First Project Completed

I don't usually do New Year's resolutions.

I know June is a random time to mention this, but trust me, I'm not going crazy (or crazier than usual).

Anyway, I don't usually do resolutions because I can't think of any that aren't standard (be healthier, work out more, stop eating crap) and then the next thing I know, it's February and it's too late to consider it a New Year's resolution anyway, so I don't bother.

But this year, with my 30th birthday looming, I decided I wanted to do something. Not make a resolution to not do something. I decided to take up a hobby. And I would give myself the whole year to figure it out.

Growing up, I watched my mom crochet on a regular basis. If a baby was being born, my mom was making a beautiful afghan. She made me a funky furry scarf that I love and even got involved in making matching scarves for her entire choral group. Evenings spent watching TV usually meant she also had hook in hand. I expressed interest after college and she gave me her old book (and by old, I mean from the early 70s) and showed me a few things. However, my lack of coordination was apparent and I gave up. Gave up, but never lost interest. That book, the ball of yarn and two hooks she gave me always had a place in my home for the last 6 years. Occasionally I would pick them up and then quickly put them down, knowing I couldn't figure it out.

So as part of the reinvention of me at age 30, I decided to give crochet a chance. In January, I bought two books (in addition to the classic from Mom), a skein of yarn, and a bunch of hooks. Diligently I read the first book, Chicks with Sticks Guide to Crochet by Nancy Queen and Mary Ellen O'Connell, without picking up my other tools. I needed to understand what I was doing. The pictures in the book were great, the language was interpreted for me, and I really felt like I was getting a good foundation of understanding how to do this.

Turns out my reading comprehension skills are not what I thought they were. I was able to successfully make my foundation chain and slip stitches, but could not for the life of my figure out how to make my fingers interpret the words to make a single chain crochet. Dammit.

So I opened the other book, just a basic guide with step by step instructions and illustrations. Moving right along, I got confirmation that what I knew was correct. On to the single crochet--do X (see figure 1.) Ok, success. Do Y (see figure 2)--yup, makes sense. Do Z (see figure 3). Perfect, this is where I screw up! Wait. Where's figure 3? ARGH! Yes, the book referenced a figure they didn't print. The exact figure that would have shown me what I was doing wrong.

So I put my books, yarn, and hooks into a bag and left them by the couch. I needed to step away and couldn't devote myself to figuring it out anymore. I blamed my abandoning the craft on my busy work schedule, since I was working long hours between February and May, but I left the materials in plain sight to taunt me into giving it another try when I was ready.

In May, a big, brand new JoAnn Fabrics store opened at our local mall. I had gotten an email saying they were offering 50% off all their scheduled classes if you signed up during their grand opening celebration. A class is exactly what I needed to tackle this beast. I went in, found they were offering a class on Basic Crochet and then learned it was going to be at 6:00 pm on a Wednesday. A day I was scheduled to work until 6:00 pm and after my commute, probably wouldn't be home until 8:00 pm. I declined, and then hemmed and hawed about it. I actually walked out of the store. And then I thought, "No, this is something I want to do, and I'll just tell them I have to leave early that day." I would never leave early when I was scheduled late (and overtime was involved) but this was something I wanted for myself. So I turned around and signed up.

The class was perfect. It was the instructor and one other student, so I really got the attention I needed. Someone to physically show me what I was doing wrong and catch me when I did it. In that 2 hours, I learned a lot. We didn't actually make a project, but I had a big piece with all kinds of stitch patterns on it and felt confident I could go back and do a project from my books.

I started with a bag, the first project in the Chicks with Sticks book. I've almost got one panel done, and then I'll start the other panel and put them together. It's a very relaxing hobby and I've been working on it in front of the TV and in the car (for long road trips, like when we went to L's wedding). My goal is to get to the point where I don't need the whole book and can do projects on the train.

Knowing that we have more road trips coming up (we're going to Pittsburgh this weekend), I went to Michael's on Saturday and bought a bunch more yarn. Another project in the book was a curly scarf and I thought it would be the perfect quick project in the car.

Sunday night, we were watching TV and I wanted to play with my new yarn, so I started the scarf. Within an hour and a half, I had almost finished it. Last night, I put in the last 30 stitches, tied off the ends and voila! My first finished project.


Here's a little more of the detail:



Not my best photos--they're from my phone. The scarf is 38 inches long. Which is not as long as you think it is. I think I'll adjust the pattern and make it longer. I told D last night that we have to stop at Michael's and get more yarn tonight. I'm definitely making this project again!

Why I'm Glad I'm Not 24

Last week I had an opportunity to take a half-day training session on Communicating at Work. Sounds like something you have to go to because you did something wrong (partially true), but I actually was interested in going before I was "asked" to look into it.

See here's the thing: you already know I work with mostly women, but what you may not know is that all lot of those women are young. Now I know what you're thinking--"But you're only 30 and you've spoken so much about how life is just beginning!" Well, yes that's true. But oftentimes I find that the 6 or 7 years between myself and my coworkers can feel like a lifetime.

There is an absolute difference in maturity and experience, as well as general work skills. It's amazing how working in an office every summer of college and having a work-study job in the Registrar's Office during my junior and senior years gave me skills that some of these young women can't even grasp. Like how to load a printer. Or change toner. Or order office supplies. It's really what irritates me the most about the people I work with. There are simple tasks that they don't need their fancy degrees for but yet they can't figure it out. I learned to do some of these things when I was 18 but at 24, they still stand there for 5 minutes trying to figure out if they have to take the cap off the toner.

But, back to my training. It was actually time well spent and the trainer was very engaging. He was down to earth, funny and made the material useful. Which is important. He discussed how to create an invitation to speak and a bunch of other stuff that only communication geeks like me would be interested in. I actually got a very good question answered. At the end of the class I asked him how I can create an invitation for someone to listen to me.

Here's the deal, my direct teammate has an aggravating habit of not looking at me when I'm speaking to her. Instead, she'll have her eyes glued to her computer (usually Face*book or G*chat) and responding to messages while I'm talking to her, regardless of whether I'm providing her with my witty banter or important information to accomplish our jobs. It was to the point that last week I was actually doing on of her tasks (because she doesn't know how to mail merge--yes I realize a lot of people don't, but this is actually something she should know because it's her JOB), and when it came to a point for me to tell her the next steps I had to say, "Look at me and listen because this is important." Seriously--how much of a bitch did I sound like. But nevertheless, I'd already said it (and she actually seemed unfazed by it).

Feeling like I should improve this style of behavior for both myself and my coworker, I asked the trainer what to do after relaying to him this most recent incident. And he had some genuinely good advice. He suggested I point out to her the behavior makes me feel crappy and like she doesn't care about what I'm saying, and then take the conversation from there. I haven't tried it yet, but I intend to and it will probably be successful.

So now the question is, at what point do you learn that it is appropriate to give someone your full attention when they are speaking to you? And when did it become such a bad thing to ask questions when you don't know the answers (like, hi, I'm new here. How do I order office supplies?)? It's really mind-boggling. Asking questions indicates that you are interested and involved and want to be successful. Standing there with a blank look on your face and an inability to complete your tasks indicates that you don't care and/or are stupid.

Honestly, was I that stupid when I was 24? (Anyone other than my brother can comment.)