I reached an interesting conclusion in the past week – I’m finding that my crocheting tastes have changed.

It’s not so much a fundamental change – I still use the same hooks and notions, and I still hold my yarn and hook the same way, but my taste in crochet patterns has shifted.

I guess that’s part of the journey – the learning and experimenting phase. But when I started, there were patterns that were my absolute go tos, like my little moose friend.

There is nothing wrong with the pattern – and the one that I just completed for an order turned out to be one of my cutest yet (in my opinion), but there was just something about the pattern that I wasn’t feeling as I was making this. It is a reliable pattern with consistent results, but it left me a little flat.

The flip side to this conundrum is I remember back to when I made my first moose – back when I was learning the first steps in amigurumi. I remember how complicated this seemed. It must have taken me a week (or more) to make that first one; and, there were just so many things wrong with it. He’s still adorable – and so loved, Desi plays with him often – but he wasn’t perfect, and I didn’t quite have all the tools (literally and figurative) to make him yet. Compare that to when I made this little dude and it was maybe two nights, and he is a lot sturdier than my first version.

But the change in pattern taste has been happening a good bit recently. I don’t know if it is because I’ve been leaning toward patterns only by one or two designers and they have worked up so consistently and wonderfully that to go to something else is a little foreign. I don’t know if it is just the mood I have been in recently.

I’ve worked up countless patterns from this designer – although again, it was more in my earlier days of working than recently. Last night I decided to play with this to try to make a Superman luvvie. The pattern is easy enough to interpret and it used the same stitches I’m used to in my stuffies, but I just wasn’t thrilled.

He turned out sweet, but I couldn’t get over the fact that the head was bigger than the body (although some of that could have been overstuffing on my part), and his head just wouldn’t sit right on his body. He found a forever home relatively easily in Rhode Island, but I just didn’t feel like he was my finest work. Whether that was due to general tiredness and stress, or if it was just the pattern wasn’t my favorite.

I understand as we learn and grow, our tastes change. Things that were challenging in the beginning become second nature – and that is a good thing because that does show growth and increased confidence. However, so many patterns that I have made and loved, I worry that I will not feel the same about them in the future. I put so much of myself and my heart and love into my creations that I have a sincere worry about this. If I don’t feel this connection to the pattern, I worry I won’t feel a connection to the plushie and that will carry over to the new mommy and daddy.

I haven’t been making patterns from this designer as long, but I do feel a true connection to the completed works. Maybe it is because at least for the tatty teddy bear and the voodoo doll that they aren’t meant to be perfect…there is room for imperfection; so there isn’t that same level of expectation. Although with Marril, he is a recognizable Pokemon and that didn’t strike me with fear as I thought it would.

Then, there are tried and true patterns. I have made the items multiple times, and every time I make them, I feel as connected to them as I did the first time. What is the difference? The pattern’s difficulty didn’t change – in many cases because of the repeated practice it has gotten easier – but I still feel the same enjoyment each time I pick up my yarn to make them. Does that come down to a satisfaction with the end result? I don’t think so…as I mentioned before I still love how the moose turns out, I just don’t like the process of making him. Is it the number of pieces that are required? I know the moose has a ton of individuals pieces, but so did the lion bookbag and the tatty teddy bear and I’m happy with them.

It is such an interesting investigation into the mind to uncover what could be behind this change. It’s not even that I have made something too many times. It’s just certain patterns don’t speak to me the same way. I’ve experienced this to some extent when I’ve first purchased a pattern, and then find out that I am just not happy with how it works up – but, it is entirely different to have this be a successful, tried and tested pattern, and suddenly be turned off it.

I’ll be curious to see if as I progress in my crochet journey if I feel this way about the voodoo dolls and other luvvies that I currently adore making. Maybe there is just a season for everything – and some seasons end sooner than others.

Hugs and cuddles,

Elisha