The Long Haul

I broke a friend's crochet hook the other day (don't ask, I have mad skills), and decided I was going to replace it, or die trying.  I hit up Hobby Lobby where it was originally purchased, but they were closed on Sundays.  That's another rant, though.  I then headed Joann's but couldn't find the same needle, and finally Michael's before giving up in utter despair, and buying some Tester's glue.  Problem solved.

I cannot tell a lie - part of that trip was to find me some fuzzy, velour yarn to whip up a quick little baby blanket or something.  Said friend was working with some, and it was just glorious feeling.  You know the project I'm talking about...buy like 3 skeins, get started, find it again a few months later, wondering why I never finished it, and get totally screwed because they don't make the yarn color or type any more.  I certainly DO NOT have 9/10ths of a sweater that I could fit three of myself in.  Don't be ridiculous.

While I was poking around, I found a pattern booklet with a gorgeous afghan on the front.  So I had The
Moment with myself, and I said, "Self, this thing looks gorgeous, but we never finish big projects like this any more.  Maybe we should just buy one skein of each color, and then see how it works out."  Of course, in response to being told this by my superego, I instead decided that no one was stopping me from doing anything I could so do.  I promptly dropped about $30 and bought 12 skeins of yarn (Thank you, Red Heart Super Saver!) so I was pretty much stuck finishing this project, or feeling like an ass for dropping over three hours of pay on this moment of stubbornness.

So far, I have about 6 of the 70 squares I'll need to finish this project off.  I work on it while I watch TV.  I work on it while I'm stuck on a long call at work.  I work on it while I read, if I'm feeling frisky.  It's still in the easy stages, where I'm not bored by every stitch I do.  I realized early on that I needed to start crocheting in my loose threads, or there was a huge chance I'd lose my ever-loving mind in a month or two, when I had to sew all that crap in.  I'm still a little sketchy on whether or not I'll get through all the squares (so far all of relatively equal size) and then totally peter out when I realize how stupidly much I'll be sewing together to make a whole afghan.

So here's my goal:  Start a big project.  See it through.  I'm not the best with follow through - clearly - but I feel this is an important lesson I need to learn.  We'll see in a few months if I can keep it up.  I'm optimistic, but then, who isn't at the beginning of a new project or journey?

In other crafty news, I managed to whip up a batch of facial cleanser/scrub.  It's made of freshly ground almonds, clay, glycerin, witch hazel, and essential oils.  If it didn't look so much like a paste made out of soggy ash, I'd post pictures.  I'm going to try it out tomorrow, and see how it turns out.  Maybe I'll find a way to pretty it up next round.