newest dog's kennel for him to sleep with at night. He's thrilled.

6. Unexpected bonus lesson:  Crocheting helps me lose weight. I kid you not, I've lost a couple pounds. Why? When my hands are busy as I watch TV in the evening, I'm less likely to snack. I don't even think about it most the time. Imagine that!

So there  you have it--my finished project and what I learned along the way. My next project, which I've already, started is a prayer shawl. I'll post a picture when I finish it. I'm hoping to make several of these to have on hand to give people who need the comfort of a warm, crocheted hug to get them through a tough time.

Thanks for reading and following along with new things I'm finding the gumption to try . You're the best!

Linda