With a little help from my friend...

I am a visual learner; one of those people who has to be shown how something is done, to fully understand how to do something new.  This can be a challenge when trying a new crochet pattern.

In the midst of making blankets for Stitches from the Heart (SFTH), a wonderful charity where we make baby items and donate them to over 1,400 NICU centers and hospitals around the country, I looking for a new pattern.  I saw one from my friend Carol, stitched in diagonal rows, who said it was very easy and she was nice enough to send it to me.

I started the blanket and immediately ran into trouble.  Carol sent me another version of the pattern which she'd broken down into simple steps and even a diagram.  Nope, didn't help, so I picked up the phone.  "Carol, I don't get it."  After about five minutes, my cry for help became "That's so simple!".

Then I came to the middle where you start decreasing.  Once again, a phone call of "Carol, I don't get it." changed to "That's so simple!" with a bit of coaching.

Once it was done, I looked at it, picked up the phone and, cried, "Carol, what about the border?".  Another five minutes again resulted in "Carol, that would be so simple!".

My thanks to Carol, for her pattern and her patience.  Blanket #9 for SFTH is done.  

This was a good reminder that we all learn in different ways.  Part of life is discovering the way in which we each learn best; part of teaching is taking time to realize how each student learn. 

Now that I know how to do it, another diagonal-striped blanket is underway.  This will be Blanket #10. 

My goal is to have one dozen done and ready for pick up on May 25th.  We'll see how I do.