April 17, 2011

Fact #280: Expectations vs results (a story with a happy ending)

Remember when I decided I wanted to learn how to crochet? I started very patiently, practicing different stitches and then unraveling my work so I wouldn't waste yarn. But after a while, even though my technique was still pretty.. um.. rough, I got sick of unraveling everything all the time. I wanted a finished product, darn it!

So I found a cute little stuffed animal pattern that was labeled 'easy', and I started crocheting away.

I kept crocheting, even when I got the colors of the ears mixed up, so they didn't match.

I kept crocheting, even as I wondered why the head was turning out so squashed looking.

I kept crocheting, even as it became clear that whatever I was making had mutated far beyond the help of any 'pattern'.

This is what I was going for:


And this is what I got:


Uhh..

Different, right?

I had a lot of mixed emotions about this. First, I felt proud. I was so proud of my handiwork that I wanted to share this little guy with the whole world.

Then, I felt scared. Because let's face it, he looks a liiiittle creepy.

Then, I felt embarrassed. Because if I, a grown woman, was scared of this little bear/anteater, how could I possibly give him to a kid to play with?

I brought him with me on my trip Philadelphia to give to my brother and sister-in-law as a gift for my niece (although I almost chickened out and just left him in my suitcase). But I was very gratified that the reaction when I gave him to them was one of excitement, not raw terror. Maybe there was hope for the little guy after all.

And then, a few days later, my sister-in-law sent me this picture:


His name is now Aorta, and she's feeding him a cracker.

I think he'll be just fine.


Til tomorrow!

5 comments:

Kim said...

Yay, congrats on your first finished project! You should feel proud :) My first project was also lumpy and misshapen. I think it's just how it works.

Q Schroe said...

So cute! Also creepy, but mostly cute in Isla's hands.

Nice work, slow boat.

Nate said...

Just fine, indeed. Except for a gender change: pretty sure Aorta became a girl along the way... :)

Laurel said...

I support all of Aorta's life choices. :)

mps said...

Aorta is a cutie. I thought reversing the ear colors was intentional, and very clever :-)