Being back at the beginning

When starting again feels hard - give yourself grace

When you have been really good at doing something for a long time it can be hard to put yourself back into a beginners mindset, especially when it is adjacent to to something you consider yourself proficient in.

In my case I have been knitting since I was around 7 or 8. Yes, there was a time when handling the needles felt clumsy - like I had suddenly grown an extra set of thumbs - but I don’t remember it. Nowadays I pick up the needles and my hands automatically settle into their familiar position and rhythm without me having to think about it.

Muscle memory truly is a wonderful thing - until you are starting something new and can’t rely on it - yet.

This has been my experience of learning to crochet.

I tried to learn crochet as a child but my Nana only ‘did knitting’ and I had no one to teach me. I tried to learn with books from the library but it invariably ended in frustration. I did finally teach myself a few years ago with the help of Lucy of Attic 24 and her beautiful clear photo tutorials (I can’t learn from video - it just doesn’t work for me).

Now I am at the stage where I can do the basics reasonably well, but anything more complicated - reading a crochet chart or deviating beyond the basic stitches has me scratching my head in befuddlement.

It’s a hard thing to accept that you are struggling to do something - a task that others make look easy perhaps. But it is important to lean into that feeling of discomfort and to accept that it is a necessary part of acquiring new skills.

So this year I have set myself a couple of challenges. I always think of myself as a lifelong learner - I love the mantra ‘every day’s a school day’ - and I like to think I’ll be learning new things up until the day I die.

One of my 2025 challenges is to conquer my fear of crochet charts and ‘complicated stitches’. Luckily I got my hands on a copy of this crochet card deck from Claire Montgomery. There are 50 cards in the deck - each for a different granny square pattern - one side has a clear view of the finished square you are aiming for and the reverse has the charted instructions you need to follow.

I have decided to work 1 block per week and construct a kind of sampler blanket at the end. I will be posting my progress on my Instagram account and you are very welcome to join along if the idea intrigues you. One word of warning though - there are tons of fake decks for sale on Amazon/Etsy et al so please only buy through an LYS or trusted seller. If you see a really cheap deck don’t be tempted.

My other fiber-related challenge is to learn Tunisian crochet. I have long been fascinated by this technique which seems to blends aspects of both knitting and crochet and it makes such an interesting and unique fabric. I am currently in the ‘research phase’ of this and am busy working out what supplies I need.

If you are new to the concept of Tunisian crochet it is a slightly strange blend of knitting and crochet - there is a good explainer here. It creates a completely different fabric and you can create some really interesting effects that are completely different to those obtained with knitting/crochet.

Do you have any crafty aims for this year? Join me in the comments let’s chat.

And if you are taking it slow and are happy to just carry on with your current plans that’s fine too.