Oh boy.  Sometimes life just gets in the way of ones best intentions.  But now that I've dealt with those wonderful little uh-ohs that life throws every once in a while, I can get back to catching up with the gang over at the Bernat Crochet Along.

I was excited about last week's clue.  It looked pretty on paper, and sounded like it was going to be a good challenge for this newbie. 

We had to make 6 motifs in total.  And compared to the previous week, these guys were whoppers!  They had to measure 11 inches.  Because some of the other participants were ahead of me, I read with a teeny bit of apprehension that some other newbies were finding this clue really difficult.

But I stayed focused...meaning  I couldn't watch The Office while working on my clue :(   and, I must say,  it went well.  A little tricky here and there, but nothing I couldn't handle.  In fact my confidence grew with every stitch!

I'm a virtual crocheting machine.

Soon I was piling up those little motifs like they were little lacy pancakes.  "This is a piece of cake",  I thought.  "I'll be done in no time."  And then... it happened.

I got me a bad case of the dreaded,  TooCockyForMyOwnGood-itis. 


The second to last one.  I'm flying through it. Sixth row....seventh row...    "Hey wait a minute...this octagon has a pointy top.  It's supposed to be flat.  Hmmmmm..."   So I simply unravelled the last row thinking I must have miscounted a stitch.  Seventh row.....eight row..."now wait a minute!  There is that pointy top again!"

Folks, this set off a dance of unravelling and crocheting and unravelling and crocheting that I am embarrassed to say, went on for HOURS.  I grew more and more frustrated.  "What is going on?  Why does this keep happening?"  I finally unravelled down to the fourth row.  a very simple chain stitch that surrounds the centre motif of a sweet little eight petalled flower.  And once again I started, staring intently at the written instructions, so much so that my eyes began to dry out from lack of blinking action.


S-L-O-W-L-Y , taking extra time with each stitch... because this time would be different.  This time it would be....

POINTY??!!!  NOOOOOOOOO!

A quarter past one in the morning with a hideously pointed crochet mess, I admitted temporary defeat due to sleep deprivation and went to bed.

As the sun rose, I stomped into the front room, hook in one hand and steaming coffee in the other, to start up a fresh attack attempt.

I unravelled yet again and held the soft fluffy centrepiece of my newest nemesis. At least for the time being, the Hairy Hurricane was off the hook.

I vowed in silence to defeat this foul little flower when suddenly...something caught my eye.

umm...how many petals are there supposed to be?

"Why does my eight petal flower only have seven petals?"  ~sigh~ 

Forty minutes later, motif #5 was complete.    It was soon followed by a trouble free, smooth sailing #6.

You know that saying, "Can't see the forest for the trees?"

Now that I've recovered, somewhat, I humbly move forward to Clue #3.