My Second "First" Project!

I'm actually very excited to report that I have completed a project (like a real one)! Here it is:

My daughter said I did such a good job stitching up the back that she couldn't tell which side was the front and which side was the back. Can you?

 

(Left is the front; right is the back.)

This only took me about three days. I got to work on it a lot during a very long swimming meet on Saturday.

I found this pattern here, and I like it because it only incorporates single crochet. That gives me a good opportunity to try to perfect this method, as I plan to make several of these.

In fact, I already started on my next one! This yarn goes quite well with my countertops, don't you think?

Saturday also provided a good opportunity to get to Hobby Lobby and purchase some more yarn. This hot pad I am working on now would actually also be perfect as a blanket with my new furniture! I don't know if I will ever graduate to making blankets, but I need to keep this yarn label in case I do.

I do understand why beginners are encouraged to start with a lighter-colored yarn, though. This has some light areas in it, but they grays and browns can be hard to see. I had to back up a few times and make corrections.

Some things that have changed in the process of working on these the last few days: 1. My hands have relaxed a lot. When I first started, I was very tense, and my hands would cramp up pretty quickly. I had to take a lot of breaks. I had a death grip on my crochet hook. I noticed last night, that I was able to work for quite a while before I needed to take a break. 2. I have sped up quite a bit as well. 3. My sensitivity to the yarn hasn't been so bad the last few days. My eyes are watering and itching a lot less, so maybe I am not allergic after all, or maybe I'm adjusting. Good news either way.

We had a late start today, but I was kind of hoping for a snow day so I could stay home and crochet more! It's getting to be a bit of an obsession!

How is your project going?