Grrrrr. Arrrgh.

So I put the finishing touches on the thing I was going to offer up as my part of the Bloggy Giveaways Winter Carnival, only to discover mere moments later that I was too late, as spammers had forced an early end to signups. It was like a metaphor for my current issues with crochet. And by "current," I mean "last night." It seemed like a really big deal at the time.

I was winding some Alchemy Bamboo in hopes that I could get started on the project I wanted to submit to the first Crochet Liberation Front pattern collection -- a lacy nightie. I'd had it in mind ever since I first saw the yarn in another Ravelrer's destash list. It was going to be so pretty.

But in the process of winding, the yarn got tangled, and one of the Mad Cats (the younger one; we'll call her No No Bad Kitty, as she probably thinks that is her name) started trying to eat said yarn, and then I realized what should have been a short project had taken two hours, and then I realized that I had no clue how I was going to make this beautiful nightie in the first place, let alone adjust the pattern for different sizes and whatnot. And then I thought about the discussion I'd seen online yesterday savaging a new designer's pattern (and I have no problems whatsoever with this, for reasons I'll describe in another entry), and I thought about how I really didn't want to put bad stuff out there and cause people to think I didn't care about doing it right. It was all enough to make me think I should give up on designing.

And then the Mad Husband got home and I told him all of this (well, most of this summarized in the interests of not putting him to sleep), and he said, "Your problem is you want instant gratification."

StringTheory2.0 not only agrees with the Mad Husband, she's kinda astonished that I, the instant gratification junkie, ever got into fiber arts in the first place.

It does give some perspective on why I'm so bad about buying yarn, though.

So, after talking to our Fearless Leader, I feel better about revising my goals for this go-round from a lacy nightie to something simpler. You've gotta walk before you can run and all that. Man, I wish I could think of a way to end posts that doesn't involve invoking a cliche.

Addendum on Lace

So not so long ago I seem to recall giving a bunch of you grief for not knitting lace. Well, now, after my own failed go at the lace, I understand a little better why people don't knit and crochet lots and lots of lace: Because it sucks.

Well, maybe that's a bit harsh. But the lace will definitely take some getting used to. It's so freaking small. (Yes, I know! That's why they call it lace-weight!) The yarn's small, and the hook's small, and the stitches are small... Wow, I have a whole new respect for thread crocheters. Actually I already had a pretty healthy respect for them, but now I know that thread crochet must be even tougher than lace, because at least lace-weight yarn generally feels better than mercerized cotton thread. Thread crocheters are really dedicated to their art.

Despite these misgivings, please don't misunderstand: I'm not giving up on lace crochet. I can't. I bought all that yarn.