Word of the Year: Consistency (Day 1)

Hi guys! In the hopes of sharing more and not taking myself so seriously, I am challenging myself to publish a blog post every day for 365 days. Today is Day 1 (January 7, 2022).

I have a habit of overthinking, choosing perfection over progress, and not sticking to a routine. Here is how things normally play out: An idea pops into my head, and I instantly want to try it; I have all kinds of motivation to get it done, but partway through the task, I start to overthink and put pressure on myself; before I know it, I have given up. This is a pattern that applies to every facet of my life, from my business, to my diet, to my health. Self doubt and insecurities best me at every turn; and even though I am aware of what is happening, I let it happen. Like a bystander of my life, I let these emotions control my actions and decisions.

It seems cliché to reinvent yourself in the New Year, when you can do this at any point throughout the year, but I don’t care. The New Year feels like a fresh start, when people are collectively trying to break bad habits, and become a better version of themselves. Somehow, knowing that other people are working towards change, makes me feel less alone, and motivates me to try. Because what have I got to lose?

Read and explore more topics in the 365 Day Blog Post Challenge here.

Reminders / Motivational Thoughts:

While I crochet, I need background noise and entertainment (I cannot crochet in silence), so I turn to movies, TV shows, and YouTube. I have been watching a lot of YouTube creators discuss change, taking action in life, and finding motivation to try. Here are some of the points that stuck with me:

Mel Robbin’s 5 Second Rule:

Whenever you feel yourself hesitate, count backwards from 5 (5, 4, 3, 2, 1), and when you reach 1, begin the task. According to Mel, the hardest part of any task is starting – I am in full agreement with this one!

If you experience anxiety, or panic attacks, you can also use the 5 second rule to reset your brain. According to Mel, fear and excitement cause the same reactions in our body. When our brain gives our body context, like why we are excited or fearful, our body can begin to relax when that fear or excitement subsides. However, the problem with anxiety and panic attacks is that our body is in fear/excitement mode, but it has no context because our brain does not know what is causing these feelings.

To calm ourselves, count backwards from 5, and when you reach 1, tell your brain what you are excited about today. For example, “I am excited to continue working on my crochet blanket”, and visualize that blanket. The idea is that by providing context for your brain, you can trick your body into relaxing. This method takes time, but it’s worth trying.

Word of the Year:

My mother-in-law is a health coach, and she shares a lot of motivational content on Facebook. I came across her post about choosing one word to represent you and your goals for the year. I thought about it for 5 minutes and couldn’t come up with anything, so I scrolled past it. A few days later, I found my word: Consistency. I struggle with being consistent in every aspect of my life (business, relationships, health) because as I mentioned above, I overthink and cannot stick to a routine to save my life.

My goal is to learn to be consistent by challenging myself to publishing 1 blog post and 1 Instagram post every day for 365 days.

Progress over Perfection:

This is a reminder to share blog posts, patterns, and more of myself with the community. If I waited until things were perfect, I would never share anything. And this is exactly what has been happening. Perfection will never be achieved, but progress can be made with dedication and practice. I am bound to make mistakes, but I have the power to correct and learn from them. Just post the darn thing – this should be my new moto!

Just have fun!

When I first started this blog, perfection was still a priority for me, but I was having fun. I loved writing intro paragraphs and sharing stories about the inspiration behind a pattern. I even threw in some quirky bits of humor. Somewhere along the way though, I started taking things too seriously, and lost the element of fun. My husband tells me often, “If you aren’t having fun anymore, it’s time to move on.” I still have fun designing and crocheting (this will never change), but blogging and sharing my work is a chore for me because I pile on all kinds of pressure and to-do’s. By participating in this challenge, I hope to get in touch with my inner quirky self, because she is goofy, weird, and fun. I love her, and I want to share her with all of you.

Rules for the 365 Day Challenge:

• The minimum length of each post is 1 paragraph, but there is no set word count or length limit.
• These posts can be crochet, craft, or goal related. I hope that most of the posts will be crochet related, but I may stray into talking about my other hobbies (collage, cross stitch, embroidery, reading, documentaries, etc.).
• Each post must contain at least one picture. This picture can be an Instagram worthy picture, but it can also be a more realistic one. Think early 90’s and 2000’s kodak pictures with heads cut off. Just kidding! Each picture should be clear and light enough to see.
• Let my community know about the posts at least once every two weeks.

Crochet Goal: Fall in Love with my Stash

This year my goal is to fall in love with my yarn stash and resist the urge to buy new yarn just because I think I need it. Using yarn from a stash creates more space, saves money, fosters creativity and resourcefulness, and makes you appreciate what you have. While happiness can come brand new yarn to try, it can also come from using what you already have.

On New Years Eve, I finished weaving in all the ends on my Herringbone Blanket (pattern and official name coming soon). I told myself that I could not start a new project until all my ends were weaved in. I almost caved, but my husband was there to reinforce the goal I had set for myself. Sometimes, I really need someone to hold me accountable – bless you Logan!

Since I achieved my goal, I started a new scrap blanket on New Years Day of 2022. New Year, new blanket! I am calling her my Wack-a-doodle Blanket because she is fun and quirky. This blanket is done in Tunisian crochet, which is like knitting with a crochet hook. I cannot knit to save my life, but it is so empowering to be able to hold a crochet hook and achieve knit like stitch perfection. For those of you that are new to Tunisian Crochet, Toni from TLYarnCrafts is the queen of Tunisian Crochet. She has tons of beginner friendly tutorials to help you get started – this is how I learned.

I chose to make this blanket in a rainbow gradient effect because I didn’t want to overthink my colours or make it overwhelming on the eyes. Most of the yarn I am using is small balls that are leftover from other projects. I am talking 20 – 50 yards at the most.

Wack-a-doodle Blanket Stats:

• Stitch: Tunisian Simple Stitch (Tss)
• Yarn: Worsted/Aran Weight 4 Medium
• Hook: 6.5mm Tunisian crochet hook
• Made in Panels that are joined as you go using slip stitches!
• Panels: Ch 19 for a total of 19 stitches, and 174 rows. Each panel measures approx. 5.5″ wide by 60″ long.

I didn’t want to put pressure on myself to write up the complete pattern with pictures and a video on my first day of the challenge, so this pattern will come later. Especially since I have only finished 1/3 of the blanket so far!

That wraps up Day 1 of the 365 Day Challenge. Thank you so much for reading and following along with me. I hope that you enjoy this series that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Have a wonderful day, and happy crocheting!

Read and explore more topics in the 365 Day Blog Post Challenge here.

Love, Dayna