As I was browsing through the different communities here, I bumped into a post by @needleworkmonday. The Freeneedling Challenge! I started reading, and first sentence into it, I already knew that that post was for me. Haha!
As mentioned in that said post, freeneedling is needling freely (haha) without the need to follow a pattern or take note of the stitches and turns you have created, so far. And that is just awesome because that is what I usually do when I crochet! I do follow patterns sometimes, especially with amigurumis or clothes, but most of the time, I prefer freehanding. There is just something about it that empties my mind. It feels like my hands are working on its own, without my brain giving it conscious signals. Dunno. Haha.
Anyway, because of this challenge, I set a part of my Saturday for freeneedling. My Saturday was quite hectic in the morning, so I got to start after lunch already.
When I work on a project for myself, I want it to be something that I would use because I find it such a waste if it will just end up hidden in the drawer. So I took time to think about what to make, but then I realized, that would already kind of defy the purpose of freeneedling. Then I suddenly remembered granny squares! For those of you who are not familiar with granny squares, these are bunch of crocheted squares using various stitches or colors. What's great about them is that you could turn the squares into anythiiiinggg. It could be a top, bag, blanket, shorts, headband, name it. The possibilities are endless!
I have seen granny squares before but didn't really got into it at first because most of the ones I saw were too colorful and loud. I am a plain gal, so that wasn't too attractive for me. However, I have a friend who is fond of sunflowers, and I wanted to make a sunflower headband for her. The inspos that I saw used granny squares, so long story short, I finally tried it out.
Maaaaan. It was sooo cute! Hahah Before I stitched them all together into a headband, I arranged them first in different styles to see what possible projects I could make with granny squares in the future.
Anyway, because of that, I decided to make granny squares for this challenge. I thought that it would be a great time to experiment with the stitches, and come up with my own design. I worked on this while doing one of my favorite things while crocheting-- binge-watching. That is one of the reasons why I am able to finish tons of kdrama series. Haha
I was able to make 2 squares! I initially wanted to make more, but somehow, I got quite exhausted with deciding what stitches to add. I didn't want to push through it anymore because I don't like working on things that I don't fully enjoy.
Hence, I shifted to a type of project that surely seeps all the voices out of my head. I crocheted scrunchies! Hahaha. I dunno why, but making scrunchies or headbands really relaxes me the most. I guess that's why I have made a bunch already, in different colors. Haha At the end of the day, I was able to finish 3 scrunchies! And morning the next day, I made one more.
Yay! I love down time like this. It's like taking a break while still being produtive at the same time. haha. Creating indeed sparks a different kind of joy in my heart.
While writing this post, I just realized that the concept of freeneedling should not only be applied on needleworks or writing. We should apply it in our lives, in general. Sometimes we tend to always go with the flow; follow the trend; stay within the patterns of the norm. But for me, we will experience pure joy when we let ourselves be, no matter how messy or slow it may be.
In crocheting, there is a term called, frogging. It is when you pull your yarn off the project and redo it from a certain point. It is quite painful, especially when you are already far into the project. It will feel like the hours of energy and effort you exerted on it will go to waste.
But why do we frog a project? It is because we made a mistake at some point, or we feel like we can do better than the current one. It will take us additional time to redo everything, but at least, we will end up with something that really makes us happy.
So in life, if we ever make mistakes or we aren't quite satisfied with how we are doing, may we never be afraid to start over. It will be terrifying and painful, but aiming to be better versions of ourselves will surely be worth it.
That's it for now!
Stay sane and safe.
Let's spread happiness.
herkeepsake
❤