Just because I do not have enough on my plate at the moment, I have decided I really need to start practicing and getting better at certain crafts. When I was a teenager, my mom taught me the basic granny square for crocheting and for a long time this is all I have ever known. Last year, I started teaching myself how to make a scarf and I did make one pretty successfully. I recently signed up on a website that has online video classes for crafts and I am really enjoying it.

I have a goal for this year, well it was last years goal but it didn’t happen because I started too late, that is to attempt to make almost all my Christmas presents and well all presents. It won’t be easy because crafting things from scratch takes a long time when you have only a few hours to yourself a day and most of that is full of working on my novel and school work. But hence – why I need to start now and not wait until November like last year. Thankfully the person who received the one thing I was able to make (beyond the tutus for my nieces) really appreciated it.

Why do I want to learn more? Well, in hopes of saving some money in the end but I like making things and finishing them. I want to move beyond my basic knowledge and get better. I just recently started a granny square afghan for hubs and my bed but I am upping it a step by trying to make several large granny squares then sewing them to make an afghan big enough for our king size bed. Its an overwhelming task at the moment because it has taken me a week to just the first square started.

My goal is that by the end of the year I have some basic knowledge on quilting, pillow making, knitting and a deeper knowledge of crocheting. I don’t want to have to go and buy hats when I lose them – I want to make a replacement with yarn I have on hand. But we shall see how it goes. There isn’t a huge amount of spare time on my hands but my son is getting better at allowing me to do something other then pay attention to him. Even if I had to restart several rows in my latest project because he thought it would be fun to tie himself up with my yarn.