Enjoying myself again

Let me begin by telling you all that I take my hobbies too seriously.  I have long lists, both mental and physical, of my upcoming projects.  Projects for one reason or another is functional for myself or others.  I tend to turn hobbies into work.

Recently I have experienced a burnout.  Probably not related to my never-ending list of to-do’s, but a burnout nonetheless.  I had pretty much quit doing anything.  One day I decided that if I’m ever going to enjoy my hobbies again, or even do anything again, I need to take myself a little less serious and have fun.  No one but me expects anything, so why should I put such great expectations, deadlines, ect. on seemingly meaningless hobbies?

I have been bitten by the sweater bug.  I made a springtime shrug in one of my favorite yarns, Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed cotton.  This is not your run of the mill dishcloth cotton.  This is the softest, loftiest 150 yards of lovely organic, wool-like cotton.  I had a few skeins stashed, 2 of which were in the soft pink colorway of shell.  I had to order another skein to finish my shrug and while I was at it, I got some Skinny dyed cotton also made my Blue Sky Alpacas.  It’s not the same as the worsted variety, but still not dishcloth quality cotton.  More about that later.

Here’s a pic of my pink springtime shrug.

So what’s the significance of this project?  Well, I made a sweater (kind of), and I renewed my love of knitting.  I am currently working on another springtime cardigan with the Skinny Dyed.

I’m still in the process of making this cardigan, but I’ve had a brief delay due to a strange, drop-everything fascination with crochet.

Why is it strange?  Because I’m kind of a knitting snob.  I learned to crochet because when I first learned to knit I wasn’t getting it right.  I got crochet immediately, but when I figured out my knitting problem, I dropped all interest in it.  Plus, I was starting to have problems with the turning chains. Don’t tell anyone, but I also thought crochet was a bit kitschy.

I was watching a movie set in the 1970′s and all the granny-square vests and crocheted skirts were suddenly extremely inspiring to me.  I loved the kitsch!  In fact, I must crochet something, this instant! 

I broke out my “Stitch ‘N Bitch; The Happy Hooker” and my interest piqued, especially when I landed on the page of the “Granny’s No Square” handbag.  Now I’ve made a granny square afghan before, and let me tell you, I love granny squares.  But now, I’m obsessed with them.

I’ve just finished my first big crochet project (I’ve done flowers all along) of the past 2 years.  I really enjoyed improvising a pattern into a market bag.  I’m planning a separate blog post which will be up soon.